Driving licence - eyesight requirement

Okell

I learned to drive at the somewhat advanced age of 42, all of 24 years ago.

When I passed my test the only eyesight requirement - so far as I can recall - was to be able to read a numberplate at a distance of 20m.  (My driving instructor only bothered to check this the day before my test and she was suddenly shocked to realise that my eyes weren't as good as she had assumed they were...    )

But there now seems to be an additional requirement of having a visual acuity of at least 6/12 on the Snellen Scale.

Is this something that's been introduced since I passed my test, or is it simply a requirement that is never properly tested?  Do driving test candidates these days have to read a chart at the test centre?

Or is it only a requirement when you renew your licence at 70?  (This question cropped up because I was asked if I knew what was needed to renew a licence at 70 and I was checking online)


[Edit:  I know what a snellen chart is.  I suffer from an eye condition that means my visual acuity is checked quite frequently]

Nearlyold

Isn't it just the same acuity as the "number plate test" but in more scientific language?

Okell

Nearlyold said:

Isn't it just the same acuity as the "number plate test" but in more scientific language?

I dunno.

This is what the website says:

"Standards of vision for driving

You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres.

You must also [my bold] meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye.

You must also have an adequate field of vision - your optician can tell you about this and do a test."

Driving eyesight rules - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

I assume "You must also... " means what it says

Kim_13

Looks like it. I was only aware of the Snellen scale being used in the assessment of Group 2 licences, but the higher requirements for those are below on the same page. (I.e. 0.8 rather than 0.5 and having to have a minimum level of visual acuity in the second eye.)

Reading at the bottom of the page, they don't require a successful Snellen check on the test, but it sounds like they might test using it at a DVSA centre should you fail a practical test on eyesight and then reapply for the provisional.

Okell

Kim_13 said:

... Reading at the bottom of the page, they don't require a successful Snellen check on the test, but it sounds like they might test using it at a DVSA centre should you fail a practical test on eyesight and then reapply for the provisional.

OK.

So should that website actually say that IF you fail to read a numberplate at 20m, then you will need to reapply for your test and you will then be tested by DVSA to confirm your visual acuity?

Rather than apparently saying that (1) you need to read a number plate at 20m and (2) you must also satisfy a visual acuity requirement?

Nearlyold

Lots of technical stuff from the US on the subject here:- it appears that neither passing the number plate test nor passing the Snellen Test would necessarily mean you'd pass both. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27506/#:~:text=useful public service.-,Conclusions,meet the standard for driving.

Okell

Nearlyold said:

Lots of technical stuff from the US on the subject here:- it appears that neither passing the number plate test nor passing the Snellen Test would necessarily mean you'd pass both. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC27506/#:~:text=useful public service.-,Conclusions,meet the standard for driving.

I think that's actually a study from Nottingham and Sheffield rather than the US.

I'm not particularly surprised by their results or conclusions.  From my personal experience with eye problems I wouldn't trust a GP to say if I could drive or not.  An optician etc a different matter...

It's always struck me as a bit weird that the only eyesight requirement to drive a car was to read quite large letters from a very short distance away...    

Kim_13

Okell said:

Kim_13 said:

... Reading at the bottom of the page, they don't require a successful Snellen check on the test, but it sounds like they might test using it at a DVSA centre should you fail a practical test on eyesight and then reapply for the provisional.

OK.

So should that website actually say that IF you fail to read a numberplate at 20m, then you will need to reapply for your test and you will then be tested by DVSA to confirm your visual acuity?

Rather than apparently saying that (1) you need to read a number plate at 20m and (2) you must also satisfy a visual acuity requirement?

Legally you would be required to satisfy both, it’s just that the latter isn’t routinely checked as part of the licensing process. There is no visual acuity requirement for the worst eye for a car licence (as it says both eyes together.) But it does beg the question as to whether a person could be below 0.5 on Snellen while being able to correctly read a plate, as they’d then be required to take action to ensure they could meet it, and would be committing an offence if they drove while they could not.

Grey_Critic

Being Diabetic I have an annual retinopathy and eye test - Last year the optician refused to issue a prescription on the grounds my cataracts were at a stage they needed doing. If I did not have the operation within 6 months I would not be able to meet the required standard for driving.

He referred me to the clinic and I had both eyes done within 6 weeks. I was then issued a new prescription and meet the required standard.

Sorry to go on but meeting eyesight requirements should not be a problem - Any optician can carry out the test and not expensive it also ensures that you meet the requirements but also that there is no undellying undiagnosed problems. Loss of eyesight actually comes ahead of cancer as peoples concerns. 

I am old enough to recall when wearing glasses had a stigma attached, today it is just accepted.