Hope it is ok for my first post to be a question……
I recently had a medical for provisional LGV / PSV licence. When I did the eye test I got 2 of the letters wrong and they said I had to go to the opticians for a proper test.
I think I’d pushed on my eye when keeping it closed for the test and that affected it. I asked if I could do the test again with a new set of letters but the nurse was having none of it and said in a rather unkind way that my sight was very poor and there would be no point doing it again.
The results of the proper opticians test were that my unaided vision in my Right eye is 6/6 and Left eye is 6/7.5
Underneath this is another value which I assume is for when I wear the recommended glasses. In this case both eyes are 6/5. (Although the opticians writing is so bad it could be L/5 but I assume it’s a 6)
I’m don’t know much about eye test results but my understanding is that 6/6 is about average, and 6/7.5 means where an average person could read something at 7.5metres I’d have to stand at 6metres.
The INF4D notes say I require a visual acuity of at least 6/9 in the better eye and 6/12 in the worse eye. If these are achieved by correction, the uncorrected visual acuity in each eye must be no less than 3/60
Therefore would I be right in saying that I don’t require glasses for driving a car or LGV/PSV but it would be advisable to have them?
Or (as the nurse seemed to insinuate), is my eye sight so bad that it would be inappropriate for me to proceed with LGV lessons?
Sine,before I went for my medical,I went to one of Optical Express’s big stores to get my eyes tested.
I got the person testing me to write down the acuity in each eye and I took along the leaflet that has the minimum standards,so she could decide if I met the standards required.
I needed glasses and with them on I easily met the minimum standards.
Then I booked the medical.
Did the optician say you needed glasses for reading/driving?
Thanks for replying
The optician didn’t specifically say i needed glasses for driving. He said my eye had deteriorated slightly and they could do something to help.
The glasses are to help me see into the distance so i’ll use them for driving.
I’ve not had glasses before and my last eye test was only a year ago so i foolishly took it for granted that i would be ok.
I should have taken your approach to doing the medical and had the eye test first. Luckily the doctors haven’t charged me yet and have kept the part filled out medical form which they’ll finish when i take the eye test results back to them.
I had thesame when I did my HGV medical. I failed the eyesight est in the surgery and had to go for a proper optomotrist check. I now have to wear spectacles for driving everything, car truck and motorcycle as it is printed on my licence.
Eyetests should be carried out every year at least in my opinion as it can show many other problems with health before it happens.
A car driver can pass a test at 17 and never have their eyes tested for another 53 years
Eyetests should be carried out every year at least in my opinion as it can show many other problems with health before it happens.
A car driver can pass a test at 17 and never have their eyes tested for another 53 years
I could not agree more. Most people’s eyesight declines a little as the years rool by but as this is so gradual we dont often notice. A sight test should be done on a regular basis for all drivers.
Going back to the original question. If you get glasses as recommended then there should be no problem with your driving test.
