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New data shows 20% increase in drivers notifying DVLA of ‘eyesight issues’

New data shows 20% increase in drivers notifying DVLA of ‘eyesight issues’

Thursday, 13 September 2018

In light of National Eye Health Week (September 24-30) Feel Good Contacts has uncovered some new data which shows a 20% increase in drivers notifying the DVLA of ‘eyesight issues’, over a five year period from 2013 to 2017.

The data, which was requested under a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, showed the Government organisation received 166,148 notifications in 2013, compared to 200,289 last year. In addition, the number of licenses that were “refused on application or revoked for eyesight-related conditions over the last five years” totalled 42,803 for Group 1 drivers (car/motorcycle) and 6,965 for Group 2 drivers (lorry/bus).

With National Eye Health Week later this month, and Road Safety Week in November, it couldn’t be a better time to stress the importance of this topic. We have many customers who require eyewear for driving; it’s crucial not only for their eye health but for the safety of other road users. Regular eye tests are highly recommended, especially if you’re struggling to see a minimum of 20 metres away, the minimum eyesight standard required by all drivers. It’s also imperative that you notify the DVLA immediately if anything changes in regards to your eye health.

For a wealth of information about eye care, contact lenses and prescriptions, visit the Feel Good Eyecare Hub.

New data shows 20% increase in drivers notifying DVLA of ‘eyesight issues’

The FOI data also revealed that men are six times more likely to be disqualified from driving. 421,565 men were banned from driving from January 2014 to the end of July 2018, compared to 66,272 women in the same period.

Further data highlighted disqualification by gender, age and gave a breakdown of why the individual was disqualified. The age at which men were most frequently disqualified is 26, totalling 18,107 over the past four years. Comparatively, the common female age for disqualification was three years older at 29, totalling 2,267 women.

Men were also over:

23 times more likely to be disqualified for dangerous driving

16 times more likely to be banned for driving whilst already disqualified

15 times more likely to be banned for driving or attempting to drive whilst above the limit for drugs

10 times more likely to be disqualified for driving without due care or consideration for other road users

Rodney Kumar, spokesman for UK road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: “These findings strongly back up our research and that of the Government, which shows we need a targeted approach aimed at the biggest ‘at risk’ group in the UK when it comes to road crashes – that is young men in their early to mid-twenties. If we are to make any inroads into significantly reducing the numbers of people killed or injured on our roads, we need to directly influence this group through re-education on attitudes from an early age, backed up by zero tolerance in enforcement to stop them in their tracks and make them realise bad driving just isn’t worth it.”

Disqualifications By Age And Gender

		Females
Age at disqualification	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Female total
29	300	460	558	606	343	2,267
26	333	508	511	589	306	2,247
27	362	509	456	554	321	2,202
28	340	451	541	532	328	2,192
30	327	454	459	560	332	2,132
25	342	467	483	527	308	2,127
24	367	447	480	506	244	2,044
34	318	439	458	480	282	1,977
32	279	408	496	506	281	1,970
31	292	403	461	504	293	1,953
33	333	405	418	470	288	1,914
23	336	389	458	443	272	1,898
35	274	396	432	486	257	1,845
22	349	398	435	404	210	1,796
36	257	404	408	456	255	1,780
37	242	313	432	412	251	1,650
38	265	312	368	408	260	1,613
40	303	341	343	372	211	1,570
45	265	340	396	358	192	1,551
21	306	330	375	321	214	1,546
39	244	326	344	383	243	1,540
42	289	322	344	361	218	1,534
43	277	333	349	379	191	1,529
41	294	330	340	340	219	1,523
44	266	323	372	332	204	1,497
20	253	290	321	384	198	1,446
46	271	312	367	316	177	1,443
47	248	293	348	352	143	1,384
48	263	297	321	317	182	1,380
49	213	315	291	304	174	1,297
50	230	270	273	279	158	1,210
19	188	235	280	298	153	1,154
51	212	229	245	258	144	1,088
52	183	209	214	242	149	997
53	158	182	216	245	140	941
54	155	173	202	189	127	846
55	112	148	168	193	99	720
18	123	163	157	151	106	700
56	120	146	153	146	116	681
57	104	140	119	143	86	592
58	84	129	110	122	85	530
59	84	103	110	90	55	442
60	66	90	98	84	51	389
61	78	74	84	94	49	379
62	55	61	70	70	47	303
63	51	45	62	58	38	254
64	53	46	44	58	28	229
17	41	52	53	48	32	226
65	37	54	43	35	28	197
66	31	37	46	43	32	189
67	25	31	36	43	25	160
68	31	40	31	28	28	158
69	25	33	35	31	20	144
70	24	32	19	22	18	115
72	9	25	38	21	6	99
71	17	16	15	30	20	98
16	6	13	22	25	10	76
73	7	20	24	11	12	74
74	4	16	21	15	10	66
76	8	5	9	14	11	47
77	5	8	8	9	6	36
78	2	8	12	7	5	34
75	7	7	7	8	4	33
80	5	8	11	6	2	32
79	4	9	8	6	3	30
15	2	3	7	7	3	22
81		7	5	8	1	21
82	5	5	7	4		21
84	4	1	5	1	4	15
83	1	3	4	3	1	12
14		2	2	4	2	10
85	2	3	2	1	1	9
86	3	1	3		2	9
87		2	5	1		8
88	1	3	3		1	8
89	1	1	1	3		6
13	2			3		5
90		2		1	1	4
91		1			1	2
92			1	1		2
93		1		1		2
12
94
96
97
Total	10,873	13,747	14,895	15,516	8,974	64,005

