§ Mr. MoateTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what consultations he has had with, or what representations he has received from, organisations concerned with the eyesight standards of motorists; and if he will institute discussions with professional bodies and with the British Insurance Association to encourage drivers to have regular eyesight tests and to remind drivers of their legal obligations;
(2)what information he has about semi-official surveys, including surveys undertaken by police authorities, into the question of eyesight standards of motorists;
(3)what investigations have been undertaken by his Department into the question of eyesight tests for motorists and with particular reference to injury or 701W damage accidents to which poor eyesight might have contributed; and what is his estimate of the cost of undertaking such a survey.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyWe have received strong support for the present eyesight test and standard from the College of Ophthalmologists (formerly the Faculty of Ophthalmologists at the Royal College of Surgeons).
Research by the transport and road research laboratory, reported in 1986 as "A Re-analysis of California Driver Vision Data", found that once age and other variables had been taken into account, there was no detectable relationship between the propensity to have accidents and any of the large number of visual tests employed. This confirmed earlier work at TRRL and other work carried out overseas over a period of some decades which has in no case found any important relationship between accidents and any measure of visual acuity.
The cost of repeating the work would be in excess of £200,000. We are considering whether other work is now required to provide additional information about drivers over the age of 70.
I have placed a copy of the report in the Library of the House. I have also placed there a copy of a paper entitled "Vision and Driving" prepared by the Department's medical adviser, together with another piece of work—"A Survey of Visual Acuity of Drivers"—carried out by the Motor Industry Research Association for the TRRL.
There have been calls from various organisations, including the police, calling for higher standards of eyesight for drivers and for compulsory regular testing.
We have periodic discussions with the Association of British Insurers about medical factors affecting fitness to drive, including eyesight standards and the need to encourage regular checks.
We are aware of one or two police forces carrying out eyesight surveys using binocular screening devices.