Eyesight Rules for Drivers not Safe According to Coroner
The Coroner’s Verdict
According to HM Senior Coroner for Lancashire Dr James Adeley, the eyesight rules for drivers are not safe. In April 2025, he conducted an inquest into the deaths of four people. The connection between all these deaths is that they died in incidents caused by drivers with defective vision. Following this, the coroner sent a report to Heidi Alexander, the Secretary for Transport. In this report he described the enforcement of eyesight checks on drivers to be ‘ineffective and unsafe.’ He asked for action to be taken that would hopefully prevent any future unnecessary deaths.
The UK relies on drivers volunteering information about eyesight problems which could affect their ability to drive. We are apparently only one of three European countries to rely on this. The separtment for Transport has replied to say that they will look into the issue, and will consider changes to legal eyesight requirements as part of its road safety strategy.
Poor Standards
So why are the UK eyesight rules for drivers so lax? It was way back in 1965 when the requirement was brought in for driving test candidates to have an eyesight check. This was a very rudimentary check, consisting of the examiner asking candidates to read a car number plate from a distance of 67 feet. The only change over the last 60 years was the conversion to metrication. Candidates now have to read a modern number plate with slightly smaller letters from a distance of 20 metres. If you pace out 20 metres this is a frighteningly short distance. In addition, this very basic test does not examine a person’s peripheral vision or perception of depth. Nor does it find how well they can see in fading light or in total darkness.
We all suffer from the deterioration of our eyesight as we age. Yet a 17 year old who passes a driving test, need not have to take test of their vision until they renew their licence at 70.In the meantime, the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), relies on the honesty of driver to self-report any problem they may develop over time. There are two problems with that:
- Some people will be reluctant to report a problem as they will worry about losing their licence and independence
- In some cases, an elderly driver may not even realise just how bad their eyesight has become
Road Deaths
In November 2021, Marie Cunnigham and Grace Foulds were crossing a road in Southport. They both died when 68 year old Glyn Jones drove into them. Mr Jones was still driving his Audi A3 despite knowing that his eyesight did not reach the minimum required standard for driving. He had not bothered to inform the DVLA.
In March 2022, Neil Pemberton hit and killed Peter Westwell as he was crossing a road in a village near Blackburn. The 81 year old Mr Pemberton also had eyesight problems which he had not declared. He had been told during medical exams that he should give up driving, yet he continued to renew his licence.
Anne Ferguson was another victim of a driver with undeclared eyesight problems. In July 2023 she was killed by 71 year old Vernon Law in a village near Rochdale. Mr Law was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes and had a history of problems with his. He lied to his optometrist and DVLA, and again continued to drive.
How can we improve?
If the eyesight rules for drivers are not safe, what steps can we take to improve them? The basic eyesight test for potential drivers, is, and always has been woefully inadequate. Anyone who applies to hold a driving licence should have to undergo a thorough examination with an optometrist before they obtain a licence. Regular eyesight checks should be compulsory for all drivers. Not just when they turn 70. Anyone eyesight could easily become unsafe well before that age.
There must be a system in place, where an optometrist can send reports direct to the DVLA when they examine a driver who fails to reach the required standard. They fatalities detailed above are not the only ones. We clearly cannot have a system which relies on self-reporting, it does not work.
Enforcement
And lastly, although this a matter of resources, road-side checks need to become a regular feature of life on the road for Britain’s drivers. Not just for checking of eyesight, but for licence entitlement, insurance, and basic vehicle safety. We need a dedicated taskforce to carry out on the spot checks of all drivers. Why wait until they have committed an offence, or even worse; killed someone? There will always be freedom of rights campaigners who complain about this kind of enforcement, but my question for them is – what have you got to hide?