		Males
Age at disqualification	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Male total
26	2,357	3,704	4,558	4,842	2,646	18,107
25	2,510	3,852	4,510	4,523	2,549	17,944
24	2,444	3,844	4,282	4,505	2,513	17,588
27	2,241	3,644	4,216	4,771	2,589	17,461
23	2,331	3,680	4,223	4,445	2,382	17,061
28	2,122	3,385	4,108	4,439	2,591	16,645
22	2,180	3,524	4,110	4,185	2,269	16,268
29	2,046	3,265	3,767	4,226	2,470	15,774
21	1,906	3,228	3,702	3,827	2,098	14,761
30	1,835	2,995	3,551	4,012	2,254	14,647
31	1,868	2,878	3,365	3,662	2,184	13,957
20	1,622	2,748	3,324	3,388	1,854	12,936
32	1,693	2,695	2,964	3,365	1,951	12,668
33	1,680	2,597	2,950	3,100	1,869	12,196
34	1,611	2,420	2,734	2,962	1,699	11,426
19	1,325	2,364	2,870	2,897	1,634	11,090
35	1,483	2,410	2,516	2,753	1,678	10,840
36	1,285	2,215	2,537	2,750	1,571	10,358
37	1,192	1,882	2,316	2,497	1,503	9,390
38	1,218	1,795	1,994	2,275	1,490	8,772
39	1,246	1,720	1,905	2,138	1,325	8,334
40	1,116	1,678	1,762	1,915	1,141	7,612
18	922	1,664	1,954	1,979	968	7,487
41	1,200	1,602	1,703	1,873	1,069	7,447
42	1,067	1,550	1,598	1,770	1,028	7,013
43	1,051	1,497	1,607	1,740	951	6,846
44	1,018	1,537	1,665	1,682	942	6,844
45	993	1,450	1,467	1,568	900	6,378
46	948	1,372	1,411	1,522	850	6,103
47	886	1,331	1,371	1,392	854	5,834
48	905	1,268	1,331	1,369	788	5,661
49	782	1,199	1,237	1,314	793	5,325
50	801	1,119	1,119	1,146	702	4,887
51	751	1,018	1,089	1,139	642	4,639
52	708	969	1,061	1,067	608	4,413
53	687	984	919	1,033	597	4,220
17	450	865	1,118	1,053	491	3,977
54	601	833	867	904	549	3,754
55	518	720	786	794	513	3,331
56	506	716	651	742	411	3,026
57	448	587	632	700	398	2,765
58	371	551	558	644	350	2,474
59	371	481	546	534	308	2,240
16	212	475	585	570	243	2,085
60	346	456	427	456	303	1,988
61	297	437	392	389	237	1,752
62	314	357	372	396	212	1,651
63	278	340	302	327	183	1,430
64	219	309	296	324	205	1,353
65	213	281	276	245	162	1,177
66	191	254	235	264	159	1,103
67	210	238	245	243	136	1,072
15	87	217	242	281	131	958
68	150	203	188	185	120	846
69	153	193	162	179	98	785
70	113	171	127	182	77	670
71	112	132	142	147	86	619
72	78	114	117	103	64	476
73	63	85	91	98	63	400
14	38	80	112	103	45	378
74	53	81	90	92	53	369
75	62	74	62	57	39	294
76	47	80	56	58	33	274
77	36	61	66	46	26	235
78	30	44	44	44	23	185
79	18	27	43	42	34	164
80	24	28	32	29	17	130
82	20	20	19	30	15	104
13	11	26	21	30	15	103
81	14	22	27	26	12	101
83	9	17	26	21	9	82
85	3	15	12	10	14	54
84	8	12	14	11	5	50
86	5	13	16	8	4	46
87	3	11	10	10	1	35
88		8	7	5	1	21
89	2	6	7	2	3	20
90	2	5	1	6	3	17
12	1	4	1	3	2	11
91	2	2	3	1	3	11
92	2	2	1	2		7
93			2	1	1	4
94		1	1		1	3
96				2		2
97					1	1
Total	58,721	90,737	101,826	108,470	61,811	421,565

