I think this is an overlooked reason why some older people keep driving - they may be aware their eyesight is failing but they need the driving licence as ID.
Replies
A bus pass doesn’t have the same status, does it. That said, I drive but don’t have a photo driving licence*. (And yes, it makes it a tad more difficult for ID purposes.) *Yes, I’ve lived in the same place for ages and ages.
aug 11, 2025, 8:19 am • 1 0 • view
@paulbivand.bsky.social Perhaps the introduction should be defered until National ID introduced &/or enough trained DVLA staff are available to process the renewals; they've difficulty dealing with existing health renewals.
aug 11, 2025, 8:21 am • 1 0 • view
There definitely seems to me a strong case for an optional National ID card that carries the same legal status as a driving license. Maybe issue it free to over 70s who give up/lose their driving licence?
aug 11, 2025, 8:31 am • 1 1 • view
A National ID card which meant that when an NHS eye test was taken the patient's DVLA record was updated would be a great administrative, & patient's nerves, saving. Likewise HMRC wouldn't need to ask if someone was blind, the system would know.
aug 11, 2025, 8:37 am • 1 0 • view
My elderly mother in law found that with neither an in-date passport or driving licence it was pretty much impossible to pay the tax sheet owed.
aug 11, 2025, 8:34 am • 0 0 • view
My elderly (& housebound) mother had no bus pass, passport or driving licence. She found it so difficult to prove her ID to HSBC… so much so that eventually they gave up. She’d only banked with them for 30+ yrs and they could see that her only income was state pension. Hardly a money launderer!
aug 11, 2025, 9:16 am • 1 0 • view
Simple ID cards (physical or digital) would sort this out, but UK seems reluctant to adopt them. Not everyone has passports or driving licences
aug 11, 2025, 8:40 am • 2 0 • view
As pointed out, there is already the citizen card, but they aren't accepted as official ID on government websites.
aug 11, 2025, 8:56 am • 0 0 • view
Citizen cards are available but cost £ and there's low awareness of them - I only know as worked on a checkout & have followed voter ID rollout
aug 11, 2025, 8:37 am • 2 0 • view
Yes there's low awareness and they cost, but more significantly they're not accepted as official ID for government services.
aug 11, 2025, 8:49 am • 2 0 • view
DVLA could do what their counterparts in at least some US states do: issue a non-driving licence as convenient ID.
aug 11, 2025, 10:17 am • 1 0 • view
Yes that seems a very simple solution. I've known young people apply for provisional licenses with no immediate intention of driving, just to have them as ID. So can easily work for older people too.
aug 11, 2025, 11:42 am • 1 0 • view
Both my sons have provisional licences but neither can drive. Basically it's for buying booze.
aug 11, 2025, 11:47 am • 2 0 • view
That's honestly terrifying. Maybe Blair was right about national ID cards.
aug 11, 2025, 9:25 am • 2 0 • view
Also why the public sentiment has changed on a national ID card/digital. I have never had a drivers license and am now becoming increasingly annoyed how often I need to dig out my passport.
aug 11, 2025, 9:27 am • 2 0 • view
It's very strange that people posing as nationalist demand that people present evidence of wanting to leave the country, namely a passport.
aug 11, 2025, 9:46 am • 0 0 • view
Then just re-issue it as a Not Approved to Drive driving licence ID, no? I know someone in that position who just didn't hand the licence back to the DVLA. He just didn't drive. I think it can also be better than having your kids decide it's time for you to hang up the keys.
aug 19, 2025, 5:31 pm • 0 0 • view
Or just hang onto the old out of date one. Where I've seen driving licences included in the list of OK proof of identity, it specifies that the licence can be out of date. (that doesn't help for young folk who never had one, but fine for us over 75s)
aug 24, 2025, 8:52 am • 2 0 • view
An out of date licence works for some things (eg voting) but not for official government websites eg to claim benefits or pay tax.
aug 24, 2025, 11:31 am • 1 0 • view
oh, right. Ta.
aug 25, 2025, 5:17 am • 0 0 • view
Ah ok. Thank you!
aug 24, 2025, 1:52 pm • 0 0 • view
But you don't need to drive to have a driving licence - my daughter has had a licence for some time but never driven.
aug 20, 2025, 12:27 pm • 0 0 • view
It'll expire eventually - you daughter's will last 10 years, but if you're over 70 it will only last 3 years, then need renewing.
aug 20, 2025, 12:33 pm • 0 0 • view
Yes, agreed, but you don't need to actually drive to renew your licence. Your post suggested people continue to drive so they can have a licence. You don't have to, you can just renew but not drive? And if you're not actually driving, it doesn't really matter than you lied about your eyesight.
aug 20, 2025, 12:59 pm • 0 0 • view
You can't renew it without declaring that you're still fit to drive. My point is that some people may be tempted to do that, even though they're not really fit, and if they have the licence then driving might also be tempting to do (obviously they don't *have* to drive)
aug 20, 2025, 1:04 pm • 1 0 • view