Driver eyecare

While regulations force employers to provide eye tests for VDU users, there is no specific legislation for checking the sight of occupational drivers. This previously neglected area is now being increasingly talked about with calls for greater employer responsibility.

Health and Safety Executive guidance prompts employers to remind staff they must be able to satisfy the Highway Code's eyesight requirements, which means being able to read a number plate at a distance of 20 metres. However, company car drivers’ vision is often overlooked.

A survey by the Royal National Institute of Blind People found that as many as one in three people in the UK would fail a standard eyesight test. When applied to Britain's drivers, this equates to a staggering 13 million people.

While a driving policy stipulating that staff who drive on business should have regular eyesight checks might help, some employers are now choosing to go one step further in order to cover themselves. For example, one organisation that was concerned that their drivers were not taking the risk associated with not having regular eyesight tests seriously enough decided that one way of handling it was to say to them, ‘ok we will pay’.

Eyecare vouchers are one way of helping employers deal with their legal obligations around eyecare.

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Free white paper: Developing a Driver Eyecare Policy - Your Options & Legal Obligations