Brake for a sight test during Road Safety Week

Optical Express has highlighted the importance of good eyesight when it comes to driving, emphasising that “drivers with poor vision increase their risk of collisions due to not seeing hazards and their inability to react in time to driving hazards.”

Making the comments during Road Safety Week this week (20–26 November), the multiple is backing the awareness initiative and aims to inspire schools, organisations and the public to take action on road safety.

According to the charity Brake, road crashes involving a driver with poor vision are estimated to cause nearly 3000 casualties in the UK per year. Studies also estimate that approximately 1.8 million drivers have vision below the minimum legal standard.

Clinical services director at Optical Express, Stephen Hannan, stressed: “Good eyesight is an essential requirement for safe driving, yet a number of drivers are unaware they actually have a vision impairment and as a result never seek or receive the proper vision correction or treatment they need.”

By law, drivers must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres away, with glasses or contact lenses if required.

Mr Hannan added: “Our eyesight changes over time, so passing the sight test when you first took your driving test doesn’t necessarily mean your sight is still up to standard. It is a very important public safety matter in the interest of the individual driver and the general public, as well as being a legal requirement before driving a car.”