When Jean Lawrence failed a driving test in her 80s she thought she would never be able to drive again. 

Instead, the 84-year-old went back to the start, taking lessons, and sitting her test to get back behind the wheel.

With the number of Australians aged over 65 growing from 16 per cent today to 23 per cent by 2066, more face the prospect of losing their licence.

Last year, 438 people aged 80 or older in Western Australia had their driver's licence suspended or cancelled on medical grounds.

Anyone aged over 80 in WA must undergo an annual medical assessment and a GP may also recommend a separate practical driving test.

According to Main Roads, 754 people aged over 80 sat the practical driving test last year. Nearly half of them failed.

Sense of independence

The daunting thought of never driving again while living in an isolated part of the state is something Ms Lawrence knows well.

In January 2020, her GP recommended she sit a practical driving test after problems with nerves in her neck affecting movement in her hands.

Living in the small town of Walpole on the state's south coast she recalls the initial fear.

"I was very nervous about it," Ms Lawrence said.

She sat the test in Albany — about an hour and a half's drive east of Walpole — a town she isn't familiar driving in.

"I was under pressure because I had the instructor in the front of the car with me and the therapist in the back and I was driving a strange car," Ms Lawrence said.

"The whole thing was nerve-wracking to me, it really was."

She ended up failing the test and was not legally allowed to drive.

"I was considering not driving and dealing with it the best way I could, but I was quite stressed about it," she said.

Back on the road

It was only a week before Ms Lawrence changed her mind.

She said she needed to drive to do her weekly shopping and visit her daughter on a farm in Parryville, 40km east of Walpole.

"I realised how much I wanted to regain my licence because of my independence," she said.

She enlisted the help of a local driving instructor and said learning manoeuvres such as backing into parking spaces was one of the challenges.

"Anyone my age certainly didn't have to know all of those things when they got their licence, it was just experience."

After seven months she felt confident enough to resit the test.

"I thought, 'Yes, I'll have another hit at it.'"

Despite the stress of regaining her licence, Ms Lawrence says she appreciates the process.

"If you're not capable of driving your vehicle under certain circumstances, well, you shouldn't be driving," she said.

"If I thought I was incapable of that at any time I would be the first one to admit it."