new driving licence rules for people over 70

[Robmac]

I think if you wear prescription glasses for driving that should be fine. You don't have to be elderly to have poor eyesight.

With my bins on I have 20/20 vision, without them I couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo!

 

[alcam]

I think if you wear prescription glasses for driving that should be fine. You don't have to be elderly to have poor eyesight.

With my bins on I have 20/20 vision, without them I couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo!

Think your eyesight can stop deteriorating or even improve when you're older .
Blind Willie McTell told me that !
Apparently there is some truth in it

 

[trevskoda]

I think if you wear prescription glasses for driving that should be fine. You don't have to be elderly to have poor eyesight.

With my bins on I have 20/20 vision, without them I couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo!

Are you stringing us along.

 

[REC]

I can't understand why a tick box can't be added to the yearly/ two yearly sight test at the optician. Should just state that sight is compliant with driving rules. That could cover everyone over or under 70yrs. Would sort that issue, and mean that drivers had to have regular sight tests.

 

[Fisherman]

P

I think if you wear prescription glasses for driving that should be fine. You don't have to be elderly to have poor eyesight.

With my bins on I have 20/20 vision, without them I couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo!

thats not the issue Rob. Some elderly people require surgery for carteracks, or who have macular degeneration etc sometimes undiagnosed who would fail an eye test and are still driving.

 

[GeoffL]

Think your eyesight can stop deteriorating or even improve when you're older .
Blind Willie McTell told me that !
Apparently there is some truth in it

It depends (in part) on your unaided acuity when young. Someone I know used to be short-sighted (IIRC), needed glasses for driving and could read unaided without problems; but now meets the C1 eyesight requirement unaided and needs glasses for reading.

P

thats not the issue Rob. Some elderly people require surgery for carteracks, or who have macular degeneration etc sometimes undiagnosed who would fail an eye test and are still driving.

There's no need to declare having had cataract removal surgery and even if you have cataracts, they might not be severe enough to significantly affect your driving (I passed the C1 eyesight test with one cataract still in place). That said, I was shocked at the increase in contrast and colour intensity after I'd had my cataracts removed. However, it's not just the over 70s who can suffer from cataracts, macular degeneration, etc. and so the tick-box that @REC suggested makes a lot of sense.

 

[trevskoda]

I can't understand why a tick box can't be added to the yearly/ two yearly sight test at the optician. Should just state that sight is compliant with driving rules. That could cover everyone over or under 70yrs. Would sort that issue, and mean that drivers had to have regular sight tests.

Cand read your post as letters to small.

 

[Fisherman]

T

It depends (in part) on your unaided acuity when young. Someone I know used to be short-sighted (IIRC), needed glasses for driving and could read unaided without problems; but now meets the C1 eyesight requirement unaided and needs glasses for reading.


There's no need to declare having had cataract removal surgery and even if you have cataracts, they might not be severe enough to significantly affect your driving (I passed the C1 eyesight test with one cataract still in place). That said, I was shocked at the increase in contrast and colour intensity after I'd had my cataracts removed. However, it's not just the over 70s who can suffer from cataracts, macular degeneration, etc. and so the tick-box that @REC suggested makes a lot of sense.

Geoff I don’t disagree with anything you posted. But you never mentioned that whereas it’s possible for a 20 year old to suffer from macular degeneration and other ophthalmic problems it’s way more likely that elderly people will suffer from such ailments than younger people. Hence why from age 70 we are asked to self certify our fitness to drive every three years. Sadly as we age the chances of us requiring medical aid increase massively. Hence why I have no issue with having to provide validation of my fitness to drive at some point in my life. Younger drivers should also have to provide validation say every ten years in my honest opinion.

 

[GeoffL]

Geoff I don’t disagree with anything you posted. But you never mentioned that whereas it’s possible for a 20 year old to suffer from macular degeneration and other ophthalmic problems it’s way more likely that elderly people will suffer from such ailments than younger people. Hence why from age 70 we are asked to self certify our fitness to drive every three years. Sadly as we age the chances of us requiring medical aid increase massively. Hence why I have no issue with having to provide validation of my fitness to drive at some point in my life. Younger drivers should also have to provide validation say every ten years in my honest opinion.

I agree -- as we age, certain conditions become more likely and so it makes sense for more effort to be made to ensure older drivers remain fit to drive. I suspect that we also agree that many conditions are not the exclusive preserve of the elderly and so your implied proposal for those under 70 to renew every ten years (i.e. the lifetime of a photocard) and provide validation makes sense...