Elderly drivers may have to sit new driving tests under government proposals to reduce the number of accidents caused by those with fading skills.

Figures from the DVLA, obtained by The Times, show that there are more than three million people aged 71 and over with driving licences, an increase of 300,000 in less than two years. This trend is expected to continue rising rapidly, in line with Britain’s ageing population and the growing desire among the elderly to retain their mobility. Half of those aged 70 and over hold a licence, compared with 38 per cent a decade ago and 15 per cent in 1976.

The Association of British Insurers found that drivers aged 70 and over were three times as likely to be killed or seriously injured in a road crash as those aged between 40 and 65. From the age of 70, motorists are required to complete a form every three years on which they should declare medical conditions. No independent check is made on their fitness to drive and the system relies on the driver’s honesty.

The DVLA will put forward options in a consultation document this autumn and is expected to propose that elderly drivers undertake one or more compulsory tests. They may have to be assessed by a doctor or visit a centre and complete a half-hour paper-based test. They may also have to pass a sight test.

Local authorities will be encouraged to introduce voluntary driving tests, which would identify areas of concern and give elderly people an opportunity to take extra training or to mitigate any risks. Switching to an automatic car is sometimes recommended for those who struggle to carry out several functions at the same time.

Gloucestershire County Council has developed a scheme called Safer Driving with Age in which drivers volunteer to undertake a one-hour assessment in their own car on familiar roads. The instructor notes any unsafe actions and gives verbal and written reports, including an overall score and placement in one of five categories ranging from very safe to unsafe. Durham County Council adopted the scheme last year and, of the first 32 candidates to take the test, none scored in the highest category. Six were found to present a high risk and two were advised to stop driving immediately.

Ann Corbett, Durham’s road safety officer, said that the scheme had been introduced to address the problem of a growing number of elderly people being referred by police for remedial driver training as an alternative to prosecution for driving without due care and attention. “Although the number of people holding a full driving licence decreases with age, the percentage of these people who become driver casualties increases. With an ageing population, it is clear that if this were to lead to a similar increase in accidents and casualties, government casualty reduction targets would not be met,” she said.

Rob Gifford, director of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, said that any new restrictions on the right of the elderly to drive should be accompanied by improvements in public transport. “This is a difficult issue because the grey vote is so powerful. We need to discourage older drivers from placing themselves and others at increased risk but also help them to find alternative methods of transport so that they do not become housebound as a result of giving up the car.”

A Department for Transport spokesman said: “We don’t want to discriminate against elderly drivers. We just need to make sure they are safe.”

Senior moments

Lord Walker of Worcester, 75, lost control of his Jaguar last week and crashed into a living room

Joan Gordon, 86, of Dunmow, Essex, drove the wrong way down the A1 in Northumberland, causing vehicles to swerve out of her path

Annie Dunlop, 76, of Auchterarder, Perth and Kinross, crashed into seven vehicles when she forgot her hearing aid and did not hear her engine revving

John Orr, 83, of Motherwell, drove the wrong way round a roundabout and almost hit a lorry

Source: Times database