Pensioners aged over 70 in poor health maybe restricted to driving only during daylight hours and near to home

LONDON March 30: 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”.

The discussions come as data shows an increase in the number of drivers over the age of 70 on the road, doubling over the last 25 years, the Sunday Times reports.

Statistics also show that the number of deaths on the road involving motorists in this age group also rose from 95 in 2010 to 145 in 2020.

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.