What sort of "eye test" are you thinking of and how many staff would the DVLA need to recruit! What happens in remote areas where the nearest office could be a couple of hundred miles round trip. It's totally impractical.A lot of these problems could be solved IF drivers had to pick up their licences from a local office instead of through the post from Swansea. Then a eye test could be carried out before the issue.
The Government wants Local Councils to have more input into local business, why not start here?
I can't see many on here who renew their C licence regularly being keen on a lengthy journey every time
Strict solutions to a problem are rarely popular!
True. But in the context of an eye test presumably you are thinking of a check just on reading a number plate ( or an equivalent). Better than nothing but would miss people with a significant visual field defect which is likely to have much more of an effect on driving safety . That would mean actually making a appointment to collect the licence. I have had a couple of people in the past trying to drive with total loss of sight to one side in both eyes and an hgv driver with advanced glaucoma and a visual field which precludes any driving. Neither would be picked up by a vision check.
Strange, they managed it in Sydney when I lived there.
If an elderly person is declared unfit to drive and then gets in a car then perhaps treat them the same as someone who gets in a car without a licence. With regard to the youngsters who steal a car I have no compassion, if I hear they’ve crashed I’m just relieved if no one else was involved.The same could be said of a younger person stealing a car and probably never took a test or held a license.
These youths drive without a care in the world.
Very low punishments given out and not their hard earned buy the vehicle.
Makes you wonder which is worse
What they did a visual field test or do you mean you just read a chart?
A form of natural selection!
Execution,out of hand ,at the roadside for scum like that is the only answer.
| current rule | new rule from August 2025 | |
| Licence Renewal Age | 70 | 70 (Unchanged) |
| Renewal Frequency | Every 3 years | Every 3 years (Unchanged) |
| Medical Declaration | Self-assessed | Still self-declared; GP form may be required if flagged |
| Vision & Cognitive Testing | Rarely requested | Required only for flagged or high-risk cases |
| DVLA Fitness Reviews | Based on form info | Random spot-checks and reviews may increase |
This is probably true.
When I did it, I had to read a chart at the back of the office behind the man sitting behind the grill, if you couldn't, he refused your licence.
You could put the sign really high up and in small print........A lot of these problems could be solved IF drivers had to pick up their licences from a local office instead of through the post from Swansea. Then a eye test could be carried out before the issue.
The Government wants Local Councils to have more input into local business, why not start here?
It's perfectly true. The reason people like to think wearing specs makes your eyes worse is because it's getting old that makes them worse and people want to find an alternative explanation. If it was wearing specs that made them worse no one would ever need the first pair!
Exactly my point you can pass that test with sight that's not legal for driving it's not pointless but close to.
No it doesn't - ignore road signs at your own peril
It was the lower half ( the smaller letters) of exactly the same chart as the opticians used at the time, and still did for my HGV & PSV medical a few years ago, so why is it not legal for driving?
Yes it is. If you hog the middle or right lanes when the inside lanes are clear you could be stopped (although highly unlikely) and potentially fined.
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