New driving rules to clampdown on motorists with bad eyesight are “long overdue” according to a leading campaigner.
James Luckhurst, road safety adviser at GEM Motoring Assist, has called on Rishi Sunak to take action with eyesight testing “falling behind”.
Any new rules are likely to affect older drivers with eyesight problems becoming more common in older age.
Under current rules, motorists must tell the DVLA about any medical concerns including vision problems.
However, there is no mandatory testing in place meaning road users with awful vision can slip under the radar.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, James said: “A Government commitment to put this through is long overdue.
“The whole eyesight testing regime falls far behind so many other countries and it’s in desperate need of some attention.”
The DVSA is understood to be looking into concerns around eyesight testing rules with potential changes possibly around the corner.
The group’s latest business plan stated chiefs were “considering how the eyesight test is administered during a driving test”.
They will also work with the DVLA’s Medical Panel to make sure any new rules would meet current standards.
It also follows a DVSA call for evidence looking into how medical driving licence applications can be handled.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), around 2,900 casualties are caused by poor vision every year.
GEM Motoring Assist has previously called for older drivers to have their eyesight tested “more often” than once every three years.
They suggested a national database could be introduced to make sure motorists cannot “bypass” the system.
However, James suggested “political will” among politicians was needed to bring forward any meaningful changes.
He added: “We will have to accept what we’ve got and keep going on with it unless we have the political will. It’s a national thing and it needs the national Government to identify, to look at the data and make decisions based on the data that’s there.
“One piece of data suggests that up to ten percent of people on the road have defective vision. That’s very very worrying if it’s true. That’s huge numbers. The only way there will be worthwhile change is through political will.
“It’s fine saying we have to take personal responsibility but for nine out of ten people we just get in our cars and go from here to there. We don’t go out with the intention of hurting ourselves or anyone else, nor do we give any thought to what we are doing really.
“Either there needs to be better education and better willingness amongst drivers to accept their own shortcomings and realise they are not quite as good as we think we are and we are certainly more vulnerable than we think we are.”
