Motorists reminded of visual requirements during NEHW

The Federation of Manufacturing Opticians (FMO) is partnering with automobile services company the RAC to call on drivers to ensure they are aware of the visual requirements of road safety.

Launched during National Eye Health Week (NEHW) this week (21–27 September), the initiative encourages motorists to perform a 10-point check before getting in the car.

The points range from ensuring you have the correct prescription spectacles or contact lenses, carrying a spare pair of glasses and ensuring that lenses are clean, to considering polarised lenses to reduce glare and discussing reflection-free lenses. They also include never wearing tinted spectacles or sunglasses in poor visibility and booking an ‘MOT’ for your vision every year.

RAC European breakdown operations manager, David Huggon, said: “As a precaution, the RAC advises all motorists who wear prescription glasses or contact lenses to take a spare pair of glasses with them when driving, both at home and especially abroad, as finding a replacement pair in a foreign country could prove difficult.”

He added: “Ultimately, if your vision is not up to scratch you are putting other road users’ lives at risk. We therefore advise motorists to have regular eye examinations at least every two years, or sooner if their sight changes.”