EYE SPECIALIST HELPS CHILDREN STAY SAFE
Make sure your eyes pass the test for road
CHILDREN in Scotland will be more visible when they are out and about, thanks to their local Specsavers store.
This Road Safety Week (November 18-24), Specsavers has teamed up with road safety charity, Brake, to encourage people to “step up for safe streets”.
As well as encouraging drivers to have their eyes checked to ensure they are safe to drive, Specsavers stores across Scotland will be donating high-visibility vests to schools and community groups to help make sure children are seen as the days get darker.
Jill McArthur, Chair of Specsavers in Scotland says: “We’re proud to be teaming up with Brake to try and make our roads safer.
“With the days getting darker, these vests will help make sure children are visible when they are out on the roads.
“This Road Safety Week we also want to encourage drivers to ‘step up for safe streets’ by having regular eye tests to make sure their eyesight is as good as it can be.”
Specsavers will donate more than 7000 vests to schools and communities groups in Scotland as part of the initiative.
Each store will receive an allocation, which will then be issued locally.
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns from Brake, said: “Every 20 minutes, someone on a British road is killed or seriously injured. Every death or serious injury on the road is preventable and that’s why we’re asking everyone to ‘step up for safe streets’ this Road Safety Week.
“We’re delighted to partner with Specsavers as good eyesight is so important for road safety, whatever mode of transport you use to get around.
“School children are some of our most vulnerable road users and so it’s fantastic to see Specsavers partnering with local schools this Road Safety Week.”
Jill McArthur added: “Regular eye examination is a legal requirement for drivers but it is your personal responsibility to ensure you are having your eyes tested frequently to ensure our roads are safe for other drivers as well as pedestrians.
“We’d urge every road user to help make our roads safer, whether it’s booking an eye examination, carrying a spare pair of specs in your car, not driving when tired or even driving less and using public transport more.
“Everyone needs to ‘step up’ to help keep our roads and children safe while out on the streets during the dark evenings.
“The vest donation is part of Specsavers’ ongoing support for Road Safety Week and we hope making children clearly visible to motorists will help keep our streets safer.”
Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest road safety event, co-ordinated annually by Brake, the road safety charity. It aims to inspire thousands of schools, organisations and communities to take action on road safety and promote life-saving messages during the week and beyond. It also provides a focal point for professionals working in road safety to boost awareness and engagement in their work.
GOOD eyesight is a basic requirement for safe driving. Poor vision increases the risk of collisions due to the driver’s inability to recognise and react in time to a hazard or the behaviour of other road users.
However, poor vision is believed to be massively under-reported in government crash causation data due to the difficulty in determining if eyesight was to blame.
Some casualties are likely to occur because drivers are unaware they have a vision problem and have neither corrected it nor reported it to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
Untreated eye conditions can occur gradually over time. In extreme cases, someone can lose up to 40 per cent of their vision without being aware they have a problem. Key FacTS ● Road crashes involving a driver with poor vision are estimated to cause 2900 casualties and cost the UK £33million per year. ● In the UK, about three quarters of adults are estimated to make use of corrective eyewear or have had laser eye surgery. ● In 2011, 5916 drivers had their licence revoked for failing to meet minimum eyesight standards. ● Eyesight can decline gradually, with people losing up to 40 per cent of their acuity without realising.