Drivers ‘should face regular eye tests’

MOTORISTS should have to undergo eye tests every ten years, because one in seven has eyesight too poor to be driving, an insurer has claimed.

RSA also called for learner drivers to undergo sight checks before being given a provisional licence.

It said the number-plate reading part of the test should be scrapped because it did not test other aspects of vision, such as a driver’s visual field. Eye tests should instead form part of motorists renewing their licences every ten years.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People estimates one in seven drivers fails to meet the required level of sight and is driving illegally.

“People driving with poor eyesight are a neglected danger on our roads,” said RSA UK chief executive Adrian Brown. “You wouldn’t own a car and not MOT it, so why not MOT your eyes?”

RSA said 92 per cent of drivers it had polled thought people with poor eyesight were a threat to themselves and others. Three-quarters backed eye tests as part of licences being renewed.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency said drivers who failed to meet the eyesight standard would be guilty of an offence.

“All drivers are required by law to meet the appropriate eyesight standard at all times while driving,” a spokesman said.