Why I want drivers to take an eye test (From Echo)

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Why I want drivers to take an eye test

7:00am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Southend By George Thorpe

Gareth Gault suffered poor health for years after being hurt in an accident

A MANseriously hurt in a car accident involving a driver with poor eyesight is urging compulsory eye tests for all motorists.

Gareth Gault, 42, of the Grove, Southend, is backing a national campaign to force drivers to be tested before they are allowed a licence.

Mr Gault was hit, at the age of seven, by a car driven by a motorist wearing an eyepatch.

He ended up being dragged 150 yards along the road by the car, and spent eight months in hospital.

He said: “Once I left hospital, I was wheelchair-bound and then forced to walk around with callipers and crutches before I was finally able to walk again unaided, aged 15. It was a traumatic time for me.

“Another side-effect is the fact I developed early-onset arthritis in my early twenties, because of the crash. The accident is still causing me trouble now.”

Laser eye corrective surgery company Ultralase and motoring charity Brake are running a national petition, calling for a change to the law.

Mr Gault said: “It’s very easy for people to say, ‘oh I’m just popping down the road’ and think nothing will happen because they might only be making a short journey.

“But it only takes a split second for an accident to happen, which can end up ruining lives or, even worse, killing someone.”

Related links

CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION

In July, Dr Aloke Basu, of Burges Road, Thorpe Bay, was jailed for two years after being convicted of killing 74-year-old Shirley Watkins through dangerous driving as a result of poor eyesight.

The 66-year-old GP was suffering from cataracts in both eyes, chronic glaucoma and short-sightedness.

He hit Mrs Watkins on Eastern Avenue on February 5, 2010.

Before the incident, Dr Basu had twice been asked to contact the DVLA about his eyesight problems and had failed tests at the scene of the accident.

Comments(14)

Jack0 says...
9:28pm Mon 6 Feb 12

Last I heard you had to read a registration plate at 20m to pass the driving test so a test already exists. No surprise that companies in the eye care business would want more tests, they would benefit from the extra custom. Eye tests would have to be repeated at regular intervals to be effective. Forcing people with perfectly good vision to have expensive eye tests just because they are drivers is ludicrous. In the case of the two examples given such rules would have made no difference because they were obviously undergoing treatment and had had eyetests. The law already requires people to wear glasses if they need them to see well enough to drive. The problem is enforcing the law. Whenever the police take a Breathalyzer test at the scene of an accident or when motorists are stopped for speeding they should also routinely repeat the registration plate eye test, with the driver wearing glasses only if he was doing so while driving. They should have the power to impose penalties if it cant be done. That would be a more effective measure.