Elderly motorists should be banned from driving, claim almost half of Brits

dailystar.co.uk:

CarTakeBack.com and YouGov, found the most common reason behind wanting older drivers to resit their tests was “older drivers don’t have fast enough reaction times".

Many respondents said that compulsory tests should take place between 71 and 75, reports the Express.But, some in favour of a complete ban over a certain age voted for this to come into play between age 86 to 90 (10%).And, 14% voted that people over 90 should be banned outright.Younger adults, between the ages of 18 and 24, believed the compulsory retest should happen at a younger age.Around 37% of younger people thought this should be between ages 60 and 70 compared to just 13% of those aged 55+ who said the same.A spokesperson from road safety charity Brake said: “For older drivers, licence renewal at 70 prompts them to check and self-certify they are fit to drive but this process can be improved.“The Government needs to look at how fitness to drive regulation can be more rigorously enforced, such as compulsory eyesight testing throughout a driver’s career, rather than simply expecting drivers to self-certify that they are fit to drive.”Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research, said: ”In reality, new drivers are the most at risk group and older drivers are among the safest.“Statistics do however show that drivers over 85 do start to have more crashes as their faculties fade and their experience is no longer enough to compensate.“Older drivers really value their independence and it may be that a tougher testing regime is an acceptable trade off to allow them to keep driving.”One in three drivers also think people should resit their tests at age 60 and half of drivers thought the same for when you turn 70.Those in Northern Ireland agree the.