Letter: Road safety is not about age but experience

Although well-meaning, in his article of Thursday, August 29 on the subject of compulsory eye tests, Phil Hill fails to identify several common issues that must be answered before any change is supported.

His argument is further undermined by generalisations and assumptions.

UK rules are not ‘pretty lax’.

Licence photo cards have a 10-year validity but can be much shorter in the presence of illness or disability.

This is no different from many other European countries.

Ageing does cause global functional deterioration as described, but this is counterbalanced by greater experience.

The safety-conscious airline industry notes that older pilots are slightly slower to respond to an in-flight emergency but are then more likely to do the right thing.

Age alone is therefore not a good indicator of risk.

Although he correctly notes many of the changes wrought by ageing are subconscious, this is not usually true for eyesight.

Although exceptions exist, generally, people are aware of changes in vision and act accordingly.

This is supported by free eye testing in the target age group.

We know that those over 80 are at significantly increased risk of death whilst driving (DfT, 2019), but, critically, Phil does not identify why.

Speculation that this is the result of poor eyesight is premature, with many other plausible causes being at least as likely.

Examples include musculoskeletal issues, cognitive decline, or sudden incapacity due to pre-existing illness.

Fortunately, DfT already keeps such data (DfT, 2020).

Their report makes interesting reading that confirms that eyesight alone has a minority contribution to this global risk.

Although a ‘common sense’ plan to mandate eye testing will likely do no harm, it will almost certainly not significantly improve road safety for either older drivers or third parties.

This initiative makes the classic error of making what’s easily measurable important, rather than making what’s truly important measurable.

Public health initiatives should aim to do what is right, not what is easy.

Gwynne Harper