01-08-2025
Should driving rules be changed for the elderly? Call for new tests after pensioner's death
A woman whose 79-year-old mother died after pulling out into oncoming traffic is calling for a change to rules for older drivers.
Geraldine Gibson was crossing the A30 near Launceston in Cornwall when she pulled into the path of another car.
She suffered multiple serious injuries and died, as did her pet dog, and the other driver was left with minor injuries.
An inquest heard there was nothing the other driver could have done to avoid it.
National Highways said the junction she was crossing, where there had been other accidents, has now been changed.
But Gibson's daughter Claire Eady, from West Sussex, has called for changes to driving rules for older people, saying current laws are "unsafe and inadequate".
Currently there is no upper age limit for driving in the UK, and the onus is on drivers to notify the DVLA of any conditions affecting their fitness to drive.
'You might not kill yourself but you could kill other people'
Speaking to Yahoo News UK, Eady said that needed to change.
"There should definitely be something in place when people hit 70," she said. "At least eye tests and looking at their ability to drive. Even some people at that age can't read number plates if they have to, and there's no requirement on opticians to report that."
She previously told the BBC that if rules for older drivers were different, her mother would still possibly be alive, saying age was "absolutely a factor" in her crash.
She told the broadcaster she believed arthritis and a stroke may have affected her mum's driving, revealing that she had previously had a separate near-collision.
Eady has explained that she understands why elderly people would not voluntarily want to put themselves in a position where their license is taken away, especially given the potential impact on their independence, telling the BBC: "You can't really rely on the individual to do that... especially if it's their only way of getting out."
She said she didn't think her mother would ever have thought to stop driving because there were "too many things that depended on her being out in a car".
But speaking to Yahoo News UK, she added: "It's the effect it has on other people - you might not kill yourself but you could kill somebody else."
What are the rules for drivers over 70 in the UK?
There is currently no upper age limit for drivers in the UK, but when you reach 70 you have to renew your driving licence, then every three years after that.
Renewal is free of charge and you don't have to retake a driving test, but you do have to make a health declaration when renewing your licence and if you have a health condition or disability, you may have to have your driving ability assessed.
DVLA guidance says health professionals should inform it if a patient cannot or will not, but they are not legally required to.
Eady is calling for mandatory testing for people over the age of 70 and for medical professionals to be legally required to notify authorities of any health conditions that could affect their driving.
In 2023, the government said around a quarter of all car drivers killed were older drivers, with 11% of all casualties in car collisions being in collisions involving older drivers.
It said between 2004 and 2023, the number of killed or seriously injured (KSI) casualties from a collision involving at least one older car driver increased by 12% from 3,082 to 3,451, while the number of KSI casualties in collisions involving other aged car drivers fell 45% from 37,023 to 20,397.
It also found that over the period 2019 to 2023, the most common contributory factor allocated to vehicles driven by an older car driver involved in fatal or serious collisions was 'driver failed to look properly' followed by 'driver failed to judge another person's path or speed'.
Should driving rules be changed for the elderly in the UK?
Do you agree with Eady's belief that elderly drivers should have their ability re-assessed or their eye sight checked? Have your say in our poll below.
