Roadside vision screenings held for Is Your Vision Roadworthy? campaign

Results from the screenings will be included in the campaign’s annual survey of drivers’ vision

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Six people in high-vis clothes stand around a tent advertising voluntary roadside vision screening tests at Beaconsfield Services

Is Your Vision Roadworthy?

04 November 2026

A campaign highlighting the minimum eyesight standards for drivers has seen police forces across the UK conducting roadside vision screenings and hosting community engagement activities.

Local authorities, road safety professionals and other organisations are participating in roadside checks, awareness events, and community engagement for the Is Your Vision Roadworthy? campaign.

The screenings see drivers asked to read a car number plate from a distance of 20 metres in good daylight.

Held over a two-week period ending on 8 November 2026, results from the screenings will be included in the Is Your Vision Roadworthy? annual survey of drivers’ vision.

Results will also be used to inform future road safety policy and campaigns.

Campaigners highlighted that 18 people lost their lives on UK roads in 2025 and around 3000 are seriously injured every year due to drivers or riders with uncorrected or defective eyesight.

Research by the Is Your Vision Roadworthy? campaign in 2025 found that, of 3788 drivers tested, 1.6% failed. Analysis of the data by nation suggested 2.6% of drivers tested in England failed, 3.2% of drivers tested in Scotland, and 0.5% of drivers tested in Wales.

The Is Your Vision Roadworthy? 2026 report suggested that, in England, a 2.6% eyesight test failure rate equates to approximately 1.2 million English drivers who do not meet current visual standards for driving.

Toolkits including posters, press releases, social media assets and leaflets were provided to police forces and campaign supporters.

The initiative, run by the Older Drivers Forum, Eye Health UK, and the University of Warwick, seeks to promote the eyesight standards for driving and the importance of receiving regular sight tests to ensure these standards are met.

The law requires all drivers to be able to read a car number plate from a distance of 20 metres, have a visual acuity of 6/12 measured on the Snellen scale – wearing prescription eyewear if necessary – and have an adequate field of vision.

The AOP’s annual campaign Don’t swerve a sight test promotes the value of regular sight tests and illustrates how the association is campaigning on vision standards for driving. Find out more here.

Pictured: Buckingham Neighbourhood Policing Team, National Highways, Buckinghamshire Council, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and Is Your Vision Roadworthy? team conducting vision screening at Beaconsfield Services on the M40 on 28 October 2026.