Calls to introduce eye tests for older drivers

Eye checks should be compulsory for motorists once they reach 70, says a police-backed group

- JOHN EVANS

A road safety organisation backed by the police has criticised current eye test requirements for drivers and called for mandatory eye testing once they turn 70 and every three years thereafter.

Rob Heard, a former traffic police officer and founder of the Older Drivers Forum, a not-for-profit organisation run by Hampshire Constabulary Road Safety Team, says the current requirements for elderly drivers are inadequate.

"We're one of the worst countries in Europe," he said. "There are only two times in a driver's career when their eyesight must be tested: the driving test and when a police officer tells them to read a licence plate at 20 metres. Compared with other countries where regular eye assessments are mandatory, our rules are out of date." Heard's comments follow news that a senior coroner presiding over a case involving a 95-year-old motorist who knocked down and killed a mobility scooter user on a pedestrian crossing has written to the secretary of state for transport and the head of the DVLA concerned about the lack of limits and assessments on elderly drivers.