Local optometrist raises awareness of the importance of driving with good vision – November 2012
With news that Olympic gold medal winner, Bradley Wiggins, and his mentor, Shane Sutton, have both ended up in hospital after being in collision with vehicles in separate incidents, local optometrist Andy Molsom, from Molsom Optometrists in Spalding and Donington, is helping to raise awareness of the importance of driving with good vision by urging people to have a sight test during Road Safety Week. Coordinated by charity Brake, Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship road safety event which takes place from 19-25 November 2012.
New research, by RSA Insurance Group (RSA), has found that road crashes caused by poor driver vision cost the UK an estimated £33 million a year and result in nearly 2,900 casualties, with official tests to identify and rectify the problem in need of urgent reform.
Andy Molsom said: “Changes in vision can occur gradually over a period of time and, as such, a driver may not realise they have a problem with their vision. The NHS recommends that adults have their eyes tested every two years yet many drivers fail to look after their eyesight.”
The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is part of a sector-wide Optical Confederation initiative calling for tougher and more frequent checks on drivers’ eyesight. Given the importance of being able to drive with good vision – so that drivers do not put themselves and others at risk unnecessarily – the Confederation believes that all drivers should undergo basic screening for distance vision and field of view, before they get behind the wheel of a car.
David Craig, AOP director of marketing and business development, said: “The AOP has been concerned for some time about drivers’ vision. The issue reared its head again this year, with the death of 16-year-old Cassie McCord, who was killed by an 87-year-old driver who had, days earlier, failed the number plate test after a minor accident. This case illustrates only too clearly the risks that we run with the current system which requires drivers with poor vision to report themselves. It really is time that a regular, compulsory test was introduced which is consistent, repeatable and designed specifically for drivers. Surely, we can no longer tolerate a system that allows the needless deaths of innocent people like Cassie McCord.”
Julie Townsend, deputy chief executive, Brake, the road safety charity, said: “We’re calling on optical professionals to help make roads safer by engaging customers and the wider community on this critical issue during Road Safety Week. It’s a perfect opportunity to raise awareness about driver vision and encourage your customers to do everything they can to protect others when they’re at the wheel. Our theme for Road Safety Week is ‘slower speeds = happy people’. We’ll be urging drivers to slow down to 20mph in communities to enable families to get out and about on foot and bike, for their health and enjoyment, without being endangered. Optical professionals can help to reinforce this vital message: we need drivers to slow down and look out to prevent tragedies and enable safe walking and cycling.”
“The Road Safety Week website is full of ideas: log on now to register for your e-action pack to help you get involved in this life-saving, awareness-raising event.”