Half of Britons would back a ban on drivers over the age of 60, from driving on the roads according to a new survey in the daily express.
The YouGov poll, carried out for CarTakeBack takes aim at older motorists following the Prince Philip car accident. More than half of the population want the legal driving age raised and two-thirds want compulsory retesting when a driver reaches a certain age. Over two thirds (69 per cent) think that drivers over 60 should have to re-sit their test, while about 49 per cent think drivers in this age range should have their license revoked.
The major reasons sighted for supporting this ban were a concern that older drivers had slower reactions (71 per cent), bad eyesight (47 per cent), drove too slowly and caused congestion (33 per cent), (26 per cent) also believe that older drivers have forgotten the rules of the road, which is an additional risk. At 70 drivers are prompted to check and self-certify that they are fit to drive.
Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart’s director of policy and research, said: “Not surprisingly, the survey shows that many people blame the old and the young for crashes when this is not always the case”.
Younger drivers are believed to not be mature enough to be trusted on roadways, over confident, while some would like to see the driving age raised to 21. These all lead to the call for the introduction of a comprehensive Graduated Driver Licensing system in the UK.
A spokesperson for road safety charity Brake added: “It is essential to have robust procedures in place that ensure younger and older drivers are not inadvertently putting themselves and others at risk.
Picture – Motoring research
