[carefuldriver]

...It says they are likely to be able to renew my driving licence without me having to retake my test.

Is that true?

It also says on google that its much less likely that I will have to retake the test ut under certain circumstances I would have to.

What circumstances are these?

Im 41 no blemishes on my driving licence no accidents

I only drove the car for the length of the insurance approximately

[Beelzebub]

@carefuldriver
In the UK, your entitlement to drive last until the day before your 70th birthday, unless you're disqualified or it's revoked for some reason.

Your photocard may have expired, but your licence hasn't.

[TC1474]

@carefuldriver
As said, your licence is valid until your 70th birthday and then it is a self declaration to renew and then every 3 years thereafter.

Then photo licence element is renewable every 10 years (you are supposed to get a reminder but this seems to be hit and miss) but whilst it remains a separate offence of failing to renew your photocard, your actual licence still remains valid until aged 70.

At aged 70, if you have and wish to retain your D1 licence (minibuses) then you have to opt in and go through a full medical, and before you say that you do not have one, it is currently under discussion that new drivers will be able to get their D1 entitlement if they complete a MiDAS course which will be a much cheaper option then the £1500+ some schools are currently charging, so quite new and young drivers may well get the D1 entitlement.

(I should add that drivers who passed their test prior to January 1997 got their D1 entitlement automatically)

There is no requirement to take any retests, unless it was ordered by a court as a result of a disqualification or conviction or in some cases as a result of a medical condition or restriction. (The idea of compulsory retests was kicked out by the previous Labour government because it was deemed as a vote loser... See my post on this)

So... I don't know why retests are even mentioned.

[NMNeil]

@TC1474 Didn't they just announce that at age 70 drivers will need to have their eyesight tested when they renew their license?

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by NMNeil

@TC1474 Didn't they just announce that at age 70 drivers will need to have their eyesight tested when they renew their license?

No, it is still undecided.

Drivers have a statutory requirement to ensure that their eyesight meets the required standard, so nothing is likely to change bearing in mind that most responsible drivers (regardless of age) have their eyes checked regularly anyway and the renewal of the licence is a self declaration.

If they make it a mandatory test at 70, then the regulations will have to be re-written, and it cannot be a roadside eye check because the Police are not allowed to conduct eye tests as they are not qualified opticians and this caused quite a bit of case law back in the 80's when the backlash came about because of Police requiring a driver to carry out a roadside eyesight test.

Hence the reason why now they can only check the drivers ability to read a number plate at 20 meters.

So the UK Government have made these announcements but they really have not thought it through as the majority of crashes still involve the young and middle aged drivers more than the more senior drivers.

[Rolebama]

I really don't understand politics. First they cancel the Winter Payments, now they talk about wanting us to take eye tests to carry on driving. I believe that's about 10 million people they've p****d-off (again). Do they not want to be re-elected?

Sorry if this comes across as political, and I will understand if it is deleted.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by Rolebama

I really don't understand politics. First they cancel the Winter Payments, now they talk about wanting us to take eye tests to carry on driving. I believe that's about 10 million people they've p****d-off (again). Do they not want to be re-elected?

Sorry if this comes across as political, and I will understand if it is deleted.

I am one of the geriatrics who will be affected by this, if it ever goes ahead.

I can not understand why any rational person would be pi**ed off at being required to have their eyes tested (free of charge) every three years. I'd suggest any over-70 protesting about this should be disqualified, having failed the IQ test.😉

[Santa]

"Free of charge?" You're 'avin a larf!

Lorry drivers are required to undergo a medical examination every five years after reaching the age of 45. I had several of these and it mainly involved a doctor ticking boxes on a form to say that you don't suffer from things like apnea or chronic diabetes. The eye test part was a simple check to see how much of an eye chart you could read. My GP charged me £150 for this, but an independent did it for £30.

I wonder why they are concentrating on eye tests. There are many other medical conditions that make it inadvisable to be in control of a motor vehicle.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by Santa

"Free of charge?" You're 'avin a larf!

Lorry drivers are required to undergo a medical examination every five years after reaching the age of 45. I had several of these and it mainly involved a doctor ticking boxes on a form to say that you don't suffer from things like apnea or chronic diabetes. The eye test part was a simple check to see how much of an eye chart you could read. My GP charged me £150 for this, but an independent did it for £30.

I wonder why they are concentrating on eye tests. There are many other medical conditions that make it inadvisable to be in control of a motor vehicle.

In England, eye tests for over-60s are free.

In Scotland, the government probably pay you to have one ...😉