Some statistics on Elderly Drivers.
The have been very helpful in our investigation into driving and old age. Drivers, older drivers included, are meant to inform the DVLA if they are medically unfit to drive, if they don't do this doctors may go directly to agency.
So how many elderly drivers do tell the DVLA they are unfit to drive? Well today the agency sent me the stats for last year:
Drivers aged 80 and over who have had their entitlement revoked/ refused between July 2007 and July 2008 because of notification from either a GP or Consultant
Female 24
Male 60
Here are the figures for those who informed the DVLA themselves of their inability to drive safely on medical grounds, via "Self Declaration":
Female 422
Male 1447
There are, according to the DVLA, over 700,000 people aged over 80 with an entitlement to drive.
Perhaps the key statistic we learned in the programme, which I hadn't seen cited elsewhere, was provided by former Transport Minister Steven Ladyman MP; he said that if you look at the accidents per 100million miles driven, "people once they reach the age of 75 are as dangerous, on average, as newly qualified 17 year-old drivers" This is arguably a better reflection of the real risks faced by older drivers than other more frequently sited statistics which don't adjust for distance travelled. This would also explain difficulties with
Update: Doing a bit of digging the have been around a while, the Times reported that : "Department of Transport statistics show that drivers over the age of 80 have more accidents per mile than any other age group."
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