The Over-70 Driving Eye Test Crackdown: A Political Handbrake Turn

Hello everyone. Today we’ve got a story that reads like the patch notes for a government update no one asked for, with nerfs, buffs, and a touch of “who signed off on this?”. The UK government, in a shocking demonstration of actually noticing a glaring safety flaw, is considering banning over-70 drivers if they fail compulsory eye tests. Yes, apparently it took an inquest into four tragic deaths for the powers-that-be to realise that letting elderly motorists self-certify their ability to see more than two feet in front of them might not have been the smartest meta strategy.

The “Vision Check” Patch Note

I’ll give them this: the current system really is the “laxest in Europe”. And if road safety were a PvP game, the UK’s eyesight rules are basically playing with no anti-cheat-just hoping nobody’s wallhacking their way through a zebra crossing. Currently, the DVLA asks the over-70s to fill in a questionnaire every licence renewal, presumably with questions like “Can you see this form? Yes/No/What form?”

Ministers, smelling the electoral opportunity to look tough on road carnage, want to enforce an actual medical standard. Compulsory eye tests for the 70+ crowd every three years at renewal. Not exactly raid boss difficulty, but a sensible QOL update. Except here’s the kicker: our NHS appointment system is already so overloaded that Peter Browne, a 73-year-old with glaucoma, can’t even get an eye test. And in bureaucratic fashion, the blame game will then begin-do we fault the driver for unsafe vision, or the state for not providing the means to check it? As a doctor, allow me to state the obvious diagnosis: untreated blindness while driving is not an ideal treatment plan for public health.

The Drink-Driving Clampdown

Not content with just tackling faulty eyeballs, the government’s also eyeing the booze buffs. The plan? Cut the drink-drive limit in England and Wales from 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath down to Scotland’s 22 micrograms. Because nothing says “safer roads” like importing a policy which, according to joint university research, had absolutely no statistical effect on accident rates. So basically, we’re reskinning a useless weapon from the Scottish arsenal and pretending it’s legendary-tier gear. Bravo.

But sure, while it won’t lower accident figures, it apparently “improved anti-drink driving sentiment” among the public. Which is great-feelings over facts, the classic political debuff to evidence-based policy. Why stop there? Let’s introduce mandatory unicorn rides to work-sure, it won’t help congestion, but we’d all feel better about it.

Young Drivers vs Old Drivers – Pick Your Poison

Edmund King from the AA pointed out the obvious: young drivers have high crash rates, with one in five wrecking their car in their first year and over 1,500 killed or seriously injured annually. Older drivers do spike in risk too, but mainly after age 80-85. However, apparently, targeting young drivers with graduated licences is “unfair discrimination”. Translating from politician-speak: older voters show up at the polls and younger ones… well, they’re still in the tutorial zone.

Medical Quests & Side Objectives

Other proposals on the dev board include mandatory medical testing for conditions like dementia, giving police power to use roadside saliva drug tests as primary evidence (because queueing for blood tests is so 2020), and a bunch of “depending on where you live” disclaimers thanks to devolution. In gamer terms, your patch notes may vary by server region.

The Justice Minister is calling it the biggest shake-up in decades. Let’s be honest-it’s still in the consultation zone, so this could all get balanced to oblivion once the lobbyists start pulling the levers.

The Core Problem

Coroner Dr Adeley didn’t mince words earlier this year-calling the current eyesight enforcement “ineffective, unsafe and unfit”. Considering four people were killed by vision-impaired drivers, you’d think calling this an “oversight” would be in poor taste, even for me. But here we are. Many experts, including former police officers and eye care professionals, agree: all ages should prove they can actually see before getting behind the wheel. You know-crazy talk.

Conclusion: Buff or Nerf?

Here’s my prognosis: compulsory eyesight tests for older drivers? Buff. Drink-drive limit changes without measurable effects? Cosmetic skin at best. Lack of NHS infrastructure to actually deliver the tests? Complete fail-state. What we’re seeing is a mixed patch-good intentions, flawed execution, and an unwillingness to address the respawn loop of dangerous drivers across all ages. It’s as if the government’s designing policy like a mobile game: make it flashy, make it feel good, and don’t worry if it actually works.

Overall impression: decent concept work on vision checks, bad balancing on drink-drive laws, and a serious need to stop the political speedrun of “announce first, implement never.”

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.

Article source: Over-70s face driving ban for failing eye tests, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yllgezjk3o