Over 70s driving tests

[Tak]

Something I recently came across on another forum:

UK Photocard Driving Licences - check expiry

Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.

They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photocard licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70. The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as they start to expire.

Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photocards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b'. They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed.

To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years. Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photocard licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.

At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version.
4b: The small print on the back of the driving licence is easy to miss, just below the driver name on the front of the photocard licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered.
Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means. The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'.

Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday.
A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.
The DVLA said failure to update the photocard after 10 years fell into the same category as failing to inform them of a change of address.

CHECK YOUR LICENCE EXPIRY DATE!!!

When I mentioned this to Mic, he hadn't realised this date was on the card. Upon checking, his photocard expires in 2 years (mine in 5).

Also on the back of the photocard there is the grid which shows what you are licensed to drive; secton 11 of the grid shows an expiry date which is the day before my (and his) 70th birthday implying that on the day I turn 70, any licence I have, will expire.
Surely then this would mean if I wanted to continue driving after the age of 70 I would have to renew my licence, presumably by retaking my test?

[cheets]

I took my test in 99 I best check my licence.

Insurance is another strange mystery, it gets cheaper as you get older, should it start off expensive then get cheap around 30-50 then start to rise as you get older.

Old and Young people most cause the most crashes on the road.

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by iCraig

Perhaps in an ideal world. The amount of drivers out there though would mean it would be impossible for the system to cope with the sheer amount of tests each day.

It works in the US, a country with a population four times that of our country and a far greater percentage of drivers.

Why impossible?
Charge £35 per person for a 30-40 minute re-evaluation.
This comfortably allows you to process one person per hour, which translates to 40 per week per examiner, and easily covers the cost of their wages and any associated costs such as any paperwork involved. They would be based at existing driving test centres so no extra premises would be needed either.

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by cheets

Old and Young people most cause the most crashes on the road.

Fixed for greater accuracy.

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by Takhisis

Surely then this would mean if I wanted to continue driving after the age of 70 I would have to renew my licence, presumably by retaking my test?

IIRC your license expires the day before your 70th, so if you wish to renew it you must A) pass an eye test for your doctor allowing you to then B) fill in the appropriate forms to the DVAL to inform them you're not going to let your license lapse.

[cleanbluesky]

Originally Posted by iCraig

This is true, but we don't have the luxury of a case-by-case evaluation of every driver in Britain. So, you simply do the "best fit" and establish a re-test on those who are more likely to be below the standard at that point.

It's a sad but true fact of life that as you get older, your reactions slow down and you become less in control of a vehicle. I can't really see a frail 86yr old woman controlling a blow-out on a motorway, can you?

I couldn't see any frail person, regardless of age having a good chance in that situation and I doubt that either of us could be certain to handle it.

Also, blow-outs aren't on the driving test curriculum.

I don't think age is the predictor of whether a person will be more likely to be unsuitable for driving, I think overall mental and physical health is - and no-one have managed to argue the case without the assumption that old people just get crap at everything eventually (right guys?).

Also, suggesting age is a valid criteria for re-test would be a departure from other policies of the DVLA, most of which expect self-reporting - eyesight, disability etc. etc.

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by cleanbluesky

Also, suggesting age is a valid criteria for re-test would be a departure from other policies of the DVLA, most of which expect self-reporting - eyesight, disability etc. etc.

Exactly, as there is no fixed age where one tends to lose our faculties/awareness. It doesn't just happen, it's gradual and comes in at different points in our lifespan depending on the individual.
Re-assess everyone every five years or so.
A far more effective solution IMHO.

[cleanbluesky]

Originally Posted by A Place of Light

Exactly, as there is no fixed age where one tends to lose our faculties/awareness. It doesn't just happen, it's gradual and comes in at different points in our lifespan depending on the individual.
Re-assess everyone every five years or so.
A far more effective solution IMHO.

I think a re-assessment might be fairer to everyone although I'd prefer not to have to as a matter of convenience, I also dislike it when an organisation withdraws a licence (of any kind) unless you are willing to offer them time or money in return for 'renewal'.

[A Place of Light]

Originally Posted by cleanbluesky

I think a re-assessment might be fairer to everyone although I'd prefer not to have to as a matter of convenience, I also dislike it when an organisation withdraws a licence (of any kind) unless you are willing to offer them time or money in return for 'renewal'.

I can't think of any other example where someone is allowed to operate machinery and not be re-assessed periodically with the possibility of losing their operating privileges should they fail to perform.....can you?
The fact that this does not apply to what is probably the most commonly operated machine in the country makes this all the more laughable in my opinion.
Note: By re-assess I do not mean revert to the similar behaviour you were required to demonstrate on your test.....I mean you just drive from point A to point B and the assessor simply watches your driving.

[iCraig]

Originally Posted by A Place of Light

It works in the US, a country with a population four times that of our country and a far greater percentage of drivers.

Why impossible?
Charge £35 per person for a 30-40 minute re-evaluation.
This comfortably allows you to process one person per hour, which translates to 40 per week per examiner, and easily covers the cost of their wages and any associated costs such as any paperwork involved. They would be based at existing driving test centres so no extra premises would be needed either.

Are our driving systems the same though? For someone who hasn't been long out the test/exam environment it seemed incredibly strained.