Would you be happy with a driving curfew over the age of 70?
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is reported to have held discussions with Driving Mobility, the network of driving assessment centres, about new rules for motorists over 70 years of age.
Under the proposals, drivers over 70 who are in poor health may be allowed to continue driving if they agree to abide by curfews and restrictions on how far they can travel.
The new ‘graduated driving licences’ could see drivers over 70, suffering with health problems, restricted to an area of just 20 or 30 miles from their home alongside a proposed ban on driving after dark.
Edward Trewhella, chief executive of Driving Mobility, said that many elderly drivers tend to stick to their local areas anyway when driving, so this process would regularise that, and make it legal for them to do so as long as they didn’t take a trip outside of an area or outside of a time restriction.’
At present, a driving licence expires when a motorist reaches the age of 70 and those who wish to stay on the road are required to contact the DVLA.
They must also make the organisation aware of any health conditions they have which could affect their safety behind the wheel – and a review is carried out every three years.
Would you be happy with a curfew if it meant you could keep your licence? Do you believe this would be a fair way of allowing over 70s in poor health to keep driving or do you think the current system should stay as it is?
What are your views?
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Once they get away with that, it will not stop there.
If we listen to politicians rhetoric we're a free people. No we're not!
Our parents rolled over and allowed Barbara Castle to put speeding laws in place; no one complained when the Blair-child began to take away our freedom to raise our kids. The State raises and indoctrinates our kids - they no longer grow in our own image.
Now there's a move to regulate when we must cease driving.
Come on ... do you really want the State, in all it's magnificent ignorance, to tell us when and how to die? It's very close even as I write.
Driving is my last pleasure in life ,anywhere and everywhere , in a
Beemer sports car ,and I love every minute of it .As an after note ,I have never had an accident ,even though I spent my working life ,driving on motor ways, When lorry drivers in particular were very safe drivers, Age is a number ,and I would quite cheerfully lie about my age ,if it meant I could carry on driving .
Maybe the over 70's should be euthenised , OOPS !
Many are not truthful to themselves regarding their health and ability to drive safely and competently.
Should they wish to drive they should have a medical and a driving assessment test at their own expense.
Also if they have a mobility car, then have a nominated driver as allowed who is under 70.
There are also so many community based cars for the elderly in many towns they can use. Here they have a dial a ride scheme.
If you are such an old man, who is unfit to drive ,get the bus .
And ,what the heck is a community based car ????
Confidence and ability, that's all it takes .
But, and perhaps I'm not alone here, the State has an impressive record of mission creep. What starts as a widely accepted idea but quickly grows to be a draconian measure for which few were prepared and many are damaged. This looks to me like a classic instance.
Further, Whitehall also has an outstanding record of not addressing a immediate problem but rather finding a much less significant issue to address and then claiming, through MPs they have acted on the urgency.
The urgency here is younger drivers attitude and behaviour on the road. As a man with IAM, Police and Class 1 training I find younger drivers, male and female, to be utterly selfish and ferociously competitive, neither of which makes for road safety. Setting a curfew for certain over seventies, which could well become a national curfew for over fifties, doesn't address the matter of our younger drivers.
What do you think?
It's worth remembering, the government is constitutionally responsible for defence of the realm, foreign policy, national finance, administration of Justice and that's about all. Everything else they have accrued to themselves has been taken from local representatives and British enterprise by deceit.
Strictly speaking, according to precedent and our various written inviolable statutes, most of the laws under which we now labour, and the taxes we are compelled to pay, are illegal.
Surely if the British people had wanted to be governed by an over-arching Soviet we would have elected Corbyn.
No, I'm not a communist or other type of heretic, just a patriotic Brit who's looked into how we should be governed.
What a laugh, Seems that I still have it , AH ,, sports cars do it every time , Yup ..I am well over the delete age
further conversation ,about all manner of subjects,
I am not a "granny " , never had the inclination . Your comment about resistance, wedges ,thick and thin, was a tad incomprehensible,, sorry ,
Good result + independence Bad result + change of lifestyle.
I'd except some sort of competency test when renewing the licence every 3 years but a blanket ban just isn't on. This government relies heavily on us oldies so it would be very brave of them to push this through
I am a " Qualified Wrinkly , "All I need ,is an iron that steams wrinkles out. but I do scrub up well !!!
Unless there is a limiting medical condition or other dangerous - to - drive illness or element, we should make sure this doesn't happen!
If such a draconian measure came in, would we get half price insurance or half price Road Tax? I think not.
I have to admit that I no longer drive to the West Country from Yorkshire in one stint, but that is because I recognise that tiredness can kill. That does not make be a worse driver, it makes me a better one.
The mitigating factor is ability, not age. The two are not necessarily proportionally linked as ably demonstrated on a daily basis on any motorway of your choosing.
If you have health problems some people cope more than others, I have arthritis and when I asked the specialist is I needed an operation he said some will cope with this level of pain and other will not. Heart problems go from controlled to unknown within their little box till they die.
