Do you see sense in on-the-spot eye tests for motorists?

I would not mind being stopped and checked once or maybe twice a year, but I am more concerned about people driving vehicles in unsafe condition.

Yes. I’m in favour of ‘on the spot’ eye tests. I am amazed at the number of people who do not bother about having an eye test until they experience difficulty with driving at night, seeing the TV or computer clearly, or their arms are too short to read the newspaper or restaurant menu. I always wear my spectacles when driving and have prescription sunglasses which I seem to wear more often than the clear spectacles. I really don’t know how some drivers manage with just the sun visor to block the late evening sun.

The sad fact is that most of the drivers with poor eyesight probably know it and put off going to the opticians because of the cost. In a few cases, vanity and image might have something to do with not wanting to wear glasses behind the wheel, but prescription sun glasses are the remedy for that concern [I’m not suggesting that is why Figgerty wears sunglasses! – that is just comon sense, especially in the Winter when the sun is low and piercing]. I would be quite happy for the police to administer vision tests to the same standard as driving examiners do. A properly set-up check-point at a motorway service station could be trialled and, if effective in changing attitudes and raising safety levels, could be extended to other locations. There would probably have to be some tolerance so the driver can complete the journey before the licence becomes invalid. The insurance companies might find a way of giving a concession on the premium in return for drivers going to an optician. Generally, unilluminated traffic signs and direction signs are designed, scaled and situated so as to be read comfortably at the ruling speed limit in normal daylight having regard to sighting distances and traffic density; if a driver is having difficulty reading the signs and has to slow down or take their eyes off the road for a longer period then they should already have gone to an optician. I think we have a duty to all road users and to our passengers to be fit to drive, with corrected vision where necessary, so that our eyes can still cope adequately if affected by tiredness, work-induced eye strain, or even any mild intoxication or narcotic effects. Vision impairnent taxes the brain and driving in today’s conditions puts a heavy enough demand on the brain without compounding it. .

Is being able to read a number plate in good light adequate as a test for eyesight? It could be passed by people with poor peripheral vision (tunnel vision) or poor night vision.

Yes, drivers should be liable to on the spot eyesight tests and the Law should be changed to facilitate on-the-spot driving bans.

Here is SeeDrive UK Driver’s Number Plate Eye Test

http://www.vutest.com/seedrive/

I think these posts all suggest that it’s not just spot checks that are needed, but the eyesight test used by examiners is totally inadequate. Just because you can see a black on white number plate in bright daylight doesn’t mean you have adequate sight to drive safely.

Surely this is something the EU should be pursuing: a common standard driving test (including eyesight) across the EU. It might enforce the male-vanity societies to start wearing specs!

I had been using reading glasses for a while, but when I realised my distance sight was not as good as it should be, off I went to the opticians for the first time.
I soon changed my first pair of driving glasses as they were completely unsuitable for driving. They were too small and my area of vision was impaired.
As my vision deteriorated, I also could not see the car dials properly. My driving glasses are now bi-focals with a small area at the bottom so I can now see the dials. My prescription sunglasses are the same for when I use them for driving
There was no advice from the opticians as to what makes sensible driving glasses. I wonder how many people are driving with unsuitable specs.
I have watched people with vari-focals bobbing their heads around so they can see what they are looking at. Are these specs suitable for driving?
Maybe more needs to be done to make sure the short-sighted are wearing suitable driving glasses.

AFAIR a decade or more ago the Metropolitan Police looked at their drivers who had accidents and found that their worst drivers actually had poor peripheral vision.

This explains the relevance:
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/driversafety/vision_cond.htm
and this gets quite scientific:
http://www.optometry.co.uk/uploads/articles/Jan%2025%2008%20Clinical%20driving.pdf

The most interesting research, though not aimed at peripheral vision is this piece which is really rather shocking in its findings. regrettably there are some obvious points of interest like where the drivers asked if they had ever cycled as an teenager or above on a road …..
http://road.cc/content/news/81753-invisible-cyclists-eye-tracking-experiment-finds-drivers-dont-see-more-1-5-riders

Drivers % that failed to spot cyclists

Sat nav drivers 23.7
Non-sat nav drivers 19.0
Female drivers 25.6
Male drivers 17.1
Drivers aged 20-29 31.1
Drivers aged 30-39 20.7
Drivers aged 40-49 21.6
Drivers aged 50-59 20.9
All drivers 22.0

Source: Direct Line Motor Insurance