A report by a Whitehall transport advisory body has said that a national strategy for an ageing car-driving population is vital.

The number of older motorists holding driving licences has risen considerably in recent years, the report from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (Pacts) said.

But it added that reductions in the number of people killed or seriously injured on the roads have fallen far more slowly among older drivers.

The report said that while only 15% of over-70s held a driving licence in 1975, the figure for 2010 was nearly 60%.

Also, 80% of current 60-69-year-olds hold licences and will continue to drive for around the next 20 years. More than 80% of 30-39 year olds are licence holders and will drive until at least 2050.

Pacts said: "The report therefore concludes that older road users are here to stay and that a national strategy for an ageing population is vital."

The report drew the distinction between road users who were at risk and who posed a risk to others. Older road users tended to be in the former group, it said.

And it added that it was therefore essential that planning decisions were "health-checked" for older people and that the medical profession was more effective in giving advice on both physical and mental fitness to drive.

Commenting on the report, Pacts executive director Robert Gifford said: "Over the next decade the balance of the population in this country will change. Older people need to be kept mobile and safe.

"I hope that this report will generate a national discussion about the state of our pavements and the relevance of self-regulation when it comes to giving up your driving licence. We need to move beyond seeing older people as a problem to viewing them as contributing to a mixed society."