Wanna be a wagon driver but losing hope.

[holty1986]

Hi guys new on here wanting some advice on my vision/glasses/contact lenses
Wanted to be a HGV driver for as long as I can remember. My uncle had a small firm in Sheffield and from the day I was old enough I was mesmerised by HGVs.

Anyways to cut a story short the business dispanded so from then on I had no access to the industry as such due to the expense of the license and like most never had the spare cash.

Anyways I’ve now got to the point where I feel I have a chance to fulfil my dream however I have a big problem because of the DVLA’s driving regulations.
My vision is now unfortunately above a plus 8 dioptres however I’ve just purchased some contact lenses for the first time in ten years and they are not as sharp vision wise, as with glasses however I can read 6/7.5 on the snellen scale in both.

Can anyone give me some advice on this? Do the DVLA give any exceptions via one of their own doctors/optician? Is this the end of the HGV road before I’ve even got on it?

Many thanks in advance

[Peter Smythe]

I'm not an expert on medicals - though I've had literally thousands go through my hands! But I had my medical a month ago and had to read the chart with specs and without. When it came to "no specs" I was concerned as my vision in one eye is very, very poor. But he said I only had to read the top letter. Did that, no problem. Had just seen it with specs and the memory hasn't completely gone yet!

We have our own doctor who visits alternate Saturday mornings. You don't need opticians report. I suggest you consider taking our Starter Pack which will cover the medical, theory training, online theory training and all your theory tests. This is just £250. This is at our main site NG17 3FW (not far from Junc 28 M1).

Whilst you're at it, take a good look at the Darren Shaw Offer. This ends in a few days so get registered before it's too late.

The only way you'll get a definitive answer is to have the medical and apply for your provisional licence. And if the worst comes to the worst, you'll get a full refund of all fees paid except the medical. So you have nothing to loose if you follow that route.

To get the offer whilst it's still there, call 07759 239091. You can use the same number for the medical and/or Starter Pack.

Hope this helps; let me know if I can help further.

Pete

[holty1986]

Brilliant Pete thank you very helpful advice, as it happens I had intentions of pursuing my license with your company in due course just waiting for pay day

[danbabirecki]

Hi

My eyesight, uncorrected, is pretty poor. I’ve worn glasses since I was 9 (now 43). My vision got worse throughout my teenage years and then levelled off. When I had my medical before commencing my theory, hazard perception test etc, my vision level was deemed fine. As long as you have something to correct your vision, and I’m guessing a backup, which is what I’m planning to have with me daily, you should be fine. My prescription is in a similar ballpark (possibly slightly worse in one eye), but if your corrected vision is fine you’ll be grand.


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[simcor]

Lorry and bus drivers

You must have a visual acuity at least 0.8 (6/7.5) measured on the Snellen scale in your best eye and at least 0.1 (6/60) on the Snellen scale in the other eye.

You can reach this standard using glasses with a corrective power not more than (+) 8 dioptres, or with contact lenses. There’s no specific limit for the corrective power of contact lenses.

You must have a horizontal visual field of at least 160 degrees, the extension should be at least 70 degrees left and right and 30 degrees up and down. No defects should be present within a radius of the central 30 degrees.

Taken from. Gov website.

It states you must be able to reach the required eye test with no more than 8 dioptres with glasses then goes on to say there is no specific limit for contact lenses as I read it.

So I would say with glasses above 8 dioptres then no you wouldn't meet the requirements, but I read it as with contact lenses then you should.

That's how I read it at least.

Not sure what real difference there is whether wearing glasses or contact lenses though so why there seem to be a difference I don't know.

[DrPhilThornley]

Sorry to join this topic late.
Simcor is exactly right, so with the vision you quoted, you do meet the requirements for reading the Snellen chart.
The restriction about not having +8 dioptre lenses only applies to glasses and not to contact lenses. The reason is that with very strong lenses like this the light can bounce around inside the lens at the edges and give the impression of an illuminated donut around the margins of the lens. This obviously restricts peripheral vision.
Sometimes if you take a lens off the front of an SLR camera and look through it you can see this effect with a white ring of light.
The restriction only applies to plus dioptre lenses, not minus. In other words only lenses which are thick in the middle and thin at the edges (like a magnifying glass). It doesn’t apply to minus dioptre lenses, which are thinner in the middle and thicker at the edges. You can see which sort you’ve got by holding the glasses near to some writing and seeing whether the writing goes smaller or bigger. Plus dioptre lenses make things bigger. Minus dioptre lenses make things smaller.
There are no restrictions at all for minus dioptre lenses.
The rules don’t apply to contact lenses. This is because when the lens is snug against your eyeball it doesn’t cause this ring of light.
So you can have contact lenses which are as strong as you need with no restriction.
I had a patient recently who needed +9 dioptre lenses but he wanted to have a combination of +5 dioptre contact lenses and +4 dioptre spectacles so that when he took his glasses off he had just the right focus to read close-up. I checked with DVLA and they told me that that would be absolutely fine. The only thing they care about is whether the spectacle themselves are +8 dioptres or more.

[holty1986]

Hi guys

Long awaited update:

Passed my medical about 2 month ago (flying colours ,getting an optician to fill the vision part out was a bonus).

Had my provisional licence back, started the theory training online which I was passing the seperate modules confidently so therefore decided to book the tests.

However last Monday I failed the multiple choice and passed my hazard perception.

Any advice on revision material? Are the books, dvds etc any good?

Cheers

Danny