But the sobering statistic has failed to fan calls for a rethink on Victoria's licensing conditions for elderly motorists, which are the least restrictive of all the states.

While the road toll dropped by 40 to 242 last year, 60 people aged over 70 died - 13 more than in 2012. In comparison, deaths of those aged 18-25 dropped from 64 to 37.

The elderly are dying at a greater rate than the young - 10 per 100,000 compared to 6 per 100,000 last year.

Last year was Victoria's worst year for road deaths among people over 70 since 2001. The toll for that age group has been between 44 and 47 for the past four years.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill said the rising elderly toll had become the ''most significant issue'' for road policing. But he stopped short of suggesting NSW-style compulsory testing for elderly drivers every two years, or annual medical tests.

''The research is clear - you do not deliver better road safety outcomes with an age-based assessment program,'' he said.

Victorians aged over 75 have their licences renewed every three years and decide their own fitness to drive, but family, friends, police and GPs are urged to report at-risk drivers. In South Australia, annual medical tests for drivers aged over 70 were scrapped last month.

All other states have some form of age-based medical testing or driving assessment.

The number of registered drivers aged 70 on Victorian roads has increased 21 per cent in five years to 420,150, according to VicRoads data. While they accounted for 10.6 per cent of registered drivers, they made up almost 18 per cent of driver deaths in the 2012-13 financial year.

More than 4100 out of 24,824 older drivers assessed by VicRoads on medical grounds over that period had licences revoked.

A VicRoads spokeswoman said the authority had investigated age-based assessments many times, but found no proof they would lead to better road safety.

RACV public policy manager Brian Negus said licensing conditions for elderly drivers were on the mark, and ''drivers should be allowed to continue to drive for as long as they are safe to do so''.

Council on the Ageing state chief executive Sue Hendy said the higher road toll for over-70s was due to the state's ''rapidly ageing population'' and the fact that older people were more fragile and vulnerable to the impact of a crash. Others suggested older drivers often had older cars, with fewer safety features.

with Stephen Cauchi