Eyesight and driving

[papasmurf]

We are going to a funeral later today, the ball and chain will have to pilot the sidecar. (Which she does not like doing.) However as the deceased was a motorcycle mechanic it would be disrespectful to turn up in a car.

[papasmurf]

 Sometimes I think that the bus driver is none to sure where he is going either, but it is still fun.

You should try some of the "magical mystery tours," on busses in Cornwall.

[Borchester]

I don't drive. I have no road sense and when not in a state of blind terror, have gone the other way and have found the whole process so soothing that I have dozed off behind the wheel.



I have the advantage that there is nowhere I need be in a hurry. And of course I have that Freedom pass Mayor Johnson gave me. So sometimes I get a country bus and set off to nowhere in particular. Sometimes I think that the bus driver is none to sure where he is going either, but it is still fun.

[johnofgwent]

Yes Barry, they are.



Private cars  private light Van's and motorcycles



In my chat with the DVLA man I said the cataract in my right eye was now so bad I could not pass the sight test requirement in that eye, but my left eye which required spectacles of -10 (yes, you read that right, -10) to correct severe myopia was still able to see well enough with the glasses.



I was also asked how often the clinic was calling me in to measure my decline. I said 'right now, every 3 months'



He asked to speak briefly with my consultant. The only words that were said were his name and where he was working, and two 'yes, that is correct' statements.



After which he handed me the phone and the DVLA man said i was ok to drive until I failed the sight test in that left eye.



That's it.

[Barry]

Are people allowed to drive with one eye? I assume that if they can read a number plate at the required distance the answer is yes.

However, how do they judge distance and speed without a 3D view?

[papasmurf]

and me, there is ample opportunity for a GP on his toes (and they DO get paid enough to do it) to note a problem and act.

What shocked me was I don't think until I have had the eye surgery I am fit to drive, and the ophthalmologist agrees with my decision, under current legislation and regulations there is nothing legally stopping me from driving, as I still pass the current eye  test.

[johnofgwent]

The problem is old  people who never go near a doctor.

 In my case I have at least 4 medical checks a year, at least two armfuls of blood tests and at least two "fill this." "What from here?" tests at least two visits to the ophthalmologist a year for comprehensive eye checks.

and me, there is ample opportunity for a GP on his toes (and they DO get paid enough to do it) to note a problem and act.

[papasmurf]

Drivers of a certain age should prove that they are still fit to drive, not be given the assumption that they are.

The problem is old  people who never go near a doctor.

 In my case I have at least 4 medical checks a year, at least two armfuls of blood tests and at least two "fill this." "What from here?" tests at least two visits to the ophthalmologist a year for comprehensive eye checks.

[Bright Young Thing]

as we have discussed on the other forum, I'm buggered if i can work out how that glaswegian bin lorry driver pulled the stunt he did having gone through the process i have, but again, as health is devolved, maybe the procedures here in wales are tighter. I would be greatly surprised if they are,  but if so, theni take some comfort in knowing no bus driver or bin lorry driver is going to kill me as i walk down the street here through wilful act to circumvent the law

I've just re-read some of the info about that, and I'm absolutely staggered to read this......

The inquiry also revealed that Clarke's medical history contained episodes of dizziness and fainting dating from the 1970s and that he had previously suffered a blackout while at the wheel of a First Glasgow bus, which was in service but stationary at a bus stop.It was stated that Clarke had been passed fit to return to work as a bus driver owing to failures by both the bus company's doctor and Clarke's own General Practitioner (GP) to spot that Clarke had changed his account of events, telling his GP that the episode had occurred in the canteen, which the GP then attributed to the hot conditions and deemed to be unlikely to be repeated.

The inquiry further found that Clarke had subsequently lied about this medical history, both when he applied for a Large Goods Vehicle (LGV) licence from the DVLA in Swansea and in his job application to Glasgow City Council.[

He was then suspended from work. All those deaths and injuries, and he was suspended? There are no bloody words.

[Barry]

It's not just eyesight, though, is it?  :geek:



As far as I know the UK is one of the few countries in the world that allows self certification of health when we start to get older. (70).

