AOP urges more rigorous driving laws

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) has called for an improvement in driving vision laws as part of its 'Don’t swerve a sight test' public campaign.

The AOP has urged laws become stricter and recommended drivers have a comprehensive vision check to prove their vision meets the legal standard when they first apply for the licence and then every 10 years thereafter, or more frequently after the age of 70.

This followed research by the AOP that revealed 45% of optometrists in the UK have seen a patient in the last month who continued to drive despite being told their vision falls below the legal standard, and 47% of the public believed laws on vision for driving should be more rigorous.

AOP chief executive Adam Sampson said in a letter to the DVLA: ‘The laws governing eyesight and driving in the UK are among the laxest in Europe, requiring merely that the driver demonstrates adequate vision at the point when he or she first takes a driving test.