By GB News (World News) | Created at 2025-04-05 05:16:15 | Updated at 2025-04-05 11:38:31
6 hours ago
The number of elderly drivers on UK roads has doubled over the past decade with experts calling for mandatory eyesight tests to ensure motorists remain safe while travelling.
Current regulations require drivers to self-certify their fitness to drive when renewing their licence, which occurs every three years for those over 70.
But road safety campaigners have argued that this system is inadequate, with the Association of Optometrists (AOP) lobbying for legal requirements to have vision professionally checked at licence renewal.
The issue has gained attention following several high-profile incidents involving elderly drivers with impaired vision, which has caused fatal results in some cases.
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Reports found that elderly drivers are twice as likely to cause an incident on UK roads than any other age group
GETTY/PA
Under current rules, drivers are only required to read a number plate from 20 metres when they first take their test, with no further mandatory checks throughout their driving career.
But the AOP has campaigned for a change in law to require vision checks when drivers first apply for a licence and at renewal times.
"At the moment, it's just a tick box exercise and there will always be some individuals who say their vision is OK when it is not," said road safety advocate at the group Emma Damen.
For most drivers, licence renewal occurs every 10 years, but those over 70 must renew every three years, still relying on self-certification rather than professional assessment.
The tragic case of Jim Tassell highlighted the devastating consequences of elderly drivers with poor vision remaining on the roads.
The 70-year-old cyclist was killed in 2021 after being struck by an 82-year-old motorist who could only see three metres ahead. Despite being informed by his optometrist that his eyesight was failing, the driver continued to get behind the wheel.
Research published in Ophthalmic Epidemiology in December 2024 found that any visual field loss increases the chances of being involved in a collision by 84 per cent.
The report found that drivers with severe visual field loss were nearly twice as likely to be involved in an accident, according to lead author Dr Siobhan Manners of The University of Western Australia.
Professor Nick Rumney, owner of BBR Optometry, suggested making driving "one of the core questions" during sight tests. "Driving can be a little bit like turning over a stone – if you don't ask, you don't know," he explained.