Perhaps we should go out on the streets to demonstrate about unfairness to the older generation, at least we would be more likely to wear masks, distance from each other and do it loudly but without violent behaviour.
Perhaps there is an argument for occasional testing of people over 70 but I personally don’t see the point in curtailing the distance travelled or the times of travelling. Surely, you are either up to standard or you’re not!
My concern is that making a rule to ban the sick would be extended to include all over 70s.
I drive every day and travel thousands of miles in a year.
My freedom would be curtailed should a ban eventually be imposed on over 70s.
I would like to know the figures for incidents in cars in other age groups
My daughter and family live 30 miles away so I would never see them if there was a curfew on distance.. I have 50+ driving experience years.
Stop picking on us.
DVLA rules need to be updated. I do believe that one is allowed to drive if you have good sight in only one eye!!
How about many of the younger drivers that drive too fast. Use their mobile phones. Drive over the limit. On drugs. Do not follow the highway code. I reckon they are more dangerous.
I for one can still fly a helicopter and drive a car with care both of which could cause considerable problems if involved in a accident, it also means I am fit and healthy and can still give a younger person a run for their money over 26 miles
I have recently lost my husband after 59 years being together. I did the driving over the last many years as he had Parkinson's disease.
However, I do not make a habit of going out in the dark as I don't like night driving. However, I have booked a local show in November for a night time performance and will use my car.
Also my son and family live over 200 miles away and I will be visiting them this year staying at a local caravan park and will of course be driving so I can go here and there seeing them and also going to local places.
So if I am not allowed to driving out of my local area, it would cost me a small fortune to get there and also not have a car as I would need to drive to my son's house anyway from the location I will be staying.
Common sense. I am retired and do not intend to travel long distances or go out in the dark, but when I want to, I will do so and nobody should be stopping me.
There is always the assumption that there is public transport available but that is not the case outside the large cities
Apart from that my reflexes seen pretty good. I used to be in the motor trade and enjoy driving, but also really need to be driving further than the distance they are suggesting.
Most older people already have those checks. I’m not yet 70, but with a relatively minor health 'scare' two years ago, the first thing my doctor did was to ban me from driving until tests were completed - which created some difficulty with work commitments for a couple of weeks!
My younger sister, on the other hand, knew she was incapable of driving when the early signs of Alzheimer’s set in at about 60 years old, yet she was still forced into looking for work in order to be able to claim the lowest level of basic financial support. She actually started one job - lasting only a few days before the employers realised their mistake! (My sister died last year a few days after her 64th birthday).
Given that retirement age is now 67 and likely to rise before too long, I think someone, somewhere needs to coordinate these bright ideas!
Many people in their 70s are fitter and healthier than those much younger.
Maybe a health and vision check at 80 plus.
Those wearing glasses or contact lenses are seeing their optician regularly, I thought if an optician felt your vision wasn’t good enough for driving they contacted DVLA as I’m sure GPS do if you are on medication that would affect driving.
We’ve had a year of lockdown and not seeing family, further restrictions like a curfew for over 70s must surely be a breach of their rights!
Simply a doctor should confirm EVERYONE’s capability to drive no matter their age every 5 years. If you have had a medical problem which necessitates that you stop driving for a period of time than you need to be cleared to recommence driving. If over 2 years then a shortened driving test.
Access to your own transportation is essential for all country dwellers, more clarity is required on the proposal, it should be for every one not just silversurfers. If a younger person has an at fault accident which results in a conviction should they not have similar restrictions put in place for say a year. Possibly this would make the road safer for all given that statistics show they’re more likely to be involved in an accident.
This age restriction for driving licenses is antiquated as almost 20% of the UK population is classed as being in old age (over 65) compared with 10% in the 1950s.
Unfortunately, Government wants to control society: it should be up to individuals and their Doctors to decide eligibility for driving. I really felt quite sad when I had to renew my driving licence last year and , I'm sure, I'm not the only one!
We are the generation who revolutionised society throughout the decades, from the 1950s, so don't stop now!
We don't need anymore laws to dictate how we live the next 20 or so years of our lives! Having to renew driving licences every three years is bad enough: no more please!
BUT having spent the final 26 years of my working life teaching folks how to drive buses and lorries and seeing how driving standards do deteriorate my solution would be for 70s and over to be subject to a 12 monthly driving assessment
This would be to be sure there is a safe standard being maintained with positive advice being given either by a DSA Driving Examiner or by registered Driving Schools that teach Instructors
If the assessment showed up major misgivings in the drive then the candidate would be expected to give up their licence or undergo a licence retention test
I have maintained for a goodly number of years that all holders of a driving licence (whatever the vehicle) should be subject to a five yearly assessment on the same basis as mentioned for the 70 plus year olds
The only difference would be that if on a 5 yearly assessment the drive showed major problems the candidate would be required to sit a retest of the licence category of which they were assessed on
My family and friends are spread all over u. K.
Devon is a large county and restriction on miles would prohibit me seeing most of family and friends.