In focus: News review of 2018

Police crackdown on drivers with poor vision

There have been too many stories reported in the pages of Optician in recent years about people killed or seriously hurt by drivers with poor vision. A month-long trial run in September by police forces in Thames Valley, Hampshire and the West Midlands captured the attention of not just the profession, but the wider public too.

The trial, supported by the road safety charity Brake, required all motorists stopped by police officers to read a number plate from 20m. If they failed, drivers had their licences revoked on the spot. Data from the trial is being used to improve understanding of the extent of poor drivers’ vision.