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Hands up if you are a driver? Now hands up if you are sure that you visit your optician for eye re-tests EVERY two years?
Just as I thought...
In the month that we have had reported both Olympic gold medal winner, Bradley Wiggins, and his mentor, Shane Sutton, hospitalised after colliding with road vehicles, optometrists are being pushed to raise awareness of the importance of driving with good vision.
The Association of Opticians urge people to have a sight test during Road Safety Week. The task which is being coordinated by the charity " Brake", Road Safety Week is the UK’s flagship road safety event which this year takes place from 19-25 November 2012.
Research has found that road crashes that have ultimately been caused by poor driver vision costs the United Kingdom an estimated £33 million a year resulting in nearly 2,900 casualties, with official tests to identify and rectify the problem in need of an urgent reform. The Association of Opticians are part of a sector-wide Optical Confederation initiative that is calling for tougher, 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 of our road users should participate in basic screening for distance vision and field of view, before they get behind the controls of a car.
For more information about the vision and driving campaign, go to the Optical Confederation website.