Elderly drivers are still safe, but they need to know their limits

How old is too old to be behind the wheel of a car?

Sadly, many Britons would say that, while it is possible to be a good driver past the age of retirement, it should be mandatory for those hitting 65 or 70 to take regular tests to check that they are up to the
task.

Indeed, for some, older drivers represent almost as big a nuisance on the nation's roads as boy racers, a view that is seemingly shared by many insurance companies, with Age Concern and Help the Aged having
revealed that around one-in-two make it a policy of automatically barring elderly motorists from being given cover.

However, the evidence to support such a prejudice doesn't add up and in fact, research has shown that drivers over the age of 70 are far less likely to injure either themselves or others than those in their 20s.

According to a report from the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM), the proportion of Britons on the roads who are over the age of 70 currently stands at seven per cent, yet this group is responsible for just four per cent of all accidents.

This compares favourably with the fact that 15 per cent of drivers in the UK are either in their 20s or their teens, but are responsible for 34 per cent of crashes in which one or more parties are injured.

What's more, the idea that older drivers, whether it's through their years of wisdom or cautious approach to getting from A to B, are the safest is further reinforced by additional statistics which show that men in their 70s make far more trips in their cars than their younger counterparts, relying as they do on their vehicles for mobility and access to social activities.

That said, the IAM report also points out several areas where older drivers do seem to be particularly vulnerable, with this set to become an increasingly pertinent issue as the nation ages and the number of
male drivers over the age of 70 trebles over the next 20 years.

For example, though their more-restrained driving style makes this age group at lesser risk of a mishap in a normal traffic situation, they are more likely to have an accident while negotiating junctions, roundabouts
or high-speed slip roads.

In addition, those over the age of 85 have also been found to be four times more likely to have caused a crash that to be the innocent victim of one, suggesting that, while diminished skills may not be apparent at
65 or even 75, it is nevertheless the case that after a certain age, motorists pose a mounting danger to themselves and other road users.

Significantly, however, in spite of the calls for compulsory retesting of older drivers, it seems a better idea is to encourage this demographic to realise their own limits and to act accordingly.

For instance, older drivers tend to take fewer trips on motorways and are also less likely to get behind the wheel in poor light or harsh weather conditions, while many will also routinely look to stay off the
roads in peak hours.

So, just as younger drivers need to recognise the responsibilities that come with being given the freedom of the roads, so too should older motorists take it upon themselves to reassess their own abilities and to adapt their driving habits accordingly, with this common sense approach making a blanket clampdown on elderly drivers largely unnecessary.