Crowborough crash driver could barely see in front of him
09 July 2014
A recent car crash near Crowborough has highlighted the need for drivers to ensure their eyesight reaches the required standards.
At 12.45pm on Friday 27 June on the A26 Eridge Road at Boarshead a Mitsubishi Shogun 4x4 collided with an articulated lorry parked on the roadside outside the BP filling station.
Emergency services attended and the car driver, a 79-year-old man from Eridge Green, was cut free from his vehicle and taken to Pembury Hospital, Tunbridge Wells, for treatment to minor injuries. The lorry driver was unhurt.
When later required to take an eyesight test by reading a car number plate at a distance, the Shogun driver’s inability to do so shocked officers who were present.
Sergeant Dan Pitcher, of the East Sussex Road Policing Unit, said: "He was only able to clearly read a number plate at a distance of just one metre, or 39 inches.
"The law says you must be able to read a number plate at 20.5 metres for an old style plate, or 20 metres for a new style one.
“As a result, the gentleman’s driving licence was immediately revoked by the DVLA and he is no longer allowed behind the wheel.”
Sgt Pitcher said it was fortunate that the driver’s poor vision had not had more serious consequences.
He urged all motorists to ensure that they are visually capable of driving according to the law’s requirements.
chaversdad:
And remember if you need glasses to pass the eyesight test its an offence not to have them in the cab with you
Code “01” on the driving licence which can be glasses or contact lenses which must be worn when driving. Some countries now require a spare pair to be carried. (Which I now always have since I sat on my specs 500 miles away from home!)
I only have 01 code next to the categories cover by the D4 medical so as I have a pre 1997 C1 does that mean I do or do not need to wear glasses when driving a C1 … hmmmm … yes and no at the same time
ROG:
I only have 01 code next to the categories cover by the D4 medical so as I have a pre 1997 C1 does that mean I do or do not need to wear glasses when driving a C1 … hmmmm … yes and no at the same time
solution = get a monocle
That’s very strange, I have 01 next to every category, and for most I passed the test long before I had to wear glasses.
I had one of the tougher eye tests in March this year, although I would have to question whether clearly reading the very last line on the chart would have any real relevance, other than being able to read an A to Z.
A young father in my village is in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, after a pensioner who could hardly see beyond the bonnet of his car knocked him off his cycle on a straight stretch of road. Does make you wonder how many thousands there are out there with that impaired vision…
last year the optician gave me varifocal glasses but said i didnt have to wear them all the time and didnt have to tell DVLA
i do not have 01 on my license
i now feel the need to wear my glasses 24/7 all the time including driving
everything is much clearer and focused and i cant drive without them now
i have my 5 year drivers medical and eye test next year and worried i may not pass the eye test without glasses
where do i stand
ps
please do not call me 4 eyes
i have my 5 year drivers medical and eye test next year and worried i may not pass the eye test without glasses
where do i stand
i think you stand about 2 metres from the chart!
seriously, don’t worry, the worst that can happen is that you may re required to wear them to continue to drive for a living with the accompanying code on your licence.
Your peepers can’t be that bad if the optician told you to only wear them when you felt the need
chaversdad:
And remember if you need glasses to pass the eyesight test its an offence not to have them in the cab with you
Just in the cab is sufficient ?
Would be happy this was true, I JUST failed the eyesight test and have 01 on my license but wearing the glasses is worse than not wearing them for me.
When I have them on I can see everything fine outside the cab but inside everything is blurred. I asked for varifocals but was told my eyesight wasn’t bad enough, the lenses can’t be made for such a weak prescription.
I can read number plates at WAY more than the 20m needed and without the specs on there is VERY little difference outside anyway, just that tiny bit sharper edges…
Think I need a re-test.
chaversdad:
And remember if you need glasses to pass the eyesight test its an offence not to have them in the cab with you
Just in the cab is sufficient ?
Would be happy this was true, I JUST failed the eyesight test and have 01 on my license but wearing the glasses is worse than not wearing them for me.
When I have them on I can see everything fine outside the cab but inside everything is blurred. I asked for varifocals but was told my eyesight wasn’t bad enough, the lenses can’t be made for such a weak prescription.
I can read number plates at WAY more than the 20m needed and without the specs on there is VERY little difference outside anyway, just that tiny bit sharper edges…
Think I need a re-test.
Interestingly on the subject of Eyesight - What happens when one is neither long or short sighted, but needs a SEARCHLIGHT to see what you’re looking at, rather than some kind of “lens” which is glasses or contact lenses…?
Colour blindness will mean you can’t be a pilot for example, but has no effect on getting a car licence as far as I know. Poor light though?
Picture yourself in a yard, blundering about between trailers and coming a cropper because you can’t see a damned thing in that poorest lit area that every yard seems to have…
Perhaps the eyesight test should be to discern colours and picturesat all rather than just ‘read a numberplace at distance’, which merely shows if you need glasses or not.
Incidentally, when I get in a cab as agency cover for someone on leave - the most common item I find lying about is GLASSES! - Even more than mouldy old sandwiches, bedding, and an ashtray full to the brim…
Worn glasses for years, decided to try contacts a few years ago and now have extended wear ones, put them in Sunday leave them in and sleep in them, take them out Friday or Saturday over night, best thing I ever did, glasses were a pain in the ■■■■ but with the lenses no more steamed up glasses in the winter and more needing wipers on them in the rain. In summer no need to carry two pairs just normal sun glasses. Not suitable for every one, but once you get used to them I find them much better
