3 days ago
The proof that older drivers are not the most dangerous
Drivers between 17 and 24 are twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured at the wheel as those aged over 70, data from the Department for Transport show.
As the Government prepares to introduce compulsory eye tests for the over-70s, analysis suggests that serious accidents are more common among the youngest drivers than the oldest.
Brian Macdowell, a spokesman for the Association of British Drivers, warned of 'unintended consequences' from the planned crackdown on older drivers.
He said: 'We think it needs a much more comprehensive review of the subject.'
Statistics show that 121.5 drivers aged between 18 and 24 are killed for every billion vehicle miles travelled, compared with 60.9 for over-70s (and just 30.9 for those in between). The data covers travel within Great Britain in 2023, the latest year for which figures are available.
Young men in particular are to blame for the age disparity, being three times more likely to be involved in a deadly or life-threatening accident than over-70s. The numbers for women are broadly similar across both age groups.
Overall, the under-20s and over-70s account for a broadly similar proportion of drivers who are injured on the roads, respectively at 8.2 and 9.1 per cent of the total where an age was recorded in 2023.
But when it comes to severe injury and death, the older group is considerably more likely to be affected, at 9.1 of the total compared with 16.2 per cent.
This is likely an indication of the fact that older drivers are typically more frail, rather than because they are more of a danger in the driving seat.
DVLA records towards the end of that same year showed almost 6.2 million full or provisional driving licence entitlements held by those aged 70-plus, relative to just under 2.6 million to those under 21.
Although the data does not necessarily back up eye tests for the over-70s, there is a marked rise in the likelihood of serious accidents later in life. Drivers aged 86 and older had a higher rate of death or serious injury, at 202.5 per billion miles travelled.
Mr Macdowell added: 'We're not per se against some regulation that requires you to have an eye test, but we do not think it should be targeted just on people over 70.'
'It could be a way forward, but not if it's a draconian step, which could involve people losing their licences, because that is the risk of these proposals, that they have unintended consequences.'
Police data show that older drivers are much more likely to be involved in an accident where one cause was a failure to look properly. This was a factor in 28 per cent of cases involving the over-70s between 2019 and 2023, compared to 19 per cent for younger motorists.
However, young people in collisions are far more likely to have been recorded as driving drunk or on drugs.
Some 7.1 per cent of those 20 and under were found to have been impaired by alcohol, to 0.9 per cent of those 70 and over. The comparable figures for drugs came to 5.8 and 0.2 per cent respectively.
The overhaul of UK road safety legislation is also tipped to include a reduction of the drink-drive limit.
Separate data show older people are far more likely to be reliant on their cars to access essential services, thus risking being cut off should their licence be withdrawn.
Of the 10 local authorities with the highest proportion of people aged 70 or over as of the middle of last year, seven were classified as 'rural' by the Office for National Statistics.
Across the 32 local authorities in England and Wales where at least a fifth of the population was at least in their seventies, there were an average of 8.6 supermarkets per 100 square kilometres – substantially more sparse than the 53.4 across other councils.
A similar pattern emerges for post offices, with respective concentrations of 6.1 to 18.1, and pharmacies at 4.8 to 39.5.
Seb Goldin, chief executive of Red Driver Training, however, described it as 'totally inadequate' that drivers aged over 70 'can self-certify that they can see' and highlighted that a coroner criticised the system earlier this year.
He said: 'We'd be keen that [the government] goes further than the initial proposals, and also include showing evidence of an eyesight test at the driving test.
'At the moment, it's the same measure of how good your eyesight is as when the driving test was created in the 1930s, namely can you read a number plate at a certain distance.'
