May 21, 2008

A staggering one in three people who visited the Specsavers trailer at the Drive Safe road show at Olympia, filed the required vision requirements to drive. 

Of the 500 people checked, more than one third are falling way short of the legal minimum legal requirements set by the Department of Transport and Police Force.

92% of the drivers surveyed thought that compulsory eye tests should be carried out on drivers every 3 year.  89% said that they would consider regular sight checks if it reduced the cost of insurance premiums. 

Specsavers founder Dame Mary Perkins says: ‘It has long been suspected that defective eye sight is a significant contributory factor in road traffic accidents. The objective of our Drive Safe roadshow is to prove that many drivers are unaware that their poor vision could be adversely affecting their driving.

‘These results show that a significant number of London’s drivers are worryingly unsafe.  Being perceptive and alert as a driver, especially in a congested city such as London is crucial, so it is vital that they have their eyes examined regularly to ensure they are not putting themselves, or anyone else, at risk.’

The government should consider how to ensure that people are able to see properly if they are behind the wheel of a car.  If the police are called to attend a car crash they should make the protagonists take a quick eye test, something similar to the number plate test when you take your driving test (to read in good light (with the aid of glasses or contact lenses if worn) a registration mark fixed to a motor vehicle and containing letters and figures 79 millimetres high and 50 millimetres wide at a distance of 20 metres).  A alternative could be an eye test every 3 – 5 years to make sure that drivers have good enough eyesight to be able to drive.

This current research adds weight to the idea that people should have a re-test every 10 – 15 years to make sure that they are fit to be behind the wheel of a car.  The eye test could take place as part of the driving test and should make the roads safer for motorists and pedestrians alike.

Leave a comment

Type into the box below