A petition calling on motorists to retake their driving test when they reach the age of 65 could be considered for debate after the conclusion of a petition in a few days.
The petition was opened by Deniss Fomins who called on the Government to take action and require Britons to retake their driving test when they reach 65 years old, if they want their licence to remain valid.
The petition closes on February 22 having ran for almost six months and has already amassed support from the public.
The current rule for drivers means they don’t have to take mandatory tests or health checks after obtaining their licence no matter how old they become, although they are required to inform the DVLA if they are no longer fit to drive.
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The petition closes on February 22 having ran for almost six months
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However, at age 70, all drivers must self-certify their fitness to drive and renew their licence, something they need to do every three years thereafter.
In the petition, Fomins said: “I travel a lot, and often see older drivers who I believe should not be driving. Some misuse turn signals, others appear to have sight issues. Reactions also worsen with age.”
The Government currently requires drivers to wear glasses or contact lenses every time they drive and meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuteness of at least decimal 0.5 measured on the Snellen scale.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, offered no support for retesting older drivers but did support calls for eyesight check-ups.
The expert said: “One thing that would allow all drivers – not just those at an arbitrary old age – to help judge their fitness to drive would be compulsory eye tests when licences are renewed.
“Many families can and do play their part by having that difficult discussion with an elderly loved one who might need to vacate the driver’s seat.
Data from the Department for Transport found that older drivers have slower reaction times and, if involved in serious crashes, are more likely to have failed to look properly than younger motorists.
The slower reactions contributed to 30 per cent of incidents in which at least one person was killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads between 2016 and 2021 involving drivers aged over 70.
Taking the poll to social media, one user said the petition would force the majority of drivers off the road.
He explained: “If not using indicators or driving correctly is the reason [Fomins] thinks over 65-year-olds should take a test, that would put about 80 per cent of drivers off the road. Car manufacturers might as well not put them on cars these days.”
He added that not using indicators should become the driving offence rather as that would make more sense than making older people retest.
Another driver posted on Facebook to express his disapproval of the poll by stating that it’s not all older drivers who don’t drive well.
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The Department for Transport found that older drivers have slower reaction times
PA
He explained: “I’m not driving an SUV that I can’t really handle, or a taxi, which I drive slowly so that I can achieve the maximum fare. I’m also not some nutter who weaves in traffic because I want to treat all roads as a motorway.
“I passed my driving test back in 1977 so I have nearly 50 years driving experience and I was obviously taught well. The main problem is that many people weren’t taught to drive effectively, and many are lazy drivers or have adopted bad habits.”
If the survey reaches 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.