MILLIONS of drivers will be banned if they fail a compulsory test under plans for a major law change.

Ministers are mulling bringing in a new rule for older drivers in England and Wales.

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Vision checks for older driver are expected to be reinforced under the changes[/caption]

Mandatory eye tests for drivers over the age of 70 are being considered alongside a range of other measures, The Times reports.

The proposals also include reducing the drink-drive limit and tougher penalties on uninsured drivers and those who fail to wear a seatbelt.

They will belong to a new road safety strategy that the government plans to publish this autumn.

The change would mark the biggest shake-up of driving rules for nearly two decades, since the Road Safety Act introduced under Tony Blair in 2006.

Over-70s would be required to undertake an eye-test every three years.

A potential medical test for conditions, such as dementia, is also reportedly being looked at alongside eye tests.

People over 70 already lose their C1 and D1 entitlements on their license.

C1 allows drivers to handle medium-sized vehicles with a Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) between 3,500kg and 7,500kg.

D1 entitlements mean drivers can use minibuses that have less than 16 passengers.

Older drivers under the new rules could also be faced with further regulations due to concerns over the number of road accidents that have seen a recent increase after years of decline.

Last year, 1,633 people were killed in road traffic accidents, and nearly 28,000 were seriously injured.

This now equates to around one casualty every 18 minutes, despite numbers almost halving from 41,000 to 24,000 between 2000 and 2010.

On top of that, the number of drivers over the age of 60 involved in serious or fatal collisions in the UK has also risen by 47 per cent since 2010.

Incidents of people being killed in drink-driving incidents have also risen over the past decade, reaching a 13-year high in 2022.

Ministers are therefore thinking about a implementing reforms to Britain’s road safety measures, with the UK being considered to have the “laxest” rules in Europe.

It is the one of only three countries to rely on the self-reporting of visual conditions among individuals who deem their ability to drive affected.

This comes with the rise in drug-driving incidents, as well as those involving older people who continue to drive with failing sight or other medical conditions.

Transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, has been developing a wide-range of new safety measures and increased penalties for breaking the law.

Current key road safety messages and penalties such as around wearing seatbelts and avoiding drink-driving are considered to no longer be working.

The percentage of casualties killed while not wearing a seatbelt has risen from 21 per cent in 2014 to 25 per cent in 2023.

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Drivers over the age of 60 have increasingly been involved in serious collisions[/caption]

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In Britain, this increased by 47 per cent since 2010[/caption]

For back seat passengers, this increased to 40 per cent, with 181 fatalities in 2023, compared to 142 passengers killed not wearing a seatbelt in 2020.

Currently, drivers not wearing seatbelts are issued three penalty points, and a maximum court fine of £500.

Passengers with a licence, who do not wear a seatbelt, can be issued two penalty points.

Along with new proposals around drink and drug-driving limits, and criminal penalties for driving without insurance, the strategy is due to be published in the autumn.

It will be put out for consultation, with parts expected to require primary legislation.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “It is in everyone’s interests to tackle road safety and bring the levels of death and serious injuries down significantly.

“In other countries, such as Australia and Canada, the introduction of new measures to help young drivers have reduced death and serious injury from between 20 per cent and up to 40 per cent.

“Hence if the UK scheme saw similar reductions, it is estimated that at least 58 deaths and 934 serious injuries could be prevented each year.”

He also brought up the need for increased police enforcement to ensure rules are followed.

“The stark reality is that, as well as better education and tougher rules, we need more officers to police the streets — at least 1,000 more roads officers, not only to act as a deterrent, but to stop dangerous drivers in the act before a tragedy happens,” King added.

Director of the RAC Foundation, Steve Gooding, stated that full evidence of eye testing should also be a standard component to driver licensing when first applying, and at each renewal.

“It will be important for any new strategy to recognise the priorities that we and others have highlighted — focusing on young drivers, crash investigation and mandatory fitment of safe-driving features in new cars — but also to maintain activity on established issues such as drink and drug-driving and seatbelt wearing.”