Drivers should have eye tests every 10 years to prevent accidents on Bolton’s roads, according to an advanced driver.
Brake, the road safety charity, is calling on the government to make eye tests mandatory following the release of figures from Specsavers and RSA Insurance Group, which show nearly 20 per cent of people have put off visiting an optician when they noticed they had a vision problem.And were these people all motorists?
Brake believes eye tests every 10 years would save the public purse £6.7 million annually by preventing crashes.And fill the coffers of the likes of Specsavers, of course!
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, said: “Compulsory regular eyesight testing for drivers is a commonsense, lifesaving move. Clearly the public agrees that the government needs to act to tackle the alarming number of drivers taking a lax approach to their eyes.”Does it? Where does the public get asked that question, Julie? Funny, I can’t see it anywhere in the report.
Maybe I need my eyes tested?
13 comments:
Politicians should have sanity and honesty tests every 10 months to prevent accidents in Britain’s Governance, according to an advanced voter.
Please may I stick my oar in with my idea? I think I can confidently say that this is one with which many of the General Public will agree.
There are lots of people posting on here claiming to speak for the "whole country" when it suits them,one idiot in particular springs to mind.
Jaded
Brake is a Fake Charity and is part funded by Government I.e. The taxpayer, in one form or another. It does no real charitable work but instead lobbies and campaigns to restrict the motorist.
Note this piece has a quote by their deputy Chief Executive. Presumably they also have a Chief Executive as well. Many Fake Charities have CEO,s on salaries of around £60k - £100k, paid for by you, the taxpayer. Time they were all starved of taxpayer funds. If their cause is so worthy, they will be able to continue via private donation and collections on street corners, jumble sales etc.
Many other bandwagons wait in the wings. Driver tests for Daltonism, hearing, psychological aptitude, hay fever and allergic rhinitis, diabetes mellitus and abnormal blood pressure...are terrific moneymakers.
They'd need volunteers for that. These charities don't have them. The concept of doing something for nothing is alien to them.
I seem to recall Brake started as a virulent anti car campaigning group, but then rebranded themselves as a charity. Due to the laziness or lack of time of journalists, the ready cooked press releases from these meddling busybodies are invariably quoted, probably without any modification. A pain.
Here in Australia they dont have eye tests on the grounds it doesn't do any good.
However the police woulde like it especially in the elderly. Every so often they have a go at us dangerous elderly drivers.
I am a diabetic and I have to have a medical every three years. If there is any deterioration in my condition, my driving licence is altered accordingly. My problem is that, seventeen months ago, I was diagnosed as type one which is more serious and requires injections which can have an effect on driving. I have now been reclassified as type two which just involves pills and has no driving related issues. The DVLA only recognise that your medical condition can worsen, they seem to have no mechanism for dealing with people who improve.
Much as I dislike Brake, I do think that in the case of regular eye tests for drivers they may be right. My first question would be, are we addressing an actual problem? Are there a significant number of accidents being caused by drivers who can't see where they are going? Also, as MTG says, isn't that a slippery slope that they are hiding behind their backs there?
Stonyground
Blimey! Someone is actually agreeing with Melvin. Must be a new reader.
Not Jaded
yer rite jaded
it not wpc jilted ither
@Stonyground.
I've just had my eyes tested, it costs me real money and I did it because my eyes started deteriorating six months ago. I only have difficulty with close up work.
This is another example of forcing people to pay up to drive and regular testing is just another tax put in the way.
On the other hand I'm OK for diabetics to be checked more regularly. After all diabetics are known to have eye problems and we need to catch them first. Brake may be right.
First eye tests, then it only makes sense to test reflexes and hearing.
Ironically I recollect that being blind does not disqualify you from driving. If that has not changed then what is the point of eye tests.
I hate these people.
Had a busy day Melvin at the staring window? Speaking for the general public must be so demanding.
Jaded
"Brake is a Fake Charity and is part funded by Government "
Yup! Like so many.
"They'd need volunteers for that. These charities don't have them. The concept of doing something for nothing is alien to them."
We need to stop using the word 'charity' for starters!
"The DVLA only recognise that your medical condition can worsen, they seem to have no mechanism for dealing with people who improve."
That's public sector 'excellence' for you!
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