By the time we get to 70 it might also be hearing, reaction times, cognitive ability, so these all need to be tested in a medical surgery type environment before a licence is renewed.

Not to mention heart problems...

In Spain, for instance, there is a whole network of government registered medical offices, tied in to the Driving Ministry computer system. All drivers renewing licences need to attend one of these, have a brief medical, eye test and a reactions test using a computer game type device. They then take a digital photo and some cash and your licence renewal application is finished in that office.



Drivers of a certain age should prove that they are still fit to drive, not be given the assumption that they are.

[johnofgwent]

well, I'm not going to argue, other than to say I've paid enough already to be on the road if the government want me to be tested they can meet the f*cking bill i wont.





that said, and i speak as one who has been where you are, twice, once for each eye (and this is just for info for any reading this who don't know)



the requirement you refer to applies to private cars private light vans and motorcycles. there are quite separate and as you might expect far stricter rules for driving on business or professionally. I had to give up my full bulldozer licence as soon as my sight in my worst eye fell below the sight test standard, even though i was allowed to continue to drive a car to commute to and from work, and would have been allowed to ride a motorbike - although the consultant said he wouldn't if it were him sitting where i was - unti that eye's sight al;so fell below the standard. But by that time first time round i'd already lost my job as i could not see to code at the screen.



when my sight was just about to fall below that standard in both eyes, my consultant said I had two choices. I could make the call to the DVLA medical unit myself, and walk home or get someone to drive me (i had not driven in anyway...) or i could wait for them to come and find me, which they would, because he would be forced (who by he did not say, i'm beginning to think it was a wales nhs thing) to contact the dvla and report my problem to them.  So I opted to ring them up myself there and then, and a very nice chap on the other end basically told me he had made a note of my voluntarily giving up driving owing to a temporary medical condition, that i could hang onto my licence, that this observation would be removed at my request but a doctor or an optician would have to support that removal as in, send in my optician's prescription. CRUCIALLY, because insurance companies only ask if you had been medically advised not to drive. the DVLA medial adviser himself said by VOLUNTEERING to give up and by waiting until i had evidence of fitness to drive again before contacting them, I was entirely legally and truthfully able to tick the box on the insurance form declaring that i had never been advised not to drive on medical grounds.



the alternative approach is somewhat more draconian. when my friend who lives across the other side of the river was found unconscious by a neighbour after failing to return from walking the dog, a process began that left him unable to drive for two years and forever stuck with a pain in the arse medical form to fill in for the insurers at every renewal. Problem is that unlike others i know found in similar circumstances for whom the underlying clinical condition was found and treated, the reason for john's collapse was never determined, and believe me, they tried very hard to find the problem.  where no medical diagnosis and treatment or prevention programme can be shown to explain the issue and give a suitable degree of confidence the problem will not recur, one is grounded officially until a full two years has passed with no recurrence. john was given back his licence when that two year period ended, and continued to drive for a few years after this, but he's chucked it back and sold the car now because he had a similar attack in september last.



as we have discussed on the other forum, I'm buggered if i can work out how that glaswegian bin lorry driver pulled the stunt he did having gone through the process i have, but again, as health is devolved, maybe the procedures here in wales are tighter. I would be greatly surprised if they are,  but if so, theni take some comfort in knowing no bus driver or bin lorry driver is going to kill me as i walk down the street here through wilful act to circumvent the law

[papasmurf]

I gave up driving voluntarily just before Christmas until I have surgery on my right eye in February.

The surgeon wanted an up to date eyesight prescription for me before the surgery.

I had that eyesight test yesterday, and the ophthalmologist agreed with my decision to voluntarily stop driving BUT there was no legal reason under current legislation, as all that is required is that I can read a car number plate at 20 or 25 metres with both eyes open  depending on the type of number plate.



I think the time is long overdue that the legislation was tightened up to reading a number plate with each eye at the set distances PLUS a peripheral vision test.

I also think regular eyesight tests for drivers should be compulsory and for those "waiting for God" like me it should be at least annually.