Medical conditions and bad eyesight need to be addressed by drivers
IN recent weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about medical ailments or conditions and the impact they have on your ability to drive.
Firstly, millions of people were found to be driving without reporting conditions like heart problems or epilepsy that could preclude them from legally holding a licence. Then the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) was criticised for failing to return licences to those who had declared conditions but were deemed fit to drive by doctors.
All in all, the whole system seems to be in disarray. The latest concern is those driving with poor eyesight. As part of the test, we all read a licence plate to check we can see far enough, but beyond that, there’s little control.
Many people don’t wear glasses when they should as they don’t think their eyesight is bad enough to affect their driving. But latest figures reveal how much of a problem it really is.
According to research by Direct Line, 64 people were killed or seriously injured by drivers with uncorrected or defective eyesight in 2015 alone. Plus, around 13 million motorists who need glasses or contact lenses always drive without them, increasing their chance of a crash fourfold. Over a third of drivers have not had a vision test in the past two years, either.
Not only is this dangerous for all road users, there’s also the risk of invalidating insurance, a £1,000 fine or even imprisonment if causing an accident due to defective vision.
The message from this eyesight data – and the recent previous medical stories – is simple: Ailments and conditions shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to driving.
“64 people were killed or seriously injured by drivers with uncorrected eyesight in 2015 alone“