Being able to see clearly is one of the most important factors to driving safely, especially for professionals such as taxi drivers and HGV drivers.
In fact, it is the first part of the UK practical driving test – drivers are asked to read a vehicle number plate from 20m even before they get into their car. Those who are unable to read it correctly instantly fail the test and the issue is recorded by the DVLA who will require an eye test before another practical driving test can be taken.
But after passing your test, the responsibility remains with the driver to have their eyes checked and use glasses or contact lenses if necessary. While drivers in other countries are required to undergo regular eye tests to renew their licence, in the UK, someone could pass their test at 17 and continue driving into their 70s without ever having their vision retested in order to drive.
Fleet News reports that the UK is the only European country to issue licences without any visual checks for a continuous period up to the age of 70.
Even when they reach 70 and have to renew their driving licence, the responsibility remains with them to inform the DVLA of any sight issues – sometimes with tragic consequences. This has led a coroner who presided over four inquests in which people were killed by drivers with defective vision, to call for the law to change.
Tragedies
Senior coroner for Lancashire Dr James Adeley has written to transport secretary Heidi Alexander saying action is required to prevent future deaths.
The call for stricter rules regarding drivers’ eyesight comes after Dr Adeley conducted the inquests of Marie Cunningham, 79, Grace Foulds, 85, Peter Westwell, 80, and Anne Ferguson, 75, at Preston Coroner’s Court between 2021 and 2023.
Of the three drivers who caused the deaths, one was jailed for seven years after failing to declare their defective eyesight to DVLA, another who had a history of eye disease was jailed for 32 months, and one was jailed for four years after failing to declare they had cataracts in both eyes.
Dr Adeley said: “The four fatalities shared the same feature that the driver’s sight was well below the standard required to drive a car.
“The current system for ‘ensuring’ drivers meet the visual legal standards is ineffective, unsafe and unfit to meet the needs of society as evidenced by the deaths of Marie Cunningham, Grace Foulds, Anne Ferguson and Peter Westwell where the DVLA continued to provide licences to drivers who had failed to meet the legal sight requirements.”
Fleet News reports that the Government is understood to be reassessing eyesight rules for drivers and is considering changes as part of the Government’s road safety strategy.
Rob Heard, chairman of the Older Drivers’ Forum, has called for it to be made compulsory for opticians and GPs to check a person’s eyesight once they turn 70, and inform the DVLA via an online system.
It should be obvious that you need to be able to see properly to drive safely. For whatever reason people choose to ignore sight issues, they are putting themselves and others in serious danger.
If they hit something and only cause damage, they could still have problems with their taxi insurance if their eyesight is not up to the required standard to drive.
In the worst-case scenario, they cause serious injury or even death and not only face severe consequences including prison, but have to live with the responsibility and knowledge that tragedy could have been avoided.
