Drivers over 70 face ban from driving despite | Tech (*70*)
Drivers aged 70 and over may very well be banned from driving even when they go an eye take a look at.
Under new plans being drawn up by the DVLA, drivers may very well be made to take obligatory eye exams with a purpose to retain their licence as soon as they hit 70 years previous. The rule change, set to be introduced later this yr in response to studies, is a bid to make roads safer however older drivers have hit back on the plans. A new requirement being ready by the Transport Secretary may make eye checks for the over-70s obligatory once they renew their driving licence each three years.
One driver who has already fallen foul of eye take a look at guidelines is known actor Christopher Biggins, in response to a report within the Daily Mail.
The former I’m A Celebrity star, 76, has been banned from driving after failing an eye take a look at. He says he acquired a letter 10 days after his eye examination telling him that he had failed his take a look at and wouldn’t be getting his driving licence reinstated.
After the blow, Biggins booked himself more eye checks in a bid to overturn the ban. He went to Homerton Hospital, who gave him a clean invoice of health and one other eye take a look at.
Two docs then gave Biggins signed letters pleading his case to the DVLA, however these had been rejected, with Biggins informed the medical proof “does not show you are able to meet the required medical standards for driving.” In this fashion, the new guidelines may see older drivers unable to overturn a failed eye take a look at, even when they take additional eye checks.
Biggins informed the Mail: “How can they disregard a hospital physician and one other optician? It has left me very depressed. I journey a lot and I need to drive.
“Not long distance, for that I take the train. It is costing me a fortune in taxis. It is very unfair. I’m absolutely infuriated with their ‘computer says no’ attitude.”
When contacted by the Daily Mail, a DVLA spokesperson said: “While we cannot comment on individual cases, all drivers must meet minimum eyesight standards to drive a vehicle.
“Whether a driver meets the eyesight standards can be tested through various means, including visual field and acuity, depending on the circumstances. These standards apply to all drivers and, if someone does not meet the required standards they cannot be allowed on the road.”
Earlier this year, coroner Dr Adeley criticised the current driving licence system for enforcing visual standards as “ineffective, unsafe and unfit”. He made the comments at the inquests of Marie Cunningham, 79, Grace Foulds, 85, Peter Westwell, 80, and Anne Ferguson, 75, at Preston Coroner’s Court – all of whom were killed by drivers with failing eyesight, according to the BBC.
Current DVLA guidelines state everybody aged over 70 should renew their driving licence, and replace their {photograph}, each three years.
When you renew, the federal government says you should inform the DVLA you probably have a downside along with your eyesight. Under new guidelines, eye checks may turn out to be obligatory when your licence is renewed.
Plans additionally embody decreasing the drink-driving restrict in each England and Wales to be according to Scotland’s legal guidelines, and giving people factors on their licence for not sporting a seatbelt.
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