Road crashes involving a driver with poor vision are estimated to cause 2,900 casualties and cost the UK £33m per year, according to road safety charity Brake. Held between November 18 to 24, Road Safety Week emphasised life-saving messages while boosting awareness and engagement with methods of improving road safety, including improved eyesight regulations.
Optical professionals have been campaigning for regular, mandatory eyesight tests to be included as part of the licensing process for drivers in the UK for many years now. Minimum eyesight standards for driving in the UK published on gov.uk state an individual must be able to read a car number plate, with glasses or contact lenses if necessary, from 20 metres away. This rudimental test is carried out once at the start of the practical driving test, and only if it is failed do the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) require an eyesight test when reapplying for a licence.
Alongside Cyprus, France, the Netherlands and Norway, the UK is one of only a few European countries to rely on a licence plate reading test, carried out by a driving test employee, to check that vision is suitable for driving. Every other European country stipulates that a visual acuity test be carried out as part of the licensing process, with some necessitating both visual acuity and visual field tests.
Ageing population
Data published in August show teenage licence holders are outnumbered by octogenarians, with twice as many drivers in their 80s as those aged between 16 and 19. The total number of licence holders aged 25 and below is just over 3.3 million, whereas the figure for those over 70 is over 5.4 million.
Older drivers are statistically less likely to be involved in road accidents than younger drivers, but older people are at more risk of poor eyesight affecting their safety on the roads. Joe Oldman, policy manager for housing and transport at Age UK, told Optician: ‘Road accidents involving older people are much lower compared with younger drivers. All older people should meet the legal sight requirements, and although the incidence of poor eyesight is likely to increase with age, a regular eye test is an issue for all drivers regardless of age.’
Several high-profile media stories involving fatalities caused by individuals who continued to drive against the advice of optometrists have highlighted the potentially severe costs of not addressing lax eyesight regulations in the UK. Highlighting the danger of elderly drivers ignoring practitioner advice, the case of 90-year-old retired GP
Dr Turner Waddell, who killed 28-year-old Neil Colquhoun, is perhaps the most telling example. Dr Waddell killed Colquhoun when he collided with him after driving for a mile on the wrong side of a dual carriageway. The former GP failed an eye test the day before and had been told he was unfit to drive. British Oscar winner Judi Dench also raised the profile of the issue, telling Radio Times earlier this year that she had voluntarily given up driving because her AMD had affected her sight enough for it to be dangerous. ‘I just know I’ll kill somebody if I get behind the wheel of a car now,’ explained the 84-year-old.
The sector responds
The Association of Optometrists (AOP) encouraged optical professionals to support its campaign, entitled Don’t swerve a sight test, for legislative change during Road Safety Week. First launched in 2017, the campaign seeks to amend legislation so that comprehensive vision checks are carried out when people first apply for their licence and then every 10 years afterwards.
According to the AOP, 30% of road users have doubted whether their vision is good enough yet continue to drive. Worryingly, less than half (40%) of motorists surveyed would stop driving if there were told their vision, even with glasses or contact lenses, was below the legal standard. The AOP’s recent Voice of Optometry investigation influenced the campaign further; the number of motorists asked to stop driving by optometrists has increased by 2% from 2018, while 37% of optometrists have seen patients in the last month who continue to drive despite being informed their vision is below the legal standard.
Henry Leonard, optometrist and AOP head of clinical and regulatory, said: ‘What many might perceive as a small increase is deeply disappointing and has frightening consequences. We are seeing a rise in the number of people who have a disregard for how important good vision is for driving ability and it’s impacting the safety of the individuals who use our roads.’
Optical Express also weighed in during Road Safety Week, supporting the initiative and providing the results of its own research. The firm revealed three fifths of glasses or contact lens wearers said they had driven without the correct eyewear, which is an offence that could result in prosecution.
Specsavers co-sponsored Road Safety Week, focusing the thrust of its messaging on encouraging employers of those who drive as part of their job to ensure employees can see well enough to drive. Over 500 HR decision makers from companies across the UK were surveyed by the multiple, with it being revealed that 45% of them had concerns about whether their staff’s eyesight was as good as it should be for driving.
Jim Lythgow, director of strategic alliances at Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: ‘UK legal requirements for driver eyesight are actually quite minimal. The fact that so many employers are concerned should serve as a wake-up call.’
Employers are moving in the direction of improving the situation with nearly three-quarters (72%) explaining that they offer workplace eye care to those who drive for work purposes. However, 17% said they offer eye care to only some drivers, while another 11% did not offer any eye care at all. ‘If employers are offering eye care to the majority of drivers but are still concerned that their eyesight is not good enough, then clearly something is missing,’ commented Lythgow.
Positive signs
Progress has been made since last year’s Road Safety week. In the Department for Transport’s (DfT) 2019 road safety statement, released in July, the government department announced it will be researching how much impact poor vision has on road safety. Included in the report is a consideration over whether to introduce regular eyesight tests for those over 70, in line with the demands of the AOP’s campaign.
The DfT report reads: ‘We are minded to consider that there may be a case for mandatory eyesight tests at 70 and at three-year intervals thereafter, to coincide with licence renewal. We are launching a research programme and literature review, in partnership with DVLA, to assess how far poor vision is or may itself become a road safety problem in the UK, and if there is a requirement for a new vision test to identify drivers who pose a collision risk.’ As the statement goes on to emphasise, drivers of all ages have a legal responsibility to tell DVLA if their vision deteriorates. However, the Royal National Institute of Blind estimates 13.8m people do not have regular eye tests.
Motorists have the legal responsibility to report their own eyesight problems to DVLA, but as statistics show that many patients continue to drive despite advice to the contrary optometrists may rightly worry about public safety. GOC guidance, due to be published in December, will address when it is appropriate for registrants to breach patient confidentiality in the public interest. The College of Optometrists has already published advice on this matter, explaining that if optometrists conclude the public interest outweighs the duty of confidentiality they should notify the DVLA in writing, provide evidence of clinical findings and notify the patient’s GP of the action being taken. This action should only be taken after exhausting options with the patient, and the College recommends contacting a professional or representative body for advice first.