(2) what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to ensure all motorists have vision of the required standard for driving safety;
(3) what estimate he has made of the level of uncorrected visual impairment among the driving population; and if he will make a statement;
(4) what estimate he has made of the number of road traffic accidents where poor vision has been a contributory factor; and if he will make a statement.
A review of the eyesight testing requirements for drivers is being undertaken alongside a review of medical licensing, and it is intended to issue proposals for consultation in the spring.
Accurate estimates of the prevalence of visual function below the current visual standards cannot be made at present. Police officers can check a driver’s visual acuity at the roadside only when impaired driving is observed and vision is suspected as its cause. The DVLA can check whether a driver’s self-declared unimpaired visual function is correct only when there are reasonable grounds for suspicion.
In 2005 there were 147,509 road accidents in which a police officer attended the scene and at least one contributory factor was identified. Uncorrected defective eyesight was identified as one of the contributory factors in only 226 personal injury accidents. Poor eyesight was named as the sole contributory factor in only 12 of these 226 accidents.