Disqualification By Offence Type And By Gender And Year Od Disqualification

			Females
Code	Description	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Female Total
AC10	Failing to stop after an accident	17	60	71	73	42	263
AC12
AC20	Failing to give particulars or report an accident within 24 hours	5	12	12	10	7	46
AC22
AC30	Undefined accident offences
BA10	Driving while disqualified by order of court	132	352	422	458	248	1,612
BA12		1		3		1
BA14
BA20
BA30	Attempting to drive while disqualified by order of court
BA40	Causing death by driving while disqualified
BA60	Causing serious injury by driving while disqualified
CD10	Driving without due care and attention	35	99	98	97	50	379
CD12
CD20	Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users			1	1		2
CD30	Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users	9	43	25	30	17	124
CD40	Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink	1	2	1		3	7
CD50	Causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs			4	1	1	6
CD60	Causing death by careless driving with alcohol level above the limit	4	2		2	1	9
CD70	Causing death by careless driving then failing to supply a specimen for alcohol analysis
CD80	Causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving	16	50	55	43	31	195
CD90	Causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers			2		1	3
CU10	Using a vehicle with defective brakes
CU20	Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of use of unsuitable vehicle or using a vehicle with parts or accessories (excluding brakes, steering or tyres) in a dangerous condition	1	2			1	4
CU24					1		1
CU30	Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s)	1	1		2		4
CU34
CU50	Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers	1					1
CU54
CU80	Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone		6	6	12	13	37
CU84
DD10	Causing serious injury by dangerous driving	6	26	66	44	34	176
DD40	Dangerous driving	75	203	212	239	126	855
DD42					1		1
DD44
DD46			1				1
DD60	Manslaughter or culpable homicide while driving a vehicle
DD80	Causing death by dangerous driving	2	10	15	15	6	48
DD82
DD90	Furious driving		1	1			2
DG10	Driving or attempting to drive with drug level above the specified limit		70	552	719	525	1,866
DG40	In charge of a vehicle while drug level above specified limit			2	2	3	7
DG60	Causing death by careless driving with drug level above the limit
DR10	Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit	7,955	7,669	7,780	7,522	3,987	34,913
DR12		3			1	1	5
DR14
DR20	Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink	90	109	97	118	61	475
DR30	Driving or attempting to drive then failing to supply a specimen for analysis	984	988	1,032	1,053	591	4,648
DR31	Driving or attempting to drive then refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity			2	1		3
DR40	In charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above limit	42	123	118	104	66	453
DR50	In charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink	7	19	14	12	9	61
DR60	Failure to provide a specimen for analysis in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive	21	53	51	58	37	220
DR61	Refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive		1				1
DR70	Failing to provide specimen for breath test	2	14	14	7	5	42
DR80	Driving or attempting to drive when unfit through drugs	97	99	93	93	42	424
DR90	In charge of a vehicle when unfit through drugs	2	1	8	4	2	17
IN10	Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks	205	381	388	416	257	1,647
IN12				1			1
IN14		11	15	17	10	7	60
LC10
LC14
LC20	Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence	6	18	21	22	6	73
LC24
LC30	Driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence
LC40	Driving a vehicle having failed to notify a disability
LC50	Driving after a licence has been cancelled (revoked) or refused on medical grounds		2	1	1	1	5
MR09	Reckless or dangerous driving (whether or not resulting in death, injury or serious risk)	1	1	1			3
MR19	Wilful failure to carry out the obligation placed on driver after being involved in a road accident (hit or run)
MR29	Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other substance affecting or diminishing the mental and physical abilities of a driver	5	10	5	5	2	27
MR39	Driving a vehicle faster than the permitted speed
MR49	Driving a vehicle while disqualified
MR59	Other conduct constituting an offence for which a driving disqualification has been imposed by the State of Offence		3		1		4
MS10	Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position			1			1
MS20	Unlawful pillion riding
MS50	Motor racing on the highway
MS60	Offences not covered by other codes (including offences relating to breach of requirements as to control a vehicle)	2	5	3	5	6	21
MS90	Failure to give information as to identify of driver etc	17	51	57	51	31	207
MW10	Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)				1		1
NE96
NE97			3	4	4		11
NE98		14	25	36	40	28	143
NE99		20	32	46	43	26	167
PC10	Undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations
PC20	Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle
PC30	Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with stationary vehicle					1	1
SP10	Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits		2		2		4
SP20	Exceeding speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles)				1		1
SP30	Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road	129	292	310	333	227	1,291
SP40	Exceeding passenger vehicle speed limit			1			1
SP50	Exceeding speed limit on a motorway	61	156	147	137	73	574
SP60
TS10	Failing to comply with traffic light signals	2	2	3	6		13
TS20	Failing to comply with double white lines		1				1
TS30	Failing to comply with 'stop' sign
TS40	Failing to comply with direction of a constable/warden
TS50	Failing to comply with traffic sign (excluding 'stop' signs, traffic lights or double white lines)	1			1	1	3
TT99	Special code - shows disqualification under 'totting-up' - if the total of penalty points reaches 12 or more within 3 years, the driver can be disqualified	1,118	2,989	3,490	4,177	2,665	14,439
UT10
UT20
UT40
UT50	Aggravated taking of a vehicle	72	202	164	143	75	656
UT52
UT54			1				1
Total		11,173	14,207	15,453	16,122	9,317	66,267

