Number of drivers aged over 90 revealed

There are 2,750 men and 979 women in their 90s who hold licences, a study has found.

It comes as national data showed 248 people aged over 100 still hold valid licences, compared with 100,281 over-90s.

The West Midlands has the third highest number of over 90s with licences – behind Hampshire and Greater London.

Once motorists reach 70 they have to renew their licence every three years and answer written questions about medical conditions and eyesight quality.

As senior citizens are more likely to have a range of health problems and slower reaction times, there has been plenty of heated debate on the issue of the safety of older drivers.

However, a study from Swansea University last year claimed more mature road users are no more dangerous than other drivers.

Professor Charles Musselwhite said while reaction times decreased as people got older, this was compensated by older drivers taking more care on the road.

Professor Musselwhite, from the Centre for Innovative Ageing, who undertook the study, said: "We've looked at those statistics in depth and we don't think that as a cohort older drivers are any more dangerous than other road users."

He said older people adapt to worsening health conditions, like failing eye sight and slower reflexes, well – but warned this could become an issue in future.

"We particularly know very well that older people pick and choose situations they feel comfortable driving in," he said.

"They drive in lower light, they don't drive at night, they might pick times when it's less busy.

"If you're working later on in life you're less able to choose when and where you drive and it could be that people end up driving in situations which they're less comfortable with."

Other figures from the DVLA show that of the 39,975,351 licences issued, 54.1 per cent were issued to male drivers and the oldest provisional driving licence holder is a woman aged 103.