4x4 Off Roading ›› Driving Rules in UK ›› Driving Eyesight Rules
In the United Kingdom, the eyesight restrictions for the practical driving tests are precise. So, how do you know if your eyesight is good enough to drive?
This segment explains the official guidelines issued by the DVLA about the basic eyesight requirements and visual acuity standard used to help ensure road safety.
Some motorists need to wear spectacles or contact lenses to meet the minimum eyesight standard required to drive safely.
As a consequence, you would need to wear them every time you drive a vehicle. You also need to inform the Driver and Licensing Agency (DVLA) if:
In general, the driving eyesight rules in the United Kingdom do not restrict being colour blind, short sightedness, or long sightedness.
Plus, there is no need to tell the DVLA if you had surgery to correct these conditions if you can meet the eyesight standards. You can check the A to Z of medical conditions for further clarity.
Warning: Driving a vehicle (e.g. car, lorry, or bus) with unsafe vision or without meeting the official standards of vision for driving can result in a prosecution.
Even if you need to wear glasses or contacts, you must be able to read a car number plate that was made after the 1st of September 2001 from a distance of twenty (20) metres (65 feet) in good daylight.
In addition...
You must have an adequate field of vision, defined as having no major blind spots that could affect your ability to see hazards, and a visual acuity of not less than decimal 0.5 (6/12) as measured on the Snellen scale with your best eye (or):
Note: The Snellen test contains several rows of letters that decrease in size as you read down the chart. Normal visual acuity on the Snellen scale 6/6. Only being able to read the top line of the chart would be written as 6/60.
Lorry and bus drivers need to have a visual acuity in their best eye not less than 0.8 (6/7.5) measured on the Snellen scale and a minimum of 0.1 (6/60) in the other eye.
You can use contact lenses or glasses that have a corrective power not more than (+) 8 dioptres to reach this standard.
You also need to have an uninterrupted horizontal visual field of not less than 160 degrees with an extension of at least seventy (70) degrees left and right - and thirty (30) degrees up and down. There should be no defects present within a radius of the central 30 degrees.
In other words:
If you're a lorry or bus driver you'll need to have a wider visual field and you need to undertake regular medical checks with eyesight test.
Make sure you inform the DVLA if you have any problem that affects either eye. However, if you held your licence before the 1st of January 1997, you may still be able to renew your lorry or bus licence.
It's not uncommon for the police to conduct roadside eyesight tests. Failing to correctly read a number plate from twenty (20) metres means they may revoke your licence with immediate effect.
When the practical driving test begins you need to read the correct letters and numbers on a number plate fitted to a parked vehicle.
If not, you would fail the driving test and there would be no continuation. The examiner would inform the DVLA and they would revoke (cancel) your driving licence.
So, what happens if you reapply for your driving licence?
In this case, the DVLA will request you to undergo an eyesight test at one of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) test centres.
Nonetheless, a successful outcome would still mean that you need to pass the DVSA standard eyesight test at the subsequent practical driving test.