Maximum driving age proposals slammed as ‘blatant discrimination’

The UK does not have a maximum driving age, yet motorists over the age of 70 are required to renew their driving licence every three years instead of 10. The increase in elderly drivers has led to some motoring groups calling for licences to be revoked at 85. However, Express.co.uk readers are largely against such proposals, a new poll has shown.

There will be an estimated one million drivers on Britain’s roads be over the age of 85 by 2025, according to the Older Drivers Task Force. They said that it is “vital” the UK is ready to “prepare for this demographic change”.

There are some 134,000 drivers over the age of 90 on Britain’s roads with the number of motorists over 70 almost doubling since 2012 to 5.7million.

Kevin Pratt, car insurance spokesperson at Forbes Advisor, said: “The UK’s roads are getting more crowded, with improved longevity playing its part as drivers stay behind the wheel for longer.”

He continued: “Should there be a blanket requirement to surrender your licence when you reach, say, 85? That seems draconian, given that there are bad drivers and good drivers at every age. But the Government will need to confront the issue at some point given the demographic factors that are slowly but surely putting more elderly drivers on the road.”

READ MORE: Motorists demand ‘respect for the elderly’ as they slam age proposals

In a poll that ran fro 1pm on Tuesday, February 7, to 1:30pm on Friday, February 10, Express.co.uk asked readers: “Should motorists have to surrender their driving licence at 85?”

In total, 3,462 readers responded, with the overwhelming majority, 91 per cent (3,148 people), answering “no”, those over 85 should be allowed to keep their driving licence.

Whereas eight per cent (278 people) said “yes” they should have to surrender their licence, and a further one per cent (36 people) said they did not know.

In the comments below the accompanying article, readers discussed their thoughts on elderly drivers.

However, username expattaffy1 commented on their personal experience and concluded: “I think I would be in favour of an age cap, to be honest.”

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, shared her thoughts on how driving gives older people the freedom to lead independent lives but warned that motorists need to be honest about their abilities.

She told National World: “We are all required to disclose certain medical conditions to the DVLA that could possibly impede our capacity to drive safely. These include health problems like stroke, Parkinson’s Disease and glaucoma, most of which are a lot more common as we get older.

“The ability to keep driving makes a huge psychological and practical difference to many older people, but the reality is that for many of us, the time will come when the smart thing to do is to hang up the keys for good. Knowing when the right time is to call it a day with driving can be difficult and sometimes our loved ones may realise that’s the position we have reached before we do ourselves.”