View Full Version : Eyesight tests for elderly drivers
I'm all for it. This driver ruined this man's life. Makes you wonder how many more there are out there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/4328671.stm
Bugger... you beat me to it!
Carsick
08-03-05, 12:25 PM
While yes, what he proposes probably is a good idea, I'm not convinced it's the most important issue.
In terms of the number of accidents every year, the majority of those are not caused by people with eyesight below the required standard.
Basically, what I'm saying is that there are things that can be done which would produce better results, ie, more lives saved.
Don't like the tag the BBC gave the poor guy "Payout biker" :roll:
That'll be the sensationalist tabloid reporting style that is rife within the BBC these days - you only have to watch the local BBC news to see what desperate rubbish they sex up just to fill a few minutes.
In essence, yes this is a great first step to ensuring that the increasing number of very elderly road users out there - are up to scratch. Actually handing in their licences voluntarily is unheard of. Remember that the oldest of these people never took a driving test - it was just something they were able to do.
Simply, having a driving licence is not a right - it is a privaledge upon demonstration of ability.
Rant over.
svpilot
08-03-05, 01:55 PM
While yes, what he proposes probably is a good idea, I'm not convinced it's the most important issue.
In terms of the number of accidents every year, the majority of those are not caused by people with eyesight below the required standard.
Basically, what I'm saying is that there are things that can be done which would produce better results, ie, more lives saved.
Is eyesight tested after an accident? If not, how do we know how many accidents are attributible to poor eyesight?
If I were involved in an accident *touches wood* I think I would insist that the Police check the eyesight of any driver involved. So many people don't wear their specs, or forget, or don't know how poor their eyesight is. Unless people have regular eyetests, how would they know how good/bad their vision is? I'm not singling out the old either, I used to know a girl that 'didn't like' wearing her specs.
I have mine tested regularly since I've needed glasses/contact lenses. But it was a while untill I first realised I needed 'em
:shock:
timwilky
08-03-05, 02:07 PM
I wonder why plod doesn't ask all stopped drivers to submit to a quick eyesight test along the lines of that administered by driving examiners. ( read the number on their car, etc.)
If you fail the test, your license is automatically revoked until such time as you are able to pass it. A simple statement by a registered optician etc should be enough to then get renewable 3 year license. And ensure that once defective eyesight has been discovered it is reviewed regularly. As people are advised to get thier sight checked annually etc. it should be a simple procedure to issue such a declaration.
Dicky Ticker
08-03-05, 02:25 PM
Can you all use a much bigger font size PLEASE
I get my eyes checked on a regular basis but at one point I didn't get around to it for a couple of years. My eyes deteriorated quite badly but I didn't notice as it was a gradual basis, when I finally got around to getting them tested, my optician had a fit. I definitely shouldn't have been driving around with that prescription.
On a side note, I believe that reaction times should be tested as well. My 84 year old grandmother still drives. She gets her eyes checked and gets it signed off so she is still allowed to drive. Personally, I won't get in the car with her, my heart can't take all the near misses.
Ceri JC
08-03-05, 03:31 PM
While yes, what he proposes probably is a good idea, I'm not convinced it's the most important issue.
In terms of the number of accidents every year, the majority of those are not caused by people with eyesight below the required standard.
Basically, what I'm saying is that there are things that can be done which would produce better results, ie, more lives saved.
Is eyesight tested after an accident? If not, how do we know how many accidents are attributible to poor eyesight?
If I were involved in an accident *touches wood* I think I would insist that the Police check the eyesight of any driver involved. So many people don't wear their specs, or forget, or don't know how poor their eyesight is. Unless people have regular eyetests, how would they know how good/bad their vision is? I'm not singling out the old either, I used to know a girl that 'didn't like' wearing her specs.
I have mine tested regularly since I've needed glasses/contact lenses. But it was a while untill I first realised I needed 'em
:shock:
I'm comfortably within the legal limit to not wear glasses, but I'd consider it irresponsible of me not to wear glasses when driving/riding at night. It's appaling how bad your vision is allowed to be and that you can still drive. I know most responsible people wouldn't, but there are a lot of selfish people who would keep driving until they were banned.
It's worth remembering lots of the elderly are retired and without eye tests being neccessary for work (as well as being hard up), they are often overlooked (no pun intended :) ).
Personally, I think you should have to pass a fitness/health test every few years to drive too- I remember a guy in bristol having a hard attack at the wheel, crashed and had a head on with a young woman, killing her. The bloke had had a heart attack 6 months or so before. IMO if you're at risk of fainting/losing conciousness at the wheel, you shouldn't be driving. People who are severely epileptic don't drive, why should someone at high risk of a heart attack be able to?
