Road safety charity Brake has suggested that eyesight tests should be made compulsory.
They surveyed a range of drivers across the UK and found that the majority supported the suggestion that our roads could be safer if people were required to prove their levels of vision. They say that there are 2,900 casualties on the road in the UK every year which can be attributed to poor eyesight.
Brake are asking the government to introduce measures whereby every driving license renewal would require an eyesight test before the license was re-issued; nine out of ten people surveyed felt that this was a good idea.
The standard test at present is to ask new drivers to read a registration plate from a distance of 20 metres but it is not believed that this covers all the aspects of vision which can be valuable to safe driving.
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: ‘Compulsory regular eyesight testing for drivers is a common sense, lifesaving move. Clearly the public agrees that the government needs to act to tackle the alarming number of drivers taking a lax approach to their eyes.''
Making sure your vision is up to scratch is crucial to safe driving, and though it may seem there are plenty of excuses to put off going to the opticians, none is good enough when it comes to putting people's lives at risk. If you drive, it's not just your own health you are jeopardising by neglecting your eyesight, but the lives of those around you.’
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