Should Older Drivers Have To Retake Their Driving Test?

According to a poll conducted by YouGov UK, 63% of MPs support the move that older drivers should retake their driving test when they reach a certain age. The most popular age that MPs would like the drivers to retake the test would be 75. Currently, British drivers must renew their driving licence when they are 70 but are not required to take a test.

Who Thinks Older Drivers Should Retake Their Driving Test?

On the poll conducted by YouGov UK, Conservative MPs are more in favour of the retests than Labour MPs. 69% of Conservative MPs backed the proposed retakes compared to 58% of Labour politicians.

There have recently been high-profile incidents involving older drivers. Earlier this year, Prince Philip was involved in a car crash and there was a lot of surprise that the royal was still driving at the age of 97. Following the incident, Prince Philip surrendered his driving licence and a national debate emerged about the safety of older drivers. In 2017, Benjamin Brooks-Dutton launched a petition for older drivers to have to take compulsory retesting every three years. Brooks-Dutton’s wife Desreen Brooks was killed by an 82 year-old driver in 2012.  Although Brooks-Dutton’s petition amassed more than a quarter of a million signatures, it failed to become legislation.

In Brooks-Dutton’s petition, he states: “No one assesses an older person’s driving skills or reactions, no one checks their eyesight or hearing, no one sees if their reactions are still sharp enough to stop in an emergency.”

Who Doesn’t Think Older Drivers Should Retake Their Driving Test?

Michael Pace who is a specialist motoring solicitor at Andrew & Co thinks that compulsory tests should take place throughout drivers live as opposed to a certain age.

He told Yahoo News UK: “In my opinion we should be tested at a much younger age than 75 then retested again every 10 years.

“At the moment you take your test at 17 and you’ve got a license until 70 and it’s then renewed on your own say so.

“We’ve got to get to a situation where we are retested in some form or another.”

Rebecca Ashton who is the head of policy and research at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart also echoed Pace’s sentiments. She said: “I don’t think that compulsory tests is the best way forward right now,” she said.

“I don’t see why when we pass our test at 17, that should be it as far as our advancement in driving goes. The test says that we are safe to be on the road but it doesn’t say that we are at a particularly good or high standard.”

In our recent blog post Why Age Shouldn’t Matter Behind the Wheel, we found that according to statistics older drivers did not pose a threat.

What Do You Think?

Do you agree with British politicians that older drivers need to retake their tests? If you still need to take a driving test, check out our list of driving instructors HERE.

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