Nick762
08-03-05, 03:55 PM
At the moment the DVLA rely on the honesty of the driver to declare any vision defects. If you have made such a declaration, take a look at the back of your photocard and there is a table with the right hand column labeled 12.Codes. There should be a 01 code inserted somewhere which indicates that you need corrective lenses to reach the required standard to drive.
I suspect there are as many if not more "younger" drivers who regularly drive, knowingly or not, with uncorrected defective vision. Maybe it's time for a US style eye test when you renew your licence.
I believe that the current requirement is simply that you can read a number plate at the specified distance in good daylight. This has caused problems with what I think is called luminary myopia i.e. someone who can see perfectly in daylight but not in low light. While they technically need corrective lenses to drive at night, they are not actually breaking the law by not using them as when tested under normal conditions, their vision is adaquate. Anyone know if this is still or ever was the case?
leatherpatches
08-03-05, 04:57 PM
Quote from the end of the article:
"Drivers over 70 are expected to renew their licence every three years and include a declaration on their fitness."
No they're not! That's the problem!!
northwind
08-03-05, 08:18 PM
Last year I almost got run over when an ild guy in a Carina missed his turning and drove right over the traffic island I was on... The sort with ramps for crossing points. I swear, he never even realised what he'd done, and he only missed me because I jumped. A week later, the same guy was killed when he got confused and turned down a railway track at a level crossing. That's nothing to do with eyesight, it's just mental incapacity to drive, and that's a bit harder to test for.
OTOH, my grandad was still driving until his late 80s, and for most of that time he was fune, but then he became aware that he was having slight blackouts. He gave the car to my brother the next day. (coincidentally, my brother wrote it off 3 months later after going straight on when he should have gone right, and flying 20 feet into a field- that was mental incapacity to drive too :))
I'd agree in principle that there should bemore testing, but I don't know how to make it work, is all- there's no easy, quick way to test for that sort of mental agility. I also reckon every driver should have to do an eye test every 10 years or so regardless of age- you need to be able to see to a set standard to learn to drive, why shouldn't the same be true afterwards.
Windy, I interpret this as hazard perception - if new drivers have to do a test, why not make more established ones do it too? There's a research paper on the DfT website which says the largest contributory causes of accidents are inattention and failure to anticipate. I don't know how to sort these issues though :-k
northwind
08-03-05, 08:27 PM
That's a possibilty... But then, older folks are more likely to have problems with the computer testing methods. Still, not a bad suggestion.
PS Windy? F*** off! :)
Flamin_Squirrel
08-03-05, 08:31 PM
Windy, I interpret this as hazard perception - if new drivers have to do a test, why not make more established ones do it too? There's a research paper on the DfT website which says the largest contributory causes of accidents are inattention and failure to anticipate. I don't know how to sort these issues though :-k
A nice idea in theory, but if it ended up being anything like the current hazard theory test which is quite frankly useless, then it wouldn't accomplish much.
As a slight aside, we do have some pretty stupid ancient rules about driving, like we are not required to carry a driving licence while driving (like what's the problem with that?) and also in many countries if you wear specs you must carry a spare pair when driving - seems sensible.
Maybe it's a civil liberties thing, like you should be at liberty to drive without a licence and not being able to see anything. :roll:
On the subject of rules/regulations, have a look here
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmbills/054/amend/cmam054.htm
for a taster of the kind of thing going on.
For example having to carry/wear Hi-vis clothing to be worn when out of a vehicle "not parked" i.e. at a breakdown
Also various bodies being able to specify lower speed limits for "all rural roads in an area"...........etc etc
Dicky Ticker
09-03-05, 06:52 PM
In the various previous comments we have had heart/eyes and reaction times mentioned I have had heart surgery and couldn.t work in my own business for2 1/2 yrs My medical cost me £350 every three years just to prove to the DVLA,who have never seen me, asked me to attend one of thier doctors, that I'm fit to drive I have no objection to this but in addition I have a very good doctor who checks me out every 6months I think self declaration is unwise and EVERYBODY over 60 should have an medical before having their license issue for a further 5yrs and then yearly from 65 on
This would put strain on the general practitioner but surely a clinic nurse employed by the DVLA would be an honest and impartial judge providing they have the medical records of the individual
I'm sorry to say this but IMHO my own father 79 should not be driving and if my own license was revoked on medical grounds it would be for the saftey of the public and myself and I accept this
I don't want to say anything against what anyone else has said. It is a problem, but it is not easy.
