Photochromic lenses placed under scrutiny

The Department for Transport is examining the safety of photochromic lenses in transport situations after an investigation found they may have played a part in the deaths of three men whose yacht was hit or swamped by a P&O ferry last year.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that the 60-year-old lookout on the Pride of Bilbao was wearing photochromic lenses that could have obscured 20 per cent of his night vision. He had purchased a pair of photochomic-lensed glasses after an eye exam in 2005 to correct his slight myopic vision. When his eyes were examined after the August 2006 accident, the Rx was found to be correct, with no anomalies or defects.