DVLA rule forces pensioner to travel 175 miles or | Tech News
A 79-year-old pensioner has criticised a DVLA eyesight requirement after being informed she would need to travel 175 miles to an accepted evaluation centre or risk shedding her driving licence.
The retiree, who lives in Cornwall, mentioned she was left shocked when she was knowledgeable there have been no DVLA-accredited eyesight testing centres in both Cornwall or Devon following a failed imaginative and prescient take a look at earlier this 12 months. After failing an eyesight evaluation at a Specsavers department in Redruth in January, she was instructed to bear a additional take a look at at a DVLA-approved medical centre, Birmingham Live reported.
However, she was informed the closest obtainable location was in Castle Cary, Somerset – round 175 miles from her home in Pool.
The pensioner mentioned the prospect of making a journey of virtually 400 miles there and back was “grossly unfair” for people residing in rural areas.
“If I don’t pass, I’ll hold my hands up and say, ‘Okay, I failed it’,” she mentioned.
“I’ll get on with it. I’ll get on with not being able to drive. But I think they can see that it’s not fair. I’m not going to be the only one that this is going to happen to.”
She added: “You’re talking about a nearly 400-mile round trip, which, to me, is so grossly unfair on people that live here.”
The girl mentioned driving remained an important half of her independence and warned shedding her licence would have a important influence on her every day life.
“To me, driving is very important. I can still drive. There’s no problem when we’re driving,” she mentioned. “It would have a big impact on me. I’ve then got to rely on my partner, my independence would be completely gone.”
She additionally questioned why there have been no accepted evaluation centres nearer to home for drivers within the South West.
“I’m not going to be the only one that’s going to get called out by this,” she mentioned. “I think they’re trying to sort out the elderly drivers and fair enough, I can understand that. But there should be a place down here that we can go to.
“It’s a long means to go to take a take a look at, which you aren’t assured to cross.”
The case has reignited issues about entry to companies in rural components of the nation, significantly for older motorists who might face prolonged journeys to attend specialist assessments required to retain their licences.
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