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Drivers happy to be retested at 70

08 August 2008

  • Most think tests for OAPs a good idea
  • Reaction times get slower with age
  • More than 3 million over 70s on the road

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Nearly two-thirds of drivers would be happy to see compulsory retests for drivers of over 70, according to a survey of 900 drivers by car supermarket Motorpoint.

The car supermarket points to research by the Transport Research Laboratory which shows that reaction times get worse with age, and suggests the Government should consider the issue.

'The results of this poll show that people are honest enough to recognise their driving ability does deteriorate with age and that maybe the Government should consider mandatory re-testing at a certain age in the future,' said David Shelton, managing director of Motorpoint.

DVLA figures show there are currently over 3 million drivers over the age of 70 in the UK.