Where Can I Get An Eye Test For A Driver’s Licence?
Meeting the minimum vision requirement is a legal obligation for drivers in England and Wales to ensure road safety. National Eye Health Week estimates that nine million drivers in the UK have a vision that doesn’t meet the legal requirements for driving. If you are worried you may be included in this number, you may find yourself asking ‘where can I get an eye test for a driver’s licence?’ We explore more statistics and answer this question below.
25% of drivers in the UK have not had an eye test in the past two years and over 1.5 million have never had an eye test. These statistics explain why there are approximately 3,000 casualties every year as a result of poor driver vision and upwards of £33 million accident costs involving drivers with poor vision.
So, what do you need to know about getting an eye test for your driver’s licence? We have put together this blog to explain what the UK eye tests for drivers are in the driving test, police checks, and regular eyesight tests.
Where Can I Get An Eye Test For A Driver’s Licence in the UK?
Only the driving test sight check is legally required for a driver’s licence in the UK but regular eyesight tests at opticians are recommended to avoid failing potential police checks or causing accidents. Your eyesight will be tested at three key points in your driving.
The Driving Test
The first thing you will be asked in your driving test is to read the number plate of another car from five car lengths (twenty and a half metres) away. To pass this initial test, you are permitted to wear your prescription glasses but must read the plate correctly otherwise you will immediately fail the driving test and your provisional licence will be revoked.
Roadside Driver’s Eye Test
Performed by a police officer who deems a driver to be unsafe, the driver will be asked to pull over on the road and step out of their car to prove their vision. If failed, you could be banned from driving.
Regular Eyesight Tests
Opticians recommend having a professional eye test in your local optician once every two years unless you are advised to attend more frequently. These are inexpensive and often free for some NHS users who qualify.
Pritchard Cowburn Opticians Opticians is a bilingual optician in Narberth and in Cardigan, Wales. Founded in 1961, we are able to offer a modern laboratory on-site operating with the latest technology in lens manufacture, an expert facility normally only associated with the large national opticians. Using new field-screening technology, that is used by most eye hospitals, Pritchard Cowburn Opticians provide high-quality eye examinations and bespoken spectacle lenses.
We can help you answer the question ‘where can I get an eye test for a driver’s licence?’ and are able to offer an eye test for a driver’s licence, bespoke lenses, contact lens appointments, frame repairs, field-screening technology, NHS eye tests, Enhanced Visiplan eye examination, bilingual speaking (Welsh and English).
If you require an eye test or new/repaired lenses, get in touch with Pritchard Cowburn Opticians today. We can help you with the eye tests needed for a driver’s licence and offer valuable advice about the legal sight requirements for driving in both England and Wales.