Get drivers with bad eyesight off the roads or more will die, coroner warns

Telegraph

17-04-2025

Road deaths will continue while drivers with bad eyesight remain behind the wheel, a coroner has warned.
Dr James Adeley, the senior coroner for Lancashire, said the system to keep sight-impaired motorists off the road was 'ineffective' and needed to change to prevent future deaths.
He has sent a report to Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, calling for action after presiding over a landmark inquest into the deaths of four people killed by drivers with failing eyesight.
All four deaths were caused by drivers whose sight was below the standard required to drive a car.
Dr Adeley labelled the licensing system for drivers as the 'laxest in Europe' as he pointed out the UK was one of only three countries to rely upon self-reporting of visual conditions affecting the ability to drive.
He made the remarks at the rare joint inquest in Preston of Marie Cunningham, 79, Grace Foulds, 85, Peter Westwell, 80, and Anne Ferguson, 75.
Mrs Cunningham and Mrs Foulds, who were friends, were struck by Glyn Jones in his Audi A3 as they crossed the road in Southport, Merseyside, on Nov 30, 2021.
Jones, 68, was aware for some years before the collision that his sight was insufficient to meet the minimum requirement to drive a car but failed to declare it to the DVLA.
When he was jailed for seven years and four months, his sentencing hearing was told he could not even see his steering wheel clearly.
Mr Westwell was hit by Neil Pemberton, 81, as he crossed the road in Langho, near Blackburn, on March 17 2022.
Pemberton, who was jailed for 32 months, had a long history of eye disease and was informed on several occasions by different clinicians that he should not drive, the inquest heard.
He also repeatedly failed to declare his sight deficit on multiple licence applications to the DVLA.
Mrs Ferguson died when she was struck by a van driven by Vernon Law, 72, in Whitworth, Rochdale, on July 11 2023.
Law, who was jailed for four years, also failed to declare his sight issues on multiple licence applications to the DVLA, the inquest at County Hall heard.
Dr Adeley said: 'The four fatalities shared the same feature that the driver's sight was well below the standard required to drive a car.
'The current system for 'ensuring' drivers meet the visual legal standards is ineffective, unsafe and unfit to meet the needs of society.'
The Department for Transport said it would consider the coroner's report once received.
A spokesman added: 'The NHS recommends adults should have their eyes tested every two years and drivers are legally required to inform the DVLA if they have a condition which affects their eyesight.
'We are committed to improving road safety and continue to explore ways to achieve this.'
When drivers reach the age of 70, and every three years after, they renew their licence on the basis of self-certification that they can read a number plate at 20 metres and have not been told by a doctor or clinician that their vision has fallen below the legal limit for driving.
The coroner said: 'Self-reporting of visual conditions permits drivers to lie about their current driving status to those performing an ophthalmic assessment and avoid warnings not to drive.
'Drivers may also admit they drive but then ignore instructions not to drive and fail to notify the DVLA.
'A sanction without teeth'
Failure to notify the DVLA of a new or worsening eyesight condition from the age of 70 is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000 but the coroner pointed out: 'As the DVLA have never referred a case to the police [...] this appears to be a sanction without teeth.'
Following the inquests, the family of Mrs Cunningham said: 'Our mum, and her friend, were killed by the selfish, reckless actions of Glyn Jones, an obnoxious, self-righteous man who chose to ignore repeated medical advice telling him that his eyesight failed the legal limit to drive, to this he showed a complete disregard for the safety of others.
'His decision to put his own convenience before the law, before ethics, before human lives, cost our family everything.
'This tragedy was not inevitable. It was entirely avoidable.
'And we are left grappling with the painful truth that if this man had acted responsibly our mum would still be with us.'
The inquests heard that the number of drivers aged over 70 increased by more than 50 per cent between 2014 and 2024 and continues to increase by approximately a quarter of a million drivers each year.
Surveys of optometrists in the UK have reported that more than half reported seeing a patient in the last month who despite being told their vision was beneath the driving standard indicated they would continue to drive, the inquests heard.
Another survey of the public found that 29 per cent of motorists said they would continue to drive despite knowing their vision is below the legal standard.