08 September 2025

FODO joins sector in seeking mandatory eye checks for drivers

Organisations representing the optical sector across the UK have produced a joint statement backing the government's plan for safer vision in a new road safety strategy.

FODO, ABDO, Optometry Northern Ireland, Optometry Scotland and Optometry Wales signed the statement. It welcomes and endorses a recent announcement from the Association of Optometrists and the College of Optometrists calling for new rules requiring drivers to have a sight test when they apply for or renew their driving licence.

The UK is one of only three European countries to rely on self-reporting of visual conditions that affect a person's ability to drive.

David Hewlett, FODO's director of policy and strategy, said: "Improving driver vision has been a long-standing public health policy of all the UK optical bodies, and we are delighted to be part of this new push for fairness and improvement. The benefits to road safety are self-evident following the recent coroner's ‘prevention of future deaths' report and the many tragic accidents that preceded it. We hope that the government will use the skills and facilities of optometrists and dispensing opticians to protect the public in this way as part of the new UK road safety strategy this autumn. Every vision-related accident prevented is a net gain for all road users, the NHS and society."

Read the full statement.