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Posted by bookofjoe 6 hours ago

British drivers over 70 to face eye tests every three years(www.bbc.com)
186 points | 192 commentspage 2
rootusrootus 4 hours ago|
What I’m getting from this discussion is that maybe we should just make this universal, rather than picking an arbitrary age. Too onerous, perhaps, but under-70s definitely can experience serious decline in eyesight.
reenorap 5 hours ago||
It sould be every year. Over 70 shouldn’t drive in my opinion. I’m in my 50s and still believe this.
nottorp 4 hours ago||
Hmm? Where I live you have to renew your license (basically pass a few medical exams) every 10 years since the day you get your first license. Why wait until 70?
bookofjoe 6 hours ago||
https://archive.ph/yjDN0
Neil44 5 hours ago||
I think everyone should do a re-test every 10 years then maybe 5 years after 70.
IshKebab 5 hours ago|
There aren't enough driving testers for people to take a test once in their lives, let alone 8 times.

It would also be totally pointless between 20 and 60 at the very least. The vast majority of people don't have any cognitive decline before then.

matsemann 4 hours ago|||
People forget or don't keep up to date on rules. Some kind of retaking the theoretical parts would at least be nice. For instance the UK has a new highway code (I've heard), and most countries it's quite different to drive now than lets say 20 years ago. For instance the amount of cyclists and the rules around that I feel drivers in Norway have a bad grasp on.

And heck, when I got my license I lived in a remote town, 3 hours away from the nearest street light. Lots of things I got away with not learning, and whatever I memorized for the theoretical test 20 years ago is mostly forgotten. I think many people think they "know" the rules, but really don't

dontwannahearit 4 hours ago||||
You also have the problem that the pass rate for tests has changed massively in the years since most 50 year olds took their tests in the UK. Anecdotally, it is not at all uncommon for young drivers to fail the test 3+ times (at least amoung the youngsters I know). 30 years ago it was rare to have to take the test more than 2x before passing.

That and the scandal of test slots being bought up months in advance by what are essentially touts, as well as the lack of testers you noted, make it unworkable.

globular-toast 5 hours ago|||
There could be, it's just that we don't value testing highly enough and we're happy to see people killed and seriously injured by these things.
agumonkey 5 hours ago||
I wonder if there are non optical visual tests, like cognitive ability to perceive multiple details at once.
TheChaplain 4 hours ago||
Gonna suck to lose your license when you live in outer places like Roadhead, Carlisle. :(
testing22321 4 hours ago|
Would you rather people who can’t see well enough continue to drive?
pacifi30 5 hours ago||
Waymo is the answer to all our problems
bobowzki 4 hours ago||
How about testing people in a driving simulator?
kazinator 4 hours ago|
Let's examine this:

> Nearly one in four car drivers killed in 2024 were aged 70 or older, according to government figures.

So, somewhat less than 25%. Let's guess 23% or whatever.

What are the age demographics? According to 2024 stats, 19.7% of the UK was aged 65 or older. 17% in the 0-14 age range.

Thus 65-year-olds and older make up 23.7% of the population older than 14.

It seems, roughly, as if the proportion of 70-year-olds and older might be more or less in line with their representation in the driving age population.

It's not the statistics we need, but close enough to defeat the alarmist idea of OMG, a whopping quarter (almost) fatalities are 70+; get the old buggers off the roads!

matsemann 4 hours ago|
That's not a good counter. I think you need to look at how many of that demographic actually drives, not how big the demographic is. Or maybe kilometers driven per accident.
kazinator 3 hours ago||
That onus is on the article: convince me that almost a quarter of the facilities being 70+ means something (s not explained by statistics but follows age).
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