Safe Speed Forums

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east/5277958.stm

Very interesting and not a bad idea (though I don't like the thought of being stopped when I haven't done anything wrong). Especially notable for this comment:

Only five? That is about 2%, I have previously read figures of more like 20% failing. They let one driver go after putting his glasses on - were they checking to see that they were testing people in the condition that they arrived? I can imagine many people said "Oooh, an eyesight test, now where are my glasses?"



I thought it was just a self-certification, the driver isn't automatically required to take a test and submit the results?

I recently had to fill out a D1 for a replacement license and yes it's just self certification: "Can you see?" was about the size of it.

I have often wondered about this: when you apply for a licence it asks if you need corrective leses, cant remember if this is shown on the licence counterpart? when the police pull you over are they able to access this infomation? is it used against you in insurance claims etc?

It certainly ought to be on your licence.

I can't see (ahem...) anyone with corrected vision's eyesight recovering over the years.

Actually, as your eyes lose their flexibility in middle age and you find it more difficult to focus on things close-up, many people with mild short sight do recover some or all of their distant vision.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

All drivers should have to produce the results of an ayasight test, not from the driving test which is derisory, but a thorough one from an Optician.
Apart from Visual Acuity, a thorough eye examination can reveal a large number of health problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure.
The eye is the only place on the body where a blood vessel can be seen in all it's glory.
All HGV and PCV drivers have to have their eyes checked every 5 years from the age of 45, why not every driver.

It would be interesting to research and find out just how many incidents have been caused by poor eyesight.

I know there are some drivers and pedestrians can't see a 44ton Artic.

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Semper in excreta, nur quantitat variat.

My own eyesight did exactly that. For years I wore glasses for driving, then one day I noticed that I could clearly read a number plate 40 yards away. I went to my optician who confirmed that I no longer needed the glasses for driving, and in fact I now need reading glasses (although for a few years I needed no glasses at all).

Considering that I have had my licence (the bit of paper I mean) for over 30 years, it would be an embarassmemt to have been stopped and to have shown a licence that said I needed glasses after they had become unnecessary.

But I think the real problem is when the opposite happens. A driver may no notice that their vision is deteriorating if it happens gradually over a long period. Perhaps these are the sort of people that failed the roadside tests.