Poor Eyesight In Road Traffic Accident Claims
Your poor eyesight will be no defence in road traffic accident claims. If you have poor vision and are found to be driving without any glasses or vision aids, no win no fee solicitors will use this to prove your negligence, and you could find your insurance premiums increasing accordingly. While poor eyesight is not to blame for every motor vehicle accident involving people with poor sight, it can be a significant causative factor in many of them.
All drivers and motorcyclists are legally required to be able to read a standard numberplate from 20.5m (67ft) away, or a modern numberplate from 20m away, using any glasses if required. Eyesight can get progressively worse, so some people who may have previously been able to read a numberplate at this distance may find they are unable to do so as they get older, but may be unaware that they have any vision problems at all.
Eye tests and road traffic accident claims
Therefore, while it is not a legal requirement, road users are strongly advised to have an eyesight test every year. This will alert them to any emerging vision problems and could help them avoid road traffic accident claims.
Some common conditions that can worsen eyesight include diabetes, cataracts, glaucoma and a number of age-related health problems. If these are identified at an early stage, then they can be treated successfully or the sufferer's prognosis can be improved. However, if left untreated, they could easily worsen a person's eyesight to such an extent as to make the sufferer unfit to drive.
How many drivers lose their license due to vision problems?
Figures from 2011 show that nearly 6,000 people had their driving licenses blocked or revoked because of vision problems during the year. Over the 12-month period, 5,285 car and motorbike licenses were revoked because the license-holder could not pass the eye test, while 685 bus and lorry licenses were revoked.
These figures are higher than those from 2010, which saw 4,906 car drivers and 493 lorry and bus drivers lose their licenses due to vision problems.
While drivers must pass an eye test to receive their license, there are no follow-up tests, and when drivers renew their licenses, they are simply obliged to assess themselves. Compulsory assessments would reduce the number of road traffic accident claims but would also lead to a significant increase in the number of revoked licenses, and the government has said it is not going to introduce compulsory eye tests for drivers who are renewing their licenses. However, the DVLA can hold investigations when it is told that a driver's eyesight may be defective.
Nonetheless, it is against the law to drive with defective eyesight and any drivers who do not have eyesight that reaches minimum standards or corrective lenses to bring them up to this standard could see their insurance invalidated or could even be prosecuted.
All drivers and motorcyclists are legally required to be able to read a standard numberplate from 20.5m (67ft) away, or a modern numberplate from 20m away, using any glasses if required. Eyesight can get progressively worse, so some people who may have previously been able to read a numberplate at this distance may find they are unable to do so as they get older, but may be unaware that they have any vision problems at all.
Eye tests and road traffic accident claims
Therefore, while it is not a legal requirement, road users are strongly advised to have an eyesight test every year. This will alert them to any emerging vision problems and could help them avoid road traffic accident claims.
Some common conditions that can worsen eyesight include diabetes, cataracts, glaucoma and a number of age-related health problems. If these are identified at an early stage, then they can be treated successfully or the sufferer's prognosis can be improved. However, if left untreated, they could easily worsen a person's eyesight to such an extent as to make the sufferer unfit to drive.
How many drivers lose their license due to vision problems?
Figures from 2011 show that nearly 6,000 people had their driving licenses blocked or revoked because of vision problems during the year. Over the 12-month period, 5,285 car and motorbike licenses were revoked because the license-holder could not pass the eye test, while 685 bus and lorry licenses were revoked.
These figures are higher than those from 2010, which saw 4,906 car drivers and 493 lorry and bus drivers lose their licenses due to vision problems.
While drivers must pass an eye test to receive their license, there are no follow-up tests, and when drivers renew their licenses, they are simply obliged to assess themselves. Compulsory assessments would reduce the number of road traffic accident claims but would also lead to a significant increase in the number of revoked licenses, and the government has said it is not going to introduce compulsory eye tests for drivers who are renewing their licenses. However, the DVLA can hold investigations when it is told that a driver's eyesight may be defective.
Nonetheless, it is against the law to drive with defective eyesight and any drivers who do not have eyesight that reaches minimum standards or corrective lenses to bring them up to this standard could see their insurance invalidated or could even be prosecuted.