Road-ready vision in the headlights with Glaucoma UK

Glaucoma UK has released a campaign to highlight the importance of regular eye tests to ensure road safety.

The campaign has been released to coincide with Road Safety Week, which runs from 19–25 November.

The charity is highlighting that, as glaucoma can be symptomless, “the key to safeguarding people’s vision and the safety of others is through routine eye tests.”

The campaign sees Glaucoma UK place adverts on petrol nozzles in cities where there is less uptake of eye tests.

In a statement introducing the campaign, Joanne Creighton, chief executive of Glaucoma UK, shared that while driving is important for individual independence, it is “crucial” to see well enough to be safe on the road, adding: “As glaucoma sight loss usually starts affecting the peripheral vision, you may not realise that it is slowly stealing your sight.”

“This is why the Road Safety Week campaign encourages people to get their eyes tested, to ensure they keep their vision road-ready,” Creighton said, adding that early diagnosis is “key” to protecting sight from glaucoma.

Glaucoma UK has also updated the free ‘Driving and glaucoma’ booklet, covering all four nations of the UK, and with improved accessibility. The booklet also contains frequently asked questions for people with glaucoma, and explains when and how to contact the DVLA or DVA.