Age UK response to the introduction of mandatory eye tests for drivers over 70

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK said:

"Improving road safety is in the interests of us all so we look forward to seeing how the Government's new strategy for drivers seeks to achieve this in an effective and proportionate way once it is published in full soon.

For now, media reports suggest that the strategy will say that drivers will have to show proof of good eyesight when they renew their licence at age 70 and every three years thereafter, whereas for now they are required only to self-certify. 

“When a previous Department of Transport supported Older Drivers Taskforce looked at these issues in detail, they also recommended a move away from self-certification, but they coupled it with a proposal to raise the age at which you have to renew your licence to age 75. They took this view on the basis of the evidence, pointing out that the age of 70 was chosen quite arbitrarily in 1971 when life expectancy was 68 for men and 72 for women. Both have of course since increased quite substantially and vehicles are also safer than they were all those years ago. 

"Age UK believes that requiring evidence from an eye test, together with raising the age at which this is required to age 75, would be a balanced, evidence based approach, but to do the first without the second feels disproportionately negative so far as older drivers are concerned, the overwhelming majority of whom take very seriously their responsibility to be safe on the road. 

"In addition, while requiring an eye test may be a sensible safeguard to bring in now, one that reflects practice in a number of other similar countries, no one should think that in and of itself it will lead to a significant reduction in road traffic accidents, because the data suggests that poor eyesight among older drivers is not a leading cause."