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Driving eyesight regulations

Driving eyesight regulations
Effectively Police can now issue instant bans for drivers that fail a roadside test

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8 September 2015

three-sixty

THE news that hundreds of drivers have had their licences revoked for failing a roadside eye test should sound alarm bells with company car managers.

Most would have been aware that new rules introduced two years ago mean police can seize a company car driver’s licence within minutes of them failing a roadside eyesight test.

But the news that 609 drivers have lost their licence in the last two years has come as big shock.

Previously the police had to notify the DVLA of an eyesight failure in writing or by fax, which in some cases meant it could take up to four days before the agency could revoke a driver’s licence and the law could be enforced to ban that person from driving.

Now with the introduction of “Cassie’s Law” the police can inform the DVLA from the roadside using mobile email if a driver fails an eye test. The DVLA can then cancel the driver’s licence by return email, so in theory the police can ban the driver from getting behind the wheel of the car within minutes.

The changes followed the death of Essex teenager Cassie McCord in 2011 after an 87-year-old man lost control of his car. He had failed a police eyesight test days earlier but a legal loophole meant he was allowed to continue driving.

When the new driving eyesight regulations came into play the then road safety minister, Philip Hammond, declared: “All drivers have a responsibility to make sure they are fit to drive every time they get behind the wheel, and this includes making sure they meet minimum eyesight standards.”

He added: “The DVLA and the Police have worked closely to streamline the process for revoking a licence when the police identify that a driver’s eyesight is inadequate, which now means that any driver who fails to meet the necessary standard may have their licence revoked in a matter of hours rather than days.”

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