A police sergeant has shared an ‘urgent warning’ to anyone with a driving licence, as there’s an important check you should do or risk having it revoked if you get involved in an accident
A police officer has shared important advice to those with UK driving licences, as there’s something you need to declare which you may not already know about. Owen Messenger, a Sergeant in Devon and Cornwall Police who works within Road Casualty Reduction, regularly shares important advice alongside content creator George on his @GeorgesCarMedia account.
In a recent clip to the TikTok account, Sergeant Messenger said: “Urgent warning to everyone with a driving licence. If you are a driver in the UK, you need to know this. If you’re a glasses wearer, if you wear contact lenses or any sort of corrective vision, or if you don’t, you still need to be able to read a number plate from 20 metres.”
Sergeant Messenger went on to recommend you give it a go, either by using a tape measure, or by taking 20 big steps to make sure you can read a number plate from that distance. However, if you wear corrective vision you need to get this tested regularly by an optician, he warned.
He added that if you are getting older you also need to get your vision checked regularly at the optician’s, as deterioration happens so gradually you might not actually notice it yourself. He summarised: “So if you’re getting older, you’re wearing glasses or corrective vision, make sure you’re having regular eyesight tests, and make sure you can read that number plate from 20 metres.”
If you’re involved in a car accident, or are stopped at the road by law enforcement, you can be asked to do an eyesight test then and there. If you fail the test, they can under Cassie’s Law contact DVLA “then and there” to get your licence revoked. In the caption, George wrote: “Drivers, don’t ignore this! If your eyesight’s getting worse or you rely on glasses or contacts, you could lose your licence if you don’t declare it to the DVLA.”
Cassie’s Law was introduced in 2013, named after 16-year-old Cassie McCord, who died when an 87-year-old man lost control of his car in Colchester, Essex. It was later revealed he had failed a police eyesight test the day previously, but because of a legal loophole he was allowed to continue driving.
Now Police Officers can request an urgent revocation of a licence through the DVLA if they think the safety of other road users is put at risk by having that person on the road. If your licence is revoked, you’ll have to apply for a new one after a disqualification period, and you may need to send evidence you are fit to drive.
The DVLA shares: “You must be able to read a number plate from 20 meters away (about the length of 5 parked cars). You can wear your glasses or contact lenses if you use them for driving.
“You must also meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye. You must also have an adequate field of vision – your optician can tell you about this and do a test.”
