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The United Kingdom is considering introducing new laws that could see the introduction of stricter medical requirements if they want to continue driving on local roads.
UK drivers are entitled to drive until 70 years old without the need to legally state their health status. Once a motorist exceeds this age limit, their licence is only valid for three years before they must renew their licence.
Currently, the UK’s licence renewal scheme requires elderly drivers to submit a self-declaration form, whereby the onus is on them to legally declare that “they can meet the eyesight standards required and confirm whether they have any listed medical conditions”.
Under the proposed legislation change – currently in its consultation phase – drivers who are 70 years old and older must undergo mandatory eyesight testing during the licence renewal process.
According to Lilian Greenwood, the Minister for Local Transport, the proposed law is in response to a high rate of car crashes involving elderly motorists.
“In 2024, the were 1224 killed or seriously injured older driver casualties, a decrease of 3 per cent compared to 2023, but an increase of 7 per cent compared to 2014,” Minister Greenwood said in a media statement.
“While this consultation is focused on the mandatory eyesight testing of drivers aged 70 and over, we also recognise that more will need to be done to address wider health conditions associated with an ageing population and the increase in older drivers predicted."
According to Professor Koppel from the Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC), vision loss is considered a chronic illness associated with “moderately high crash risk”.
“These include alcohol use and/or sleep disorders, epilepsy, vision impairment, multiple medical conditions (eg: diabetes and neuropathy, dementia and stroke,” Professor Koppel told Drive in August 2025.
“In older adults, these conditions may be further complicated by comorbidities and functional impairments, which can impact driving ability in complex ways, such as slowing reaction times, impairing judgement, or reducing physical ability to operate a vehicle safely."
Further compounding the issue is the fact that the number of UK drivers aged 70-plus has ballooned in the past decade due to increased life expectancy and driving longevity.
As of 2025, more than 6.3 million elderly drivers held onto their car and motorcycle licences, with an estimated two million motorists over 70 renewing their licence each year since 2012.
By 2030, the UK government forecasts the number of licence holders above 70 years old to increase to 6.98 million.
James Luckhurst, the head of road safety at GEM Motoring Assist – a UK-based roadside recovery and road safety organisation – said the proposed reform is a step in the right direction.
“We are encouraged that the government appears to accept that the current eyesight regulations are inadequate. Reform in this area would make a significant contribution to meeting the new national targets for reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads," Luckhurst said in a February 2026 media statement.
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Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
