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Driver could not read plate at five metres - police

Merseyside Police A police officer in a reflective yellow jacket stands next to a man in a black t-shirt. They are facing away from the camera towards the back of a police car parked further down a road, which is littered with fallen leavesMerseyside Police
Police who suspect a driver's eyesight is below standard can ask them to read a number plate from 20m away

A driver stopped by police turned out to have eyesight so poor he could not read a number plate from five metres away.

That was one example shared by Merseyside Police after a campaign focused on making sure motorists were able to see to a safe standard.

The scheme, dubbed Operation Dark Knight, ran from 28 October to mid-November and identified nine drivers whose eyesight was found to be inadequate in road-side tests.

The force said the consequences of driving with poor eyesight was laid bare in 2021 when Glynn Jones, 68, killed two women as they crossed the road in Southport.

Jones had been warned he was unfit to drive after being diagnosed with the eye condition keratoconus.

He continued to drive until he struck two friends - Marie Cunningham, 79, and Grace Foulds, 85 - in Lulworth Road, Southport.

Roads policing inspector Gavin Dixon told the BBC if officers suspected a driver had below standard eyesight, they could ask them to read a number plate from 20m (65ft) away.

Insp Gavin Dixon, who has a bald head, glasses and wears a white police shirt with epaulettes and a black tie adorned with a Merseyside Police badge, looks into the camera with a serious expression
Insp Gavin Dixon said anyone who drives while knowing their eyesight is below standard could face serious charges

Insp Dixon said drivers had to take the test in the condition they were in when they were stopped.

If a motorist was not wearing their glasses when they were driving they could not wear them for the test.

"One person doing the test in this campaign wasn't able to read the number plate until they got within five metres, which is pretty drastic really", he said.

"Studies have shown that about 90% of the information you take in when you are driving is visual, so if you can't see properly then that's going to be a massive issue."

Insp Dixon said the only time drivers are legally required to take an eye test is when they take their driving exam, and if they are stopped by police.

He urged anyone who may have doubts about their vision to take a test.

"If you know you shouldn't be driving, or you've been warned or you've been told your eyesight doesn't meet the standard and we can show that's the case... then that would be taken into account for a dangerous driving charge," he said.

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