Labour faces fury over plans for mandatory eye tests for older drivers

The majority of older people are against Labour's plans for mandatory eye tests for motorists over the age of 70, new polling suggests. The survey by the Silver Voices campaign group of almost 3,000 of its members found 59% do not back the proposals, which would see people who fail slapped with driving bans.

Some 32% supported the plans for compulsory eye tests, while around 9% were unsure. However, 89% said they would support mandatory eye tests if the requirement applied to all ages.

Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, accused the Government of picking on pensioners.

He called for the proposals - which are part of a major overhaul of the UK's road safety laws - to be abandoned.

Mr Reed said: "This proposal has not been thought through, is age discriminatory, and should be withdrawn.

"The priority should be to analyse road accident statistics where poor eyesight is a factor and assess whether there is any variation by the ages of drivers.

"Without solid evidence it is lazy and absurd to pick an age out of the hat from which compulsory eye tests must apply.

"Older drivers face being driven off the road, and isolated from society, just because the Government wants to show it is doing something about road safety.

"Silver Voices will not allow pensioners to be scapegoats yet again for wider policy failings."

Plans for over 70s to face compulsory eye tests every three years and a driving ban for those who fail are set to be published as part of a road safety strategy in the autumn.

The UK is also one of only three European countries to rely on self-reporting of eyesight problems that affect driving.

The proposals also include cutting the drink-drive limit and tougher penalties for uninsured driving and failing to wear a seatbelt.

On Britain's roads last year, 1,633 people were killed and almost 28,000 seriously injured in traffic incidents, and numbers have remained relatively constant following a large fall between 2000 and 2010.

A Labour source said: "At the end of the last Labour government, the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads was at a record low, but numbers have remained stubbornly high under successive Conservative governments.

"In no other circumstance would we accept 1,600 people dying, with thousands more seriously injured, costing the NHS more than £2 billion per year."