Carry on motoring: age no barrier as centenarians continue to clock up miles

THE number of centenarian drivers has risen by 15 per cent, figures show, as motoring groups say drivers should not be railroaded into giving up their cars

The number of over-70s holding a driving licence has also exceeded five million for the first time, analysis of DVLA data reveals.

The figures show 265 Britons over the age of 100 hold a licence, up from 162 in November 2012, with four people aged 104 being the oldest licensed drivers. There has been a 15 per cent spike in centenarians with licences since October 2015.

Once people reach 70, they must declare whether or not they are fit to drive every three years. However, concerns have been raised that some elderly people are continuing to drive when they are not fit to do so.

Some families bereaved as a result of mistakes made by older drivers have called for a change in the law. But motoring

organisations resisted calls for older people to be re-tested. They claim that rural residents would become more isolated and be left unable to visit friends and go shopping if they did not have access to a car.

Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA, said older people would regard retesting as akin to “a filter to try to force as many as possible off the road” which would “make it as difficult as possible for them to get to the doctor’s, hospital appointments, supermarkets, and the cinema”. He added: “There is already a system in place to try to identify people with medical reasons for being unfit to drive, not just old age.

“Technology which is usually associated with driverless cars is already prolonging a safe driving career for elderly drivers: parking assist systems, autonomous emergency braking (AEB).”

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Calls are routinely made for more testing of older drivers, but most tend to have very good safety records and recognise their own limitations. However, with this huge demographic shift there will be challenges to maintaining safe mobility for all of us.”

Research suggests drivers aged 60 or over are no more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers, although rates do increase from age 80. Drivers in their sixties have less than half the crash rate of those in their twenties. Brake, the road safety charity, suggests older drivers should visit their doctor at least once a year.