Turns out Britons support an 80+ driving ban more than you’d think. New ChooseMyCar research puts the figure at 38 per cent, people who genuinely believe over-80s shouldn’t be driving. Dig into the younger age brackets, though, and it’s a different story entirely. More than half back the ban outright. So yeah, the conversation about older drivers on Britain’s roads just got a fresh jolt.
- 38 per cent of Britons think people aged 80 and over should be banned from driving, according to ChooseMyCar research
- Support is strongest among younger drivers, with 53 per cent of 18 to 45-year-olds backing a ban
- Department for Transport data shows 42 per cent of accidents involving drivers over 70 in 2023 were linked to sight problems
- The Government’s Road Safety Strategy is consulting on mandatory eyesight tests for drivers over 70, with the consultation closing on 11 May
Who’s Actually Backing the Ban
So what’s actually driving this? Turns out support wasn’t spread evenly at all. Gen Z and millennials, the 18 to 45 crowd, backed the ban hardest, 53 per cent of them. Pretty stark split, honestly. Says a lot about how differently generations think about risk on the road, especially when it’s their own parents or grandparents still driving.
Nick Zapolski, who founded ChooseMyCar, made a fair point though. Plenty of older drivers are still perfectly safe behind the wheel. But the research shows millions of Brits just aren’t comfortable with the idea of very elderly motorists out on busy roads. He flagged age-related health issues, poor eyesight especially, as something that genuinely does affect driving ability as people get older. Not about singling anyone out, he said. More about facing up to the fact that ageing bodies carry real risks.
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Why Eyesight Is the Real Issue
And the eyesight point isn’t just anecdotal chatter either. Department for Transport data obtained by This is Money showed that 42 per cent of accidents involving drivers over 70 in 2023 came down to sight-related problems specifically. That’s a fairly damning statistic on its own, and it’s a big part of why the current system of self-certification has come under so much fire recently.
Here’s the thing though. The UK currently has no mandatory eye test tied to age at all. Drivers over 70 simply have to renew their licence every three years instead of every ten, and self-declare that they still meet the required health and eyesight standards. Nobody actually checks this in practice. You fill in a form, tick a box, and that’s considered sufficient.
That gap has led to the UK being labelled the only country in Europe that issues licences to older drivers without a mandatory vision check attached. One expert went as far as calling the self-declaration system the laxest in Europe, and it’s easy to see why that particular phrase has stuck around in coverage of this issue.
Dr James Adeley, HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire, made similar comments after investigating four separate deaths caused by drivers who had impaired eyesight at the time. That’s not a small detail to gloss over when talking about road safety policy.
New Survey Shows Britons Support 80+ Driving Ban as Road Safety Debate Grows
In response to all this, the Government’s new Road Safety Strategy has opened a consultation looking specifically at mandatory eyesight tests for drivers over 70, alongside separate options for cognitive testing too. That consultation runs until 11 May, giving the public and road safety experts time to weigh in before anything becomes formal policy. Realistically, this brings the UK roughly in line with standards that other European countries have had in place for years already, rather than introducing anything particularly radical or unprecedented.
Worth saying too, none of this is really framed as a direct attack on older drivers as a group. Labour’s wider Road Safety Strategy is aiming to cut deaths and serious injuries on Britain’s roads by 65 per cent by 2035, with an even steeper target of 70 per cent for children under the age of 16. The over-80s driving ban conversation is really just one small piece of a much larger road safety push that touches every age group, not just the elderly.
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Will an Outright Ban Actually Happen
Whether an outright ban for over-80s ever actually becomes policy is a different question entirely, and there’s no clear indication right now that the Government is planning that specific step. What’s actually changing, at least for now, is the eyesight and cognitive testing side of things, not a blanket age cutoff for licences.
Still, with over a third of the public backing an outright ban and more than half of younger drivers agreeing with the idea, this is clearly a debate that isn’t going away quietly any time soon. Expect it to resurface again the next time a serious accident involving an elderly driver makes headlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the Dolomites located in Italy?
Northeastern Italy, spread across three regions – Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia – right up against the Austrian border.
What’s the closest major city to the Dolomites?
Venice, about 160km out, has the best flight connections if you’re coming from abroad. Bolzano and Belluno sit right at the mountain edges themselves, so they’re your practical bases once you’re closer in.
Are the Dolomites part of the Alps?
Yes – specifically the Southern Limestone Alps, which is its own distinct subgroup within the larger Alpine system.
How many provinces cover the Dolomites?
Five: Belluno, Bolzano, Trento, Udine, and Pordenone.
What’s the highest peak in the Dolomites?
Marmolada, 3,343 metres, sitting right on the border between Trentino and Veneto.
Do the Dolomites touch Austria?
The famous peaks you see in every travel guide are entirely on Italian soil. That said, geologically there’s a smaller offshoot – the Lienz Dolomites – that does cross into Austria’s East Tyrol. That closeness is probably why you’ll notice a strong Austrian influence running through the main Italian range too.
Sources and References
- Motor Trade News – Two-fifths support over-80s driving ban, ChooseMyCar finds
- Yahoo News UK – Ban over-80s from the roads to save lives, say a third of drivers
- Business Motoring – Two-fifths support ban on driving for over-80s, ChooseMyCar finds
