Poor eyesight means 3 in 5 motorists struggle to see properly when driving

There are 37 million cars registered in the UK and four million motorists admit to putting road safety in the back seat by not respecting the road in the way we should.

New research by Asda Opticians shows that more than four million motorists in the UK admit to driving illegally by not wearing the correct eyewear, which is required of them by law.

Despite ‘roadside eye tests’ being introduced in various regions across the UK, many motorists still have a lacklustre approach to driving safely.

Three in five of those surveyed (60%) admit that they struggle to see properly when driving in general, with this figure rising to four in five (83%) when looking at younger drivers aged 25-34 years.

A quarter of motorists (24%) admit to squinting when driving and not being able to read road signs clearly with a third (29%) knowing that their lack of correct eyewear causes them to struggle when driving. 24% of drivers admit that they have missed an exit because they didn’t see it.

15% of UK drivers have had a ‘near-miss’ as a result of not being able to see properly and 12% of drivers have been in an accident caused by their eyesight, including almost half (48%) of 25-34 year-olds,

Many of the motorists surveyed blame adverse weather conditions, such as fog, heavy rain or glare from the sun (52%), when either having an accident or a near miss.

Top blames for near accidents:

1. Adverse weather conditions (fog, rain, sun) (52%)
2. Driving at night (50%)
3. Bring tired (39%)
4. Not wearing the correct prescribed eyewear (29%)

Despite being encouraged to visit an optician every two years, one in 10 (9%) motorists go longer than this period when it comes to getting their eyes tested.

Cost plays a key factor for people not having them tested regularly, with more than three million of us not getting our eyes tested every two years like we should be.  

Optician Shailesh Varsani said: “We conducted the research to find out how seriously motorists are taking their vision and it’s worrying that many aren’t getting their eyes tested as often as they should be.

“It’s easy and cost-effective for people to get their eyes tested nowadays and people need to remember that an eye test isn’t just to check people eyesight. As well as detecting other vision problems they can also reveal whether you're suffering from a number of serious health conditions including diabetes and brain tumours.”

Most people are most likely to be prompted to book an eye test when they receive a letter from their optician (64%), or when they feel that their eyesight has worsened (33%).