Age UK responds to possible eye tests for motorists over 70

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:

"At present everyone is legally obliged to declare certain eye conditions when they renew their driving licence at age 70, but today's reports suggest the Government is considering introducing some form of compulsory eye test at age 70 instead.

"It is certainly good for our eye health as we age to have a regular eye test - every two years the NHS advises - but this doesn't automatically mean that a compulsory eye test at age 70 is appropriate. People can develop eye problems at any age so why confine such an approach only to those aged 70 and not to younger drivers too? A regular eye test for drivers of all ages may be a better idea, one less open to the accusation of ageism - but we would need to see all the evidence to form a final view. 

"A further consideration is that the latest published official statistics on road accidents reveal an upward trend in the numbers of fatal or serious accidents involving older drivers, something that of course we should take seriously, but without more information it is difficult to say exactly why this is happening - the precondition for proposing effective solutions. Certainly though, from the data we have seen there is no reason to suppose that eye problems lie behind a significant proportion of these accidents. Therefore, while there may be a case for introducing a regular mandatory eye test for drivers of all ages, it is not clear that this would have a big impact on the numbers of serious accidents involving older drivers."