Drivers' vision farce

Living in an area with a high proportion of elderly drivers, I come across poor sighted drivers all too often. Surely it would be in the insurers' interests (as they have to pay the repair bills) to request that the insured should have an eye examination at least every four years. Alternatively, it could be included as one of the requirements when road tax is purchased - an optometrist's certificate to state that the insured reached the legal standard, along with an MOT and insurance certificate. The need to renew the licence at 70 is a farce; one lady we examined with vision of 6/24 had ticked that she reached the required standard as she knew no better. A sight test was not even required. We all know there must be a link between poor vision and the incidence of road accidents. While politicians rattle on about cutting the accident rate, this is one suggestion that could be easily implemented. Why has anyone not done this before? And yes, we should receive a small fee for issuing such a certificate. A small charge added to an average eye examination fee would probably still be less than a tank of petrol for most people. There should be no discounting of fees; if drivers say they cannot afford a examination, how can they afford to run a car? Name and address supplied