Research has found that 56% of optometrists have seen a patient in the last month who continued to drive despite their vision being below the legal standard.
The survey, commissioned by the Association of Optometrists (AOP), identified 51% of these optometrists reported having more than one patient who did this.
The professional body said this was a sharp increase from four in 10 optometrists when it conducted a survey in 2019.
Adam Sampson, chief executive of the AOP, said: ‘Our latest research is a stark reminder of why our roads in the UK are not as safe as they should be. Many eye care professionals on the high street have a patient, or multiple patients, who are driving with vision that is proven to be, via a medical check, below the minimum required for driving.’
The AOP also found that 32% of optometrists said the number of patients they were advising not to drive had increased in the last three years.
Findings were supported by a public poll that revealed one in seven (14%) said they knew a relative, friend or co-worker who drove despite having eyesight below the legal standard.
Additionally, 25% of Britons said they were concerned about someone they knew driving despite having poor vision.
Only two-thirds of the public who were motorists said they would stop driving completely if a test showed their vision had fallen below the legal standard and 6% would continue driving as normal.
Among the most popular approaches to tackling the number of motorists with poor vision on the UK’s roads were mandatory regular sight tests for all drivers (60% in favour); more frequent vision checks for older drivers (54%) and public awareness campaigns about the risks of driving with poor vision (40%).
However, 52% of optometrists believed the public were not generally becoming more aware of the dangers of driving with poor vision.
Professor Julie-Anne Little, optometrist and past chair of the AOP, said: ‘Sight changes are gradual, which means many drivers are unaware that their vision has
deteriorated over time. But having poor eyesight has been shown to slow reaction times and the ability to drive safely. It doesn’t take much for one mistake to result in a serious collision with catastrophic consequences.
Prof Little shared that her experience of speaking to patients about vision and driving had sometimes been difficult to have but was necessary to prevent putting themselves and others at risk.
‘Which is why we’re urging friends and family to take the time to consider what they want to say, approach it with respect but tackle the conversation if they have concerns over a relative or someone they know who is driving with poor vision,’ Prof Little added.
Legal requirements
The AOP called for all drivers to be required by law to have their vision checked when they first apply for a licence and when renewing it.
Furthermore, it noted that the 1937 Road Traffic Act left the reporting of a patient’s vision status when renewing a licence to the individual.
‘In the UK, the number plate test is not an adequate test of vision. It is carried out only once with a driving instructor, not a trained eye health professional. A driver’s vision can then remain unchecked for the rest of their life. This approach is flawed and is out of step with many other countries who use a full sight test as the means to accurately ensure motorists have satisfactory vision to drive safely,’ Sampson said.
The AOP’s survey found 65% of optometrists believed the DVLA guidance in the 1937 Act to be ‘dangerously out of date’ and 63% believed it was putting people needlessly at risk on UK roads.
‘What is deeply worrying is that we have a decade’s worth of evidence to highlight the risks and the growing concern of eye experts. Change is never easy. There was huge opposition to drink driving laws and the mandatory use of seatbelts but these interventions save lives. Our polling shows the majority of the public support the idea of mandatory regular sight tests for all drivers.
‘That’s why we are calling on the Department for Transport to update the law to ensure all drivers are required to have their vision checked,’ Sampson added.