The last time my father drove me, he was 80 then, someone pulled out on him and actually he avoided the accident but he was really shaken and flustered. I thought at that moment that I have got to do something about this and stop him driving. I didn't say anything then, why, because it was too difficult, it would have effected his and my mothers life too much, because I was a coward.
Two days later he was dead (nothing to do with driving) and I am ever so glad I never said anything.
I seriously think there is a problem with some elderly drivers, but I wonder whether this is anything like as serious as the problem of some lunatic younger drivers.
I think I just wanted to say that it is not easy. Sorry.
northwind
10-03-05, 12:25 AM
Sorry? What for? You said nothing that needs it... I'm incredibly glad my grandad hung up his driving hat (yes, he had a driving hat) without any pressure... I would have hated to have to tell him that he wasn't safe any more. It could only be harder with your dad. (Mine has become a terrible driver lately, just through overfamiliarity and overconfidence... we're trying very hard to get him to do some further training but even that's difficult, and it's a relatively minor thing.)
I think you're spot on about there being other problems, but even the mighty SV650.org can only put one thing to rights at a time
Windy, I interpret this as hazard perception - if new drivers have to do a test, why not make more established ones do it too? There's a research paper on the DfT website which says the largest contributory causes of accidents are inattention and failure to anticipate. I don't know how to sort these issues though :-k
http://www.iam.org.uk ?
msr
I'd actually advocate the compulsorary re-testing of all drivers / riders on a periodic basis.
This may not be the most popular move, but it would keep a percentage of the seriously dangerous motorists off the road and ensure the rest of us kept our motoring skills and knowledge up to date.
I'd actually advocate the compulsorary re-testing of all drivers / riders on a periodic basis.
This may not be the most popular move, but it would keep a percentage of the seriously dangerous motorists off the road and ensure the rest of us kept our motoring skills and knowledge up to date.
:notworthy:
it'd be worth it to get rid of the seriously dangerous drivers
Flamin_Squirrel
14-03-05, 03:28 PM
I'd actually advocate the compulsorary re-testing of all drivers / riders on a periodic basis.
This may not be the most popular move, but it would keep a percentage of the seriously dangerous motorists off the road and ensure the rest of us kept our motoring skills and knowledge up to date.
:notworthy:
it'd be worth it to get rid of the seriously dangerous drivers
No it wouldn't - the most dangerous drivers are mondeo men who'd probably manage to pass the test anyway, only to cut you up a week later; or illegal drivers who don't have licences in the first place.
if it was done properly it would be worth it, together with clamping down on illegal drivers ie, chop hands off so they can't drive or machine gun turrets on gantrys for uninsured cars etc....
:lol: :lol:
If you look hard enough you can see the good in any situation :wink:
Flamin_Squirrel
14-03-05, 03:34 PM
if it was done properly it would be worth it, together with clamping down on illegal drivers ie, chop hands off so they can't drive or machine gun turrets on gantrys for uninsured cars etc....
:lol: :lol:
If you look hard enough you can see the good in any situation :wink:
You just know the government would balls it up. They can't (or wont because it costs too much) get rid of illegal drivers as it is. Forcing the retest of legitimate drivers would just be another way to get more money out of us.
ok lets just shoot you instead :)
you really should be a politician mate with your loathing for them... just get you elected so you can bring it down from within... or at least blow them all up :wink:
....just get you elected so you can bring it down from within... or at least blow them all up :wink:
Careful, that post in itself is enough to get you locked up without trial for an indefinite period! :shock: 8-[
Bloody subversive! :P
Bloody subversive! :P
:takeabow:
Flamin_Squirrel
14-03-05, 03:51 PM
ok lets just shoot you instead :)
you really should be a politician mate with your loathing for them... just get you elected so you can bring it down from within... or at least blow them all up :wink:
I don't think shooting me will solve the dangerous road users problem... well ok maybe a little :lol:
Oh, and I could never be a politician, im a terrible liar :wink:
On the subject of the driving test.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4340381.stm
Interesting read!
Spiderman
14-03-05, 05:41 PM
Anyone seen the latest "think" ads just for the eyesight?
I've only seen em a couple of times (chap walks into a real dodgy looking cafe where the menu is in reg plates) and as he cant read it is ushered to a vary stereotyped indian opticioan who say "do you know you have been driving illegaly?"
His accent is so bad they could have got Apu to do the voiceover more convincingly.
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