Eye checks should be compulsory for motorists once they reach 70, says a police-backed group
JOHN EVANS
A road safety organisation backed by the police has criticised current eye test requirements for drivers and called for mandatory eye testing once they turn 70 and every three years thereafter.
Rob Heard, a former traffic police officer and founder of the Older Drivers Forum, a not-for-profit organisation run by Hampshire Constabulary Road Safety Team, says the current requirements for elderly drivers are inadequate.
“We’re one of the worst countries in Europe,” he said. “There are only two times in a driver’s career when their eyesight must be tested: the driving test and when a police officer tells them to read a licence plate at 20 metres. Compared with other countries where regular eye assessments are mandatory, our rules are out of date.”
Heard’s comments follow news that a senior coroner presiding over a case involving a 95-year-old motorist who knocked down and killed a mobility scooter user on a pedestrian crossing has written to the secretary of state for transport and the head of the DVLA concerned about the lack of limits and assessments on elderly drivers.
In her prevention of future deaths report, coroner Penelope Schofield highlighted the fact that although drivers over 70 must apply for a new licence every three years, they are not required to undergo a medical check to establish their fitness to drive. Instead, they are allowed to self-declare their state of health. This, wrote Schofield, raised the possibility that should no checks be carried out, “a driver may be oblivious to their enduring medical condition and this may pose a serious risk to other road users”.
Responding to the coroner’s letter, the Department for Transport said: “It is the law that all drivers must ensure that they are medically fit to drive at all times and notify the DVLA of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that could affect this. We have some of the safest roads in the world and we keep licensing standards up to date to make sure that is maintained.”
Of the 41.5 million people who hold a full driving licence in the UK, 6.25 million (15%) are older than 70. Their number is increasing at the rate of 250,000 each year. While their health varies widely, one condition they are all likely to share is failing eyesight.
“It’s a huge issue,” said Heard, who was inspired to found the Older Drivers Forum after attending a fatal head-on collision caused by a 9
