Motoring News

New licence for older drivers urged by IAM

Filed under: DVLA — Alan @ 7:31 am

The Institute for Advanced Motorists is now asking that a new licence class be created for older drivers that allows them to stay mobile and independent, but protects them from high risk roads.

The IAM’s director of policy, Neil Greig, stated that the licence class would not ban older drivers from the road, but instead be created in align with medical studies that show older motorists may be a risk to others, as well as themselves, on roads with high speed limits.

Greig continued to say that this is a positive way to keep older drivers behind the wheel by allowing them to continue to drive on roads that they are familiar with instead of taking away their licence.  He also stated that the new licence would not be centred around a certain age limit, but instead be the result of medical advice on a case by case basis.

The push for the new licence group follows a study that looked at police crash data over the last seven years.  It showed that older drivers were often much safer drivers than youngsters on local roads, but in areas where traffic was moving at a faster rate they were a higher risk.

At the present, a driving licence stays valid until age 70, after which it must be renewed every three years, with the applicant answering a questionnaire to prove they are still capable of driving.

Any announcement about the matter is expected before the election; with the news that now all drivers need to recertify their ability to drive every ten years.

Reminder issued about morning after driving

Filed under: Motoring Laws — Alan @ 6:04 am

As the New Year arrives motorists are being warned not to jump in their vehicles too quickly after waking up from a night of drinking.

The IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) is issuing reminders to drivers that during the festive season they need to take caution on the roads as snow storms are once again expected in many areas across the UK.

The Institute said that it is likely that the weather conditions will be a bad mix with the amount of drivers who will be driving into shopping centres and towns for New Year’s Day sales.

The IAM added that the fact that many of these drivers may not realize they are still under the influence from celebrations the night before only makes matters worse.

Although most people are aware of the dangers of drink-driving while engaging in nighttime activities, most people do not realize the danger in driving to soon the next morning.

In fact, according to the IAM it can take as long as 12 hours for three glasses of wine or four pints to get out of a person’s system, which means that if their last drink was at 1am they should not be behind the wheel until lunch the next day.

Chief examiner for the charity Peter Rodger stated that the current weather forecast combined with morning after drink driving can possibly cause many problems.

The IAM advised using extreme caution while driving and taking the time to plan out your trip and listen to all travel bulletins before heading out.