After Express.co.uk reported there were more than 134,000 drivers over the age of 90, many drivers debated whether a maximum driving age should be introduced to protect road safety. According to the Older Drivers Task Force, there will be more than one million drivers over the age of 85 by 2025.
The Task Force said it is “vital” that changes are made to “prepare for this demographic change”.
One Express.co.uk commenter, MissingEUAlready2, said: “If you reach a century with a clean licence and insurance history it should tell you a thing or two.
“As does insurance loading for young drivers.”
Another reader, using the nickname old woman, claimed: “In my 70th year I decided to re-test myself with an advanced driver’s course and test which I passed with flying colours.
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The DVLA will automatically send drivers a D46P application form 90 days before their 70th birthday, allowing drivers to renew.
In recent months, the DVLA has been dealing with a backlog of paper applications as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
This has massively affected its ability to process paper driving licence applications.
If a driver has sent the DVLA a paper renewal application for a driving licence if they are over 70, any applications sent after April 25 have not yet been processed.
A third Express.co.uk commenter, under the handle MiniMiner, said: “As a retiree I have more time and tend to drive when everything is clear at the speed limit or below.
“I do see many drivers male and female doing crazy things, I see cyclists doing equally stupid things (they are uninsured) and pedestrians walking along in their own little cocoon with the Mr Spock earphones in.
“Why target the more mature driver. Crazy.”
At present, there are around 5.7 million drivers aged over 70 – almost double the number in 2012.
Proposals were put forward at the end of 2021, suggesting that mandatory eyesight testing should be introduced for elderly drivers to ensure they are still safe to be on the road.
The Older Driver Task Force recommended that the DVLA should require evidence of an eyesight test at age 75.
It said the DVLA, insurers and others should also encourage vision checks every two years, particularly from age 60.
The Government offers free eyesight tests to those over 60, with more frequent eye tests having significant wider health benefits for all drivers.
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