Calls for higher legal driving age and retesting at 70

Many motorists are in favour of tighter driving regulations including raising the legal driving age to 18 or older and retesting motorists once they reach 70, according to new research.

The study of 2,100 motorists by car insurance expert Admiral in conjunction with YouGov reveals many have an authoritarian attitude to driving and want stricter rules on our roads. The findings form part of Admiral's Survey of British Motorists, launched this week.

More than three quarters of those surveyed said the legal driving age should be higher than 17, with 47% saying it should 18 and 19% saying it should be 21 or older.

Justin Beddows of Admiral, commenting on the research said, "At 17 the UK has one of the lowest legal driving ages in the world, it's 18 in most EU states as well as South Africa, Russia, China, India and Brazil.

"There's no doubt that young motorists have a much worse driving record than older drivers. The accidents they have are more severe, for example an accident involving a 17 or 18 year old costs twice as much as one involving older motorists. Whether raising the driving age would make our roads safer is debateable, it might be better to educate young motorists on the risk of driving dangerously and make them better drivers."

But it's not just the young that motorists want to see more tightly regulated, 62% of the motorists questioned also think road users should have to re-sit their driving test when they reach 70.  Women motorists are stricter than men in their opinion on this; 68% of women think 70 year olds should have to re-sit compared with 57% of men.

Justin Beddows said, "The over 70s are actually among the safest motorists on the road, they have comparatively few accidents, and thankfully the accidents they do have are less severe.  That said evidence suggests the older we get, the less quick our reactions are.  Research by the Department for Transport suggests accidents caused by the over 70s are often a result of driver error and slower reaction times."

As well as the higher legal driving age and retesting for 70 year olds, a large percentage of motorists also disapprove of eating, drinking and smoking while driving and think they should be made illegal alongside using a mobile phone behind the wheel of a car.

35% of those surveyed agreed that it should be illegal to eat while driving, 44% think it should be illegal to drink soft drinks while driving and half of those questioned think it should be illegal to smoke while driving.

Justin Beddows said, "Although it's not specifically illegal to eat, drink or smoke while driving, you can still be convicted of careless driving if you are not in full control of your car."