DVLA reveals which age group is most likely to get their licence revoked
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Thousands of drivers face having their licences ripped up by the DVLA for a rather simple reason. A new study that examined roadside vision checks showed that certain age groups are likelier to lose their driving privileges. Those born between 1934 and 1943, aged between 81 and 90, face losing licence revocation at a rate of 10.2%.
![[Traffic chaos on the M5 motorway on Christmas Eve Eve. December 23, 2024. Drivers face traffic chaos on motorways across Britain as they head to their Christmas destinations. National Highways is reporting severe congestion on multiple roads across the country, including the M6, M5 and M25.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_234128373-d208.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
This is because they tend to fail eyesight tests, according to a new report by the University of Warwick. Dr Carol Hawley of Warwick Medical School, who analysed the data, said: ‘While most drivers passed, 96 required eyesight-related advice, and 50 drivers failed outright.
‘Of these, 50% avoided a driving ban only because they had corrective glasses available to pass a second attempt.’. More than one in 10 people behind the wheel are over 70, amounting to 5.6 million people, according to Age UK. Driver’s licenses are not automatically renewed when you reach 70.
Last year, around a quarter of all car drivers killed were over 70. Though road safety experts and age campaigners stress that most older people are safe drivers – driver fatalities are on par with younger age groups. The report, Is Your Vision Roadworthy?, saw 27 police forces across England and Wales submit data for 3,010 roadside eyesight checks.
Motorists were asked to read a car number plate from 20 metres away. Dr Hawley added that a third of drivers needed corrective lenses or glasses for driving yet 40% had not had an eye test in two years. ‘Fifty drivers failed the roadside test and alarmingly 50% of those prescribed glasses for driving were not wearing them when stopped,’ she added.
