The study was conducted by Britain’s Institute of Advanced Motorists and questioned 1,628 individuals, both members and non-members of the organization.
68 percent of the respondents believe that mandatory retesting of drivers that exceed the age of 70 would be a measure with direct road safety effects. However, 77 percent of those questioned consider that young drivers are a bigger threat to road safety than older drivers.
“It is good news that most drivers are aware that young drivers are the demographic most in need of help, but worrying that the mandatory retest has a fairly high level of support - one in four polled agreed strongly that a mandatory retest at 70 would benefit road safety,” said Neil Greig, IAM Director of Policy and Research.
“The IAM believes we need to reassure the public that older drivers do not represent a disproportionate risk. Eight per cent of drivers are over 70 and they are involved in around four per cent of injury crashes. But 15 per cent of drivers are in their teens and 20s and they are involved in 34 per cent of injury crashes – a far higher number,” Greig added.
The institute considers that a centralized retesting system that would cover the UK’s territory would be affected by bureaucracy and therefore would not be effective. Instead, the organization recommends offering driving assessments for older drivers.
“Retesting at 70 would be a mammoth administrative task with little road safety benefit and the Government and safety bodies must work together to communicate the facts about older drivers more widely,” explained Greig.
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