{"id":7815,"date":"2024-02-22T16:14:04","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/?p=7815"},"modified":"2025-02-26T23:25:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T23:25:47","slug":"should-elderly-drivers-be-required-to-retake-their-tests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/should-elderly-drivers-be-required-to-retake-their-tests\/","title":{"rendered":"Should elderly drivers be required to retake their tests?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the question being asked by a new petition that\u2019s recently been submitted to parliament, and whatever side of the fence you sit on, everyone can agree on one thing: it\u2019s certainly ruffled some feathers. Normally, people tend to stop driving mostly at their own discretion as they get older, or if they decide that they don\u2019t want a new vehicle after thinking: I need to scrap my car<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The proposals would change all that though \u2013 but only if they go through and succeed in becoming law. So, you might be asking \u2013 what are the chances of that?<\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening?<\/h2>\n

As we\u2019ve touched on above, essentially there\u2019s a new petition that\u2019s been submitted for elderly drivers to have to retake their tests to prove that they\u2019re still safe on the roads. Specifically, the petition suggests that the retest requirement should apply to everyone over 65. Or, to use the submitter\u2019s own words:<\/p>\n

“I would like the Government to require drivers to retake their driving at 65, if they want their driving licence to remain valid. 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.”<\/p>\n

The petition was only submitted earlier this month (February 2024), and it will run for six months, so it\u2019ll be interesting to see how much traction it builds up in that time.<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re wondering, right now there\u2019s no legal requirement to take your test again once you reach a certain age. It\u2019s true that your licence does automatically expire when you hit your 70th birthday, but it\u2019s not a major issue \u2013 you just need to renew it with the DVLA.<\/p>\n

Many people choose to voluntarily stop driving once they reach a certain age, as they can often notice their eyesight or reflexes fading, and no longer feel that they\u2019re able to guarantee their own safety (or that of the other drivers around them). However, there\u2019s no universal legal requirement for this decision at the moment, leaving the decision up to the discretion of the individual in question \u2013 and that\u2019s perhaps the cause of concern.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been the reaction?<\/h2>\n

To be honest, people haven\u2019t been happy. At the time of writing, the petition<\/strong><\/a> isn\u2019t even at 500 signatures, but the amount of support it\u2019s received doesn\u2019t seem to be proportionate to the amount of press it seems to be generating.<\/p>\n

In particular, a lot of the headlines are voicing concerns about discrimination and ageism towards older drivers, and lots of the comments in online articles have pointed out that reaching the age of 65 doesn\u2019t automatically equate to suddenly becoming bad at driving. And of course, statistically it\u2019s still younger drivers that are over-represented<\/strong><\/a> in road accidents.<\/p>\n

The controversy has been so significant that it\u2019s been enough to get the AA to respond \u2013 Edmund King, the President of the AA, has been quite vocal with reminders that there are already massive driving test backlogs, and adding to them with new tests (which may or may not be necessary) maybe isn\u2019t the best idea. In the words of the man himself:<\/p>\n

“At the moment, it is very difficult for new drivers. In many areas, there\u2019s something like a six-month delay \u2013 there\u2019s a 500,000 [test] backlog. If you then add in checks for older drivers, it really would set the calendar back by years.”<\/p>\n

Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, was equally reluctant to back retesting older drivers. However, he did support the idea of eyesight checks, saying; \u201cone thing that would allow all drivers \u2013 not just those at an arbitrary old age \u2013 to help judge their fitness to drive would be compulsory eye tests when licences are renewed.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the chances of the petition succeeding?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s be honest \u2013 right now, the chances of the proposals becoming law appear to be slim, especially when you consider all the free press it\u2019s been getting from outrage clicks in the past week or so. That means if you\u2019re within the age band in question, you probably don\u2019t have much to worry about in terms of getting older; it\u2019s still all up to your own discretion. The only thing you really need to concern yourself about is the age of your car, and what happens when that gets too old to drive. And that\u2019s exactly where we come in.<\/p>\n

With more than 40 years of experience behind us, we\u2019ve refined our process to make sure it\u2019s never been easier to scrap your car. All you need to do is\u00a0enter your car reg and postcode<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0into the fields on our site, and we\u2019ll have your scrap car quote to you in seconds. So\u2026 curious to find out how much your car is worth?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the question being asked by a new petition that\u2019s recently been submitted to parliament, and whatever side of the fence you sit on, everyone can agree on one thing: it\u2019s certainly ruffled some feathers. Normally, people tend to stop driving mostly at their own discretion as they get older, or if they decide that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":7819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n