In a survey by Select Car Leasing, a third (35%) of motorists said that drivers should have to resit the driving test once they turn 60. Among those already aged 65 or more, however, only 6% supported the suggestion, inews.co.uk reported.

In the UK there is no legal age at which you must stop driving, and no age-related requirement to resit the driving test.

Drivers must renew their licence at age 70, and every three years after that. To renew their licence, drivers must confirm that their eyesight meets current standards, and they do not have any medical conditions that may affect their driving.

The Government had no plans (at 2019) to introduce age-related retesting.

As Nick Lloyd, acting head of road safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) explained, "Age is a completely arbitrary and unreliable measure for assessing someone's ability to drive.

"Statistically, older drivers have fewer accidents than other age groups. If we were to restrict drivers based on any relationship between age and accident rates, we would need to take a fresh look at inexperienced, younger drivers aged 17 to 24."

Figures published by road safety charity Brake show that motorists aged 60 or over are no more likely to be involved in crashes than other drivers, and in fact drivers aged 60-69 actually have less than half the crash rate of drivers aged 20-29. This is likely to be because older drivers tend to be less likely to take risks such as driving too fast or while distracted, compensating for any deterioration in health and driving performance such as slower reaction times, the charity said.

"It's surprising that so many people appear to believe in age-specific such tests because all the data suggests drivers over 60 are, by and large, some of the safest on the road," commented Mark Tongue, company director at Select Car Leasing.

Both a steam engine and a gas/oil engine use that explosive force to push away "the lid", which can be joined to an arm that's linked to the outside of a wheel.  Which then moves.

RISK
The key issue here is risk. Firstly that of legality, secondly the lack of dual controls.

LEGALITY
Anyone can accompany a driver as long as they are over 21 and having held a licence in the category of vehicle for minimum 3 years. There is no insurance requirement.

As an ADI we have an additional responsibility because we are a business. We, therefore, have a duty of care and are required to approach safety from a professional standpoint.

The ADI badge is required if money OR equivalent is being given for tuition, and must be on display in the window.

YOUR INSURANCE
Your car insurance is irrelevant, unless you are driving their car under it. This is likely to be 3rd party only and it may be exempt as your lesson is for commercial reasons.  Check.

THEIR INSURANCE
This needs to cover ‘paid for tuition’ as we can invalidate the policy. 2 other things worth checking are: [1] The driving test - if planning to take the test in it. [2] The journey home after passing as they may no longer be covered. In some cases the car may be uninsured when they pass, leaving the car undriveable until insurance is in place (including under someone else 3rd party cover).

PI/PL COVER
Many ADIs do not have Professional Indemnity or Professional Liability cover, but in my experience it is essential. If someone makes a legal challenge against you and your business or can protect you against the costs of defending it. The cover that comes with car insurance usually only covers ‘wheels moving’ incidents. There is information on PI/PL on theditc.co.uk

ROADWORTHINESS
There are also risks from the roadworthiness of the vehicle and any liability. If you have a crash you may have to claim on their insurance. These things should be addressed before lessons start - there is a free set of private vehicle T&Cs on theditc.co.uk

Done well it can be great. Done badly, it can be a white-knuckle ride!

(Top Tip: Any time you start, set up the signal that if you raise your hand and say stop you really mean it!

We are professional drivers, on the road with nothing much else to think about. True?

Am I becoming addicted to the pure logic and clarity of someone who's main focus is to observe tiny details of driving technique? And is it unreasonable to expect others to do the same, even when teaching to be "a good driver"? After all, who critiques other types of road user, such as pedestrians?

It’s undeniable that everyone else has something else on their mind: a different target, destination, vision, focus… a different appetite, interest even.

So, overall, we instructors (and taxi-drivers; deliverers; emergency responders; truckers; chauffeurs; public transport operators) shouldn’t be too harsh. I wasn’t as good a driver for the first 30 years. But now I’ve learned to HUNT for all relevant information about the space I’m using, know ALL the local roads through repetition, recognise most personality types around me, and can do it while talking, assessing, prioritising and acting.

Like any “expert”, prowess is narrow and at the expense of more general (or other) abilities. So, ADIs should (must?) keep in mind that their speciality will be foremost in the lives of their clients … for only a while. After that, it’s wallpaper for everyday life. We need to recognise that reality. (And be generous; maybe even forgive).

For mainly that reason, I am building a MUCH SIMPLER resource to help with driving.  Like this website, it will evolve over months.  But  [1]  be QUICKER to use,  [2]  be based on your existing SKILLS (not technical topics), and  [3]  be easier to REMEMBER.