Focus on helping older drivers to drive safely not compulsory tests

“Older drivers are among the safest on the road and represent a much smaller risk than drivers less than 25 years. Therefore, it is hard to justify the imposition of compulsory medical or driving tests at the age of 70 on road safety grounds,” says Neil Greig, IAM Trust Director.

“The focus should be on one-to-one professional assessment to help ageing drivers to understand when and where it may be best not to drive, based on their abilities – and to support them and their relatives in deciding themselves when they should stop driving.”

According to the IAM Trust, research and accident records of older drivers suggest that compulsory driving tests would be a totally disproportionate response to the scale of the problem, as the reduction in the number of accidents would be minimal.Research also shows that most older drivers do know when the time comes to stop driving – and they do stop. Equally, family doctors are now much more aware of their role in advising older patients about their fitness to drive.

Neil Greig 020 8996 9772 neil.greig@iamtrust.org.uk

Barry Walsh 020 8996 9776 barry.walsh@iamtrust.org.uk