Vision Express (VE) has recently released a report about the eye sight statistics in drivers, following a launch of their road safety campaign. In it VE reports that a fifth of drivers have never had their eyes tested. This was a startling discovery to both VE and to car insurance and breakdown companies, such as Autonational. Not having regular eye tests hugely increases your chances of causing an accident due to poor visibility. This has sparked talks about whether the government should be regulating driver eye tests.
Vision Express carried out the initiative throughout the summer to raise awareness of the importance of regular sight tests for drivers. Discovery that over half of Brits decided to have their holiday in the UK this year instead of abroad, made it much easier to target large numbers of drivers at service stations. VE partnered up with Welcome Break service stations across the country to carry out the campaign by offering drivers free eye screenings and advice on being road-safe The initiative was established in support of road safety charity, Brake’s Driving for Zero initiative.
The report also suggests that 78% of those tested at the events were overdue an eye test, with 37% admitting to not having had a sight test in at least 10 years, and 16% confessing to never having had their eyes checked at all. The initiative has proved to be a success, as the free eye test vouchers offered to drivers at each service station prompted a significant increase in eye test enquiries at its practices. Hopefully leading to an increase of good sighted individuals on the road.
CEO of Vision Express, Jonathan Lawson, said: “An estimated 2,900 casualties are caused by poor driver vision each year in the UK. This campaign was an important step in cementing our dedication to reducing that number and it’s great to see that so many drivers are now ensuring their sight is fit for the roads, by taking advantage of our free eye test offer this summer.”
The two partners have also been bidding for the government to place signs on sides of the roads saying ‘Eye Tests Save Lives’. However, these have not been approved yet and are likely to take a while to be. With so many drivers driving on the roads with little confidence in their own eye sight, will we in fact soon see the government taking their own initiative to be regulating driver eye tests?