Safety campaigners target drivers' vision

The coverage comes ahead of the publication of new figures on 1,000 drivers' attitudes to road safety by Brake, the body which organises Road Safety Week. The organisation previously carried out a vision screening test on 500 motorists at last October's Motor Show and found that 10 per cent failed. Some motorists told researchers that they had not attended an eye examination for 10 years. Road Safety Week will take place from March 31 to April 6 and Brake will release details of its survey on drivers' attitudes to safety shortly before it takes place. Insurance company HAS Healthcare and the IAM have issued a statement claiming that research had shown that accidents could be cut by a tenth if people driving with sub-standard vision were made aware of the problem. HAS cited Vauxhall Motors' figures - which showed that the number of those killed or injured in accidents could fall by 900 a year and additionally save &\#163;38m. The IAM is advising motorists to have their vision checked regularly, always wear their spectacles or contact lenses when driving and carry a spare pair of spectacles in the car. IAM chairman Bryan Lunn said: 'It's very dangerous and an offence to drive if you cannot see properly.' Channel 4's motoring programme Driven highlighted the issue of motorists' vision in a programme broadcast on January 30. It also covered other areas of being 'fit to drive' including tiredness, and driving and taking medicines. Driven reported that if forced to retake a driving test one in 10 of all drivers would fail because of defective vision. The programme featured David Cartwright, Boots Opticians' director of professional services, marketing and merchandising, who discussed the legal vision requirements for driving.