Over-70s facing driving curfew in licence shake-up
Over-70s in poor health may be allowed to continue driving if they agree to fit a tracking device restricting them to daylight hours near their home.
Licences expire when drivers turn 70, and those wanting to keep driving must inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of medical conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, diabetes — if it is treated with insulin — and any condition that affects both eyes or the total loss of sight in one eye. Reviews follow every three years.
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TRUE !! and yours truly has been going down the road of three [ 3 ] yearly renewals for the last nine years with no problems. The DVLA does require me to allow them to contact my doctor for verification of my claims, as entered on the Renewal Paperwork, so should MY statement differ seriously from that of my Doctor, then it would seem to be sensible for restrictions to be put in place UNTIL such time as one or other statement is found to be correct and then appropriate action to be taken.
Brian
{ I Can just imagine being dragged, squealing, on to the Crewe Town Square on a cold, wet Saturday & my licence being taken away & publicly shredded
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It is the same with eye site tests (not the Barnard Castle type) the optition informed me that i have the start of cateract in my left eye but as yet ,it is not bad enough to advise our doctor,but will be checked on each annual eye test
which would then be a legal requirement to advise the DVLA and could affect my driving if the ideas being formulated are brought into law
it is in some of todays papers
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Being a type one diabetic I have had a three year restricted licence sine the age of 17 and more recently as our motorhome is over 3.5t have a one year licence which is always a nightmare to renew requiring medicals and hospital visits
Although it is a pain surely it is better than having lots of people out on the road that are not safe? I would not want an under 70 year old driving with any of the listed health issues so not really sure what your grievance is, are you saying anyone should be allowed to drive regardless of health problems?
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It is indeed in the press but the version I found makes it clearer that it is not all over 70s who could be affected but those who, due to medical conditions, might currently lose their licences at 70. The last two paragraphs show how the proposal would be a benefit, not an added restriction.
"Pensioners aged over 70 in poor health may be allowed to continue driving if they agree to fit a tracking device to their car that restricts them to daylight hours near their home.
Under current rules licences expire when drivers turn 70 and those wanting to keep driving must inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) of medical conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and diabetes.
They must submit their licence for a review every three years.
But new proposals being discussed by the DVLA and Driving Mobility, the official network of driving assessment centres, would enable the over-70s in affected categories to be eligible for “graduated driving licences”.
Rather than losing their licence because of ill health, they would potentially be restricted to driving within a radius of 20 or 30 miles from home and barred from driving at night."
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Any notifiable medical condition results in 3 year renewal anyway subject to the appropriate test. I have mild glaucoma and have to play "space invaders" every three years for my licence renewal. If true and implemented, daytime and radius restriction would be difficult to police notwithstanding 'black boxes'. At least I can make it to the ferry in daylight and escape to "over there" if the worst comes to the worst.
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It's just come up on the BBC News site, and the concluding paragraphs concur with your impression of the proposals, AD.
"A recent pilot scheme in Hampshire, where elderly drivers involved in a car accident could opt for a fitness-to-drive test rather than prosecution, found that 30% had not notified the DVLA of their health conditions.
Edmund King, president of the AA told the Sunday Times that rather than introducing restrictions on over-70s, medical professionals should be flagging motorists who are not fit to drive.
He said: “They are there to save lives and what better way to save lives than to prevent someone who you know is capable of killing through their own medical condition.” "
The worrying bit is the high percentage of drivers that had not notified the DVLA. I suppose that had they had an accident then their insurance would be null and void.
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As far as I'm concerned what passes between me and my doctor is sacrosanct, in the same way as anything disclosed in the confessional and between me and my legal representative. Trust is everything. In my opinion undermining that trust will do more harm than good.
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You could always say to .gov you’ll not drive again. . .That’ll show em LLM👍🏻
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As far as I’m concerned they can ask who they like even my accountant, if it keeps me on the road I’ll do anything👍🏻
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As, apparently, 60 is the new 50 and 70 the new 60, and people will soon be expected to work until nearly 70, then maybe it is time to raise this age restriction. Also the way some of the younger generation drive around here, speeding, overtaking in inappropriate places and cutting corners when turning I know that I would prefer to be driven by most older more careful drivers.
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It worries me little like that, AD ~~ I underwent enough humiliation in the years I turned out on the King George Playing Fields, Crewe and / or Barony Park, Nantwich pretending to be a footballer, or, in more recent years, a cricketer in full whites if you please
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Do we allow airline pilots to fly without a medical?
Drivers kill more people.
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I saw that this wasn’t actually for “daylight” but for set hours - starting at 7am. Also - how close to home is the restriction? As an example - if someone has to get to an early hospital appointment, they may not be a) allowed due to location or b) able to start their journey early enough to avoid busy traffic. If people are capable of driving then surely forcing them to join the busy traffic doesn’t make sense. Not all health issues make night time more problematic.
Also -why is this specific to over 70s? If you have a significant health issue which affects driving, will the same restrictions be applied?
Seems like age discrimination to me.
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I being over seventy ,try not to drive after dusk or before dawn ,as with the vast majority of us older drivers (opticians advise) because as we age the iris in the eye is much slower at reacting to changes in lighting levels and with lights on vehicles being much brighter than in the past,,dazzle from oncoming vehicles.is becoming a major hazard and when passed our eyes take longer to reajust, and some will not accept there is a problem when driving in darkness
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I think you are missing the point that this is a proposed alternative to certain drivers losing their licences at 70 so is improving their situation, not worsening it. See my post on page 1 for fuller details.
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I'm about to renew my 3 year licence again and all I'm worried about is that they'll leave off my B + E entitlement.
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Neither I nor OH have had that happen, Jill. In fact, it's been years since I read of anyone experiencing that so hopefully all will be well 🤞
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Jill
Providing you don't have a notifiable medical condition there is no reason why they would. When Margaret progressed to taking insulin she had to notify the DVLA and they did reduce her entitlement to the basic license not that it particularly bothered her because she never towed the caravan or drove the motorhome.
David
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No issues to prevent me from keeping it - just always wary of human error.
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I feel the same Jill, there's been an 11 month extension for renewals and I've just sent off for mine half way through the extension. Wondering how long it will take due to recent strike action etc. Thought I'd better get on with it! Now driving round with a bit of paper to prove I've done it.
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Got mine back for yet another 3 years before my last one expired, there was some delay but they could be tackling renewals according to expiry dates.
Your entilements are now stored on line and you can check these so it should not be a problem, as some have had in the past, to get your entitlement re-instated should it be accidently left out. I keep photo coipies of my licence with my vehicle documents just in case. Alternatively don't return your old licence until the new one arrives. I think that is permissable when renewing a B licence but not a C1
peedee
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