Crackdown: licences immediately revoked if a driver fails a roadside sight test

[The utility cyclist]

about time but why isn't this countrywide or indeed every licence holder written to with a formal check either at an opticians or other centre (on a yearly basis at their cost), no need to waste police time!
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018 ... oor-vision

[Eric the Red]

I'm always amazed by the fact that you can pass a simple test in your teens and get a licence (yes - that IS how you spell it!) for life - no retest, no regular medical, just sign yourself off at 70 (I'm there soon!).
I'm regularly reassessed for my licence for firearms, and it should be the same for another potentially lethal machine.

[fixerupper]

Sounds like a sensible plan. Here in Crete the rule is at 65 you have to have a medical and an eye test, and reapply for a new licence every three years ...

[Vorpal]

In most US states, drivers must pass a basic vision test in order to renew their licences, which is typically every 4 years.

[atlas_shrugged]

Be careful what you wish for. If your driving licence is revoked because you have failed a vision test then does that not also mean that you are a dangerous cyclist?

[Cunobelin]

In most US states, drivers must pass a basic vision test in order to renew their licences, which is typically every 4 years.

Not that simple......

Some years ago we used to have a neighbour with a blue badge.

The reason they had the badge was that they were registered blind.

However at the time, they passed the requirements to drive

[Cunobelin]

Be careful what you wish for. If your driving licence is revoked because you have failed a vision test then does that not also mean that you are a dangerous cyclist?

Once again the camp will be split between those who believe that many rules like this should apply to ALL road users, and those that will argue cyclists are a special case that require exemption

[mjr]

Be careful what you wish for. If your driving licence is revoked because you have failed a vision test then does that not also mean that you are a dangerous cyclist?

Once again the camp will be split between those who believe that many rules like this should apply to ALL road users, and those that will argue cyclists are a special case that require exemption

Not at all. Motorists are a special case requiring extra rules like this because they are heavier and faster than all other road users.

Someone can see well enough to cycle safely at 30mph without being able to drive safely at 60, obviously.

[softlips]

Be careful what you wish for. If your driving licence is revoked because you have failed a vision test then does that not also mean that you are a dangerous cyclist?

Once again the camp will be split between those who believe that many rules like this should apply to ALL road users, and those that will argue cyclists are a special case that require exemption

Not at all. Motorists are a special case requiring extra rules like this because they are heavier and faster than all other road users.

Someone can see well enough to cycle safely at 30mph without being able to drive safely at 60, obviously.

Agreed.

I’d like to see a retest every five years for motor vehicle drivers with an eye test included. I’d happily take it.

[Nigel]

I'm always amazed by the fact that you can pass a simple test in your teens and get a licence (yes - that IS how you spell it!) for life - no retest, no regular medical, just sign yourself off at 70 (I'm there soon!).

What amazes me is how little vision one needs to pass the driving eye test. Reading a plate at a distance of less than a tennis court length is a pathetically inadequate test of vision. Its a very low bar for acuity, and it has no measure of peripheral vision.

Nigel

[Vorpal]

In most US states, drivers must pass a basic vision test in order to renew their licences, which is typically every 4 years.

Not that simple......

Some years ago we used Mohave a neighbour with a blue badge.

The reason they had the badge was that they were registered blind.

However at the time, they passed the requirements to drive

I don't know the requirements there, but I tried to pass the test in a couple of states without my glasses, and I was unable to do so.

I can read a number plate on a car from 20 metres away, but my US driving licences said I had to wear glasses to drive.

[661-Pete]

I go for regular eye tests anyway, so I'm constantly being re-assessed. I'm certain that if my vision fell below the level required for driving they'd tell me at the optician's!

In fact I think my eyesight is better than average for someone my age. When looking at the Pleiades on a clear starry night, I can still (wearing my glasses) discern six separate stars. Many people can't.

I wonder, however, if they're attacking the wrong target? Statistically speaking, older motorists are far safer than younger ones. And for young, often aggressive motorists, poor eyesight is not usually an issue...

A little anecdote, from many years ago. I remember my mother telling me about a friend of hers - a fairly elderly lady - who had a minor prang in her car: ramming a parked car or something. No injuries and only minimal damage, but nevertheless the police turned up. They became suspicious because this woman wore lenticular glasses, so they tested her eyesight there and then by the roadside - and she failed. So they impounded her licence and ordered her to go and take an eye-test. My mother said that her friend told her, she failed the roadside test because her eyes were full of tears at the time.

Anyway, this woman took her eye-test and was passed fit to drive, so she got her licence back. How much distress she had to endure, couldn't be compensated for...

[Vorpal]

A couple of farily high profile road traffic deaths in the last 10 years, involved drivers who had poor vision. IIRC, one of them went on to kill again.

Professional drivers, at the very least should be required to have regular eye tests, and wear corrective lenses, if necessary.

I think that introducing a requirement to submit a certificate (electronic is ok) from an optician for driving licence renewal (every 5 years) for car and motorcycle licences is good. The requirement should be more frequent for drivers who hold licences to operate HGVs, LGVs, and other large vehicles.

[Bonefishblues]

It is notable that the co-sponsor of the initiative is Vision Express, I hear this morning.

[661-Pete]

As it happens - I went to Vision Express for one of my eye-tests, a few years ago. Was not terribly impressed with their service.

"Should've.........................." [no don't say it!!]

I now go to a small independent optician's. Slightly dearer, but far better treatment....