A leading road safety organisation has ushered in the New Year by calling on the Government to tighten up eyesight testing requirement for drivers in an effort to cut collisions.
The only eyesight test currently imposed on drivers aged under 70 is the ‘number plate’ test, which has been part of the driving test since its introduction in 1937, but GEM Motoring Assist say this is crude and outdated and should be replaced with a detailed visual acuity and field of view examination to be conducted every 10 years.
“We are worried that a large number of drivers have not had their eyes tested for many years – and some have never had a test”, said GEM Motoring Assist CEO David Williams MBE.
“We believe it is unacceptable to operate a system where a driver can read a number plate aged 17 and carry on driving for 50 years or more without any eyesight check whatsoever. Along with many road safety organisations, we believe everyone should undergo a compulsory, professional eyesight test when applying for a provisional licence, with a further test every 10 years after that. The time has come to accept that the current driver eyesight test simply isn’t fit for purpose. What’s more, it is certainly no longer acceptable for drivers to self-certify. As more and more people are staying behind the wheel into their eighties and beyond, the need for mandatory eyesight testing has never been more pressing.”
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