Pensioner, 74, passes driving take a look at after failing solely earlier try 50 YEARS AGO (in a Ford Anglia)
- Linda Ning from York gained her licence after first trying to pass in the 1970s
- Here’s how many seniors take driving tests each year – and how many pass
A pensioner from York has passed her driving test at the tender age of 74, having failed at the first attempt half a century ago. And she’s already celebrated by snapping up an electric vehicle!
Proving the statement ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ wrong, Linda Ning, 74, fulfilled a ‘life-long ambition’ by gaining her driving licence on 17 January.
Her only previous effort took place in the 1970s, when she was in her 20s, driving a Ford Anglia – a motor that’s now considered vintage among collectors.
After living in London for some 30 years, she was happy to rely on public transport to get around, making the need to drive less of a priority.
However, having decided to move to York in 2020 and realising the need for a car, Linda returned to the driver’s seat with an instructor last year in a bid to gain her licence some five decades after failing at the first attempt.
But is Linda alone in finally getting her licence at a senior age? This is Money has dug into the data to reveal how many over 60s take – and pass – their test annually.
And being older doesn’t necessarily equate to being wiser behind the wheel, as we found last year when we published the shocking number of pensioners who have received driving endorsements for illegally using a mobile phone on the move.

Linda Ning, 74, from York recently fulfilled a ‘life-long ambition’ by gaining her driving licence having failed at the first attempt some 50 years ago. We reveal how many senior people take the practical test each year – and, more importantly, how many pass
Linda, who lives in the Cathedral city’s centre, passed her test earlier this month after five months of taking lessons with AA Driving School instructor Nuray Inal.
The 74-year-old has marked her success with the purchase of an electric Peugeot e-208, having been impressed with a friend’s Tesla.
She’s now said to be ‘gearing up to embrace the electric future’, even having a homecharger installed at her house to reap the benefits of cheaper electricity costs via a domestic tariff.
‘Whilst living in London there wasn’t the need for either myself or my husband to drive as public transport was readily available. Once we moved back to Yorkshire it became clear that we needed a car to get around,’ Linda explained.
‘When I’ve been a passenger in someone else’s car I’d always mentally been behind the wheel, now I get to drive for real!
‘I was terrified when I first got behind the wheel with Nuray, but her calmness and patience put me at ease, and now I can’t wait for my new car to arrive and to start driving myself and my husband to places such as church or to see my sister in Whitby.’
The first time Linda sat her driving test was half a century ago, sitting the practical exam in a Ford Anglia (stock image left). Having now acquired her licence, she’s bought herself an electric Peugeot e-208 (stock image right)

AA Driving School instructor Nuray Inal (left) said she had to adapt her teaching methods to help Linda (right), 74, relearn to drive some 50 years after first trying to get on the road
Nuray added: ‘When I first met Linda, she told me that it was her dream to learn how to drive.
‘She was shaking when she first got in the car with me so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.’
Nuray went on to explain how she adapted her coaching methods to help Linda gain more confidence at the wheel.
‘I had to adjust the way I teach, as everyone learns in a different way particularly if they are a little older,’ she explains.
‘I kept talking her through the manoeuvres and prompting her a lot. We both worked really hard.’
‘Having given up learning back in the 1970s, Linda is a good example of people returning to learning years later.’

How many senior learners sit their driving test each year? And how many pass? DVSA records show the pass rate for 60+ people is much lower than the national average across all age groups
How many senior drivers take driving tests each year?
Older people passing their test isn’t as rare you might think.
Records held by the DVSA show that 24,300 learners aged 60 and over sat their practical tests in Britain in the three years from 2021/22 to 2023/24.
This accounts for a mere 0.5 per cent of all driving tests sat over the same period.
Just 5,314 of the 24,300 over 60s passed, which is a success rate of only 21.9 per cent.
That’s well below the national average pass rate across all age groups, which was around 48 per cent across those three years.
Last financial year, 5,890 people aged 60 and over took their test with 2,039 gaining a driving licence – a pass rate of 34.6 per cent.
Most recent DVSA records show there were 5.25million motorists between the ages of 60 and 69 in Britain in 2023. A further 5.75million drivers are over the age of 70, the data suggests.
While there is no upper age limit for driving in the UK, once motorists reach 70 they must apply to renew their licence, and renew every three years thereafter.
Older doesn’t always mean wiser when it comes to motoring offences…
This is Money recently revealed the age of Britain’s oldest driver caught using a phone behind the wheel in the last three years.
Almost 100,000 UK motorists have been issued six penalty points and minimum fines of £200 for illegally operating handheld devices while driving between January 2022 and the end of October 2024, DVLA records show.
‘CU80’ endorsements added to licences for a ‘breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone’ totalled 95,841 over the 34-month period, the Government agency disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request from Select Car Leasing last year.

Three drivers in their nineties were caught using a mobile phone or handheld device behind the wheel between 2022 and the end of October 2024. Can you guess the age of the oldest?
Motorists in their thirties committed the highest share of offences, with 32,363 prosecutions for people between 31 and 40, which accounts for a third of endorsements.
More surprising is the 84 motorists in their eighties who were also caught using a device while driving, and three licence holders in their nineties.
In total, 5,437 motorists aged 61 and over were penalised for the illegal use of a phone while at the controls of a vehicle over the period reviewed.
The oldest driver of all to receive a CU80 endorsement between 2022 and October 2024 was the ripe age of 98.
The motorist’s identity or location can’t be revealed by the agency.
Mark Tongue, chief executive and co-founder of the leasing company, said: ‘Age is no barrier to being hit with a fine and points on your licence for being distracted by a mobile phone and all motorists, no matter how experienced they are, need to be aware of the dangers.
‘It’s eye-opening to see such an elderly driver being collared by police after reaching for their phone, but perhaps not surprising given how technology has creeped into all aspects of our lives, no matter how old we might be.
‘After all, age doesn’t always equate to wisdom.’