1,400+ UK Drivers Lose Licenses for Failed Eye Tests

More than 1,400 drivers in the UK have had their driver’s licenses revoked due to failed eye tests over the past five years.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency took the licenses because the drivers “were unable to read a number plate from 20 metres in roadside tests,” Chronicle Live reports.

The data emerged from an open records request by Select Car Leasing.

“Problems with eyesight can not only put you at risk but also put other motorists, passengers and pedestrians in danger,” said Graham Conway, general manager of Select Car Leasing.

The government maintains the following “standards of vision for driving”:

• You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres.
• You must also meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye.
• You must also have an adequate field of vision – your optician can tell you about this and do a test.

Read more at the Chronicle Live