How’s your eyesight?

How’s your eyesight?

Most people will automatically say ‘fine, thanks’ if asked – but as the police found after doing some spot checks, the truth might be a very different story.

As part of the ‘Is Your Vision Roadworthy?’ campaign, police carried out 898 roadside tests on drivers and PTW riders between 27 February and 12 March. Participants were asked to read a standard number plate from 20 metres.

Over one in 50 failed what is a pretty basic test – suggesting that over 700,000 road users could be riding or driving around with defective vision.

Three-quarters of those who failed were men – and they weren’t all old, either: the youngest to fail was 30.

Chief constable Jo Shiner, the National Police Chief Council’s lead for roads policing, said:

“Personal responsibility is the starting point for safer roads.

“Making sure your eyesight meets the standards of vision for the road is really important and something only you can do to keep yourself and all other road users safe.”

Just in case you were wondering – yes, there are tough penalties if you were stopped while riding and the police found your eyesight was defective. It is a fine of up to £1,000 and three points on your licence.

More importantly, you are putting your life at risk. Police believe as many as 3,000 people are injured on the roads every year in crashes where failing eyesight was a factor.

Don’t risk it; get your eyesight checked regularly. Keeping safe on your bike demands spot-on vision.

Scroll to top
Social Share Buttons and Icons powered by Ultimatelysocial

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close