- It’s law for drivers to be able to read a number plate from 20m away (since 2001)
Around 1million people are estimated to be driving illegally because their eyesight is below the UK legal minimum requirement, This is Money can exclusively reveal.
The 1937 Road Traffic Act states that motorists must be able to read a vehicle number plate from 20 metres – or approximately 65 feet – in good daylight.
However, new data from Churchilll motor insurance – who partnered with optician Hodd, Barnes, and Dickens to test drivers who haven’t had an eye examination for over two years – found one in 10 drivers were unable to read a number plate from the minimum legal distance.
The study estimates 2.8million people have never had an eye test as an adult.
Driving with poor vision can have serious consequences, for both the motorist and other road users. Department for Transport data shows that driving with uncorrected defective eyesight were involved in 182 fatal or serious collisions in 2023.
Calling these results ‘incredibly worrying’, optician Abbas Pirbhai said: ‘Many drivers do not realise than even minor vision issues can significantly reduce their ability to see signs, the dashboard, pedestrians, and other cars, affecting their ability to drive safely.’
A staggering one million people are estimated to be driving illegally because their eyesight is below the UK legal minimum requirement This is Money can exclusively reveal after Churchill motor insurance partnered with leading optician Hodd, Barnes, and Dickens to test driver eyesight
After 2,000 adults were surveyed, it was revealed that a quarter of had not had an eye test in two years.
Over half of people (60 per cent) who’d never had an eye test said they didn’t feel that they need a test because they felt they could ‘see OK’.
More shockingly, 7 per cent – which represents 3.5 million drivers – suspect that their eyesight isn’t road legal.
Even knowing you need to wear glasses or contact lenses when driving doesn’t mean people wear them, with eight per cent of those questioned who need glasses to drive admitting they only wear them ‘sometimes’ or ‘rarely’.
A further 2 per cent confessed they never wear their prescription lenses when driving.
And even worse a quarter of those who drive without their glasses admit they couldn’t read road signs, while 29 per cent admitted having had an incident because they couldn’t see clearly.
Being able to read a number plate from 20 metres away (with glasses or contact lenses if necessary) has been the legal eyesight requirement in the UK since September 2001
When it came to asking people for their experiences when driving without prescribed glasses or contacts, just how little key road information drivers could see was starkly highlighted.
Twenty-five per cent of those surveyed said they’d been unable to read road signs, while 14 admitted they’d hit an object and 15 per cent had had an accident. Twenty-one per cent had had a ‘near miss’.
While some people would put it down to irresponsible behaviour, for others there’s a cost issue at play too.
Over a quarter (27 per cent) said that the cost of having an eye test and getting any required prescription had put them off being tested.
Nicholas Mantel, Head of Churchill Motor Insurance, commented: ‘Our roads are safest when every driver takes responsibility not only for their vehicle but also for their own health and capability to drive safely.
‘Eyesight tends to deteriorate slowly, so drivers may not notice the decline in vision unless they get regular tests.’
And even worse a quarter of those who drive without their glasses admit they couldn’t read road signs, while 29 per cent admitted having had an incident because they couldn’t see clearly.