a new campaign is calling for thegovernment to change the rules around eye tests for drivers. it's estimated thatthere are more than 3,000 injuries on the uk's roads where dodgy vision is akey factor. the uk is one of only five eu countries that doesn't legally requiredrivers to visit an optician as part of the driving test.
color blindness corrective contact lenses, how's your eyesight when you're behindthe wheel? shoppers in broadmead got the chance to test their sight. "very easy andstraightforward, and i was delighted that i passed with flying colors." "uh yeah my eyesight's awful, and apparently that's the legal requirement to drive. it'spretty shocking." "i think i did pretty
well. i do go regularly to theoptician." it's all part of a mission to tighten upour driving rules. "well in essence, somebody who potentiallycould pass their test at age 17 does not have to submit to a vision screeningexamination by a qualified optical professional, potentially for the wholeof their driving career. when you pass your driving test, all you're required todo is to see a number plate from 20 meters away. and that just tests one element of yourvision. it doesn't test other elements of your vision such as your peripheral visionand your ability to take in all of the
surroundings. and as an organization, wedon't believe that is robust enough and will be calling on the government torevisit the current arrangements with a view to try and improve them." and thosein charge of road safety in our city are backing the campaign. "it's a massivelyimportant cross-portfolio role, so it's not only myself, it's all my cabinetcolleagues and the mayor as well, working together to make bristol a safer place.but there could be around 10,000 people who are driving in bristol who havenever had an eye test, and you know, this is a risk to them and to other peopleas well, and there's a really serious message in the whole driving blindcampaign. it is 'make sure you get your
eyes tested, make sure you keep themtested on a regular basis, and for goodness sake, wear the contact lenses or the glasses that you'represcribed because you're putting yourself at risk, and your family at risk.'" and expertssay the issue is made worse when people know they need glasses but don't wearthem. "indeed our eyes can change, and when we start out in like teenagers earlytwenties driving, we haven't had perfect sight, and as we approachmiddle-age, it does change. and so there's a risk it could get a little worse, and correctedprescription glasses really help that. one of the key aspects we picked up onis the number of patients who have
glasses and choose not to wear themdriving. about one in five motorists who don't meet the standard actually haveglasses in the car, but not wearing them. so we're really urging people, 'please wearyour glasses when you've been advised to.' so, if you were shopping in town, wouldyou have passed the test?