			Males
Code	Description	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	Male Total
AC10	Failing to stop after an accident	211	537	577	572	336	2,233
AC12		1	1			1	3
AC20	Failing to give particulars or report an accident within 24 hours	30	103	116	112	56	417
AC22				1	1		2
AC30	Undefined accident offences		1	1	1		3
BA10	Driving while disqualified by order of court	2,239	5,513	6,636	7,488	4,210	26,086
BA12			1	3			4
BA14			1				1
BA20			5	1			6
BA30	Attempting to drive while disqualified by order of court		1	1	1		3
BA40	Causing death by driving while disqualified		1	3	5		9
BA60	Causing serious injury by driving while disqualified		4	9	9	4	26
CD10	Driving without due care and attention	341	871	912	924	475	3,523
CD12					2		2
CD20	Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users	5	14	26	26	13	84
CD30	Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users	128	346	334	332	170	1,310
CD40	Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink	7	9	9	7	2	34
CD50	Causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs	3	3	6	7	2	21
CD60	Causing death by careless driving with alcohol level above the limit	8	7	12	7	8	42
CD70	Causing death by careless driving then failing to supply a specimen for alcohol analysis	1	2		5	1	9
CD80	Causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving	62	144	199	186	92	683
CD90	Causing death by driving: unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers	7	20	31	44	25	127
CU10	Using a vehicle with defective brakes			1	1		2
CU20	Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of use of unsuitable vehicle or using a vehicle with parts or accessories (excluding brakes, steering or tyres) in a dangerous condition	8	23	14	13	7	65
CU24			1				1
CU30	Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s)	9	25	17	17	8	76
CU34			1				1
CU50	Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of load or passengers	12	14	9	16	1	52
CU54		1					1
CU80	Breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone	29	75	52	81	90	327
CU84					1	1	2
DD10	Causing serious injury by dangerous driving	81	271	362	489	248	1,451
DD40	Dangerous driving	1,614	4,389	5,334	5,801	3,071	20,209
DD42		1	1	1	2	2	7
DD44			2				2
DD46			1				1
DD60	Manslaughter or culpable homicide while driving a vehicle	3	1	3	5		12
DD80	Causing death by dangerous driving	65	126	177	186	94	648
DD82			1				1
DD90	Furious driving	1		4	5		10
DG10	Driving or attempting to drive with drug level above the specified limit		1,637	8,558	11,264	7,041	28,500
DG40	In charge of a vehicle while drug level above specified limit		14	65	88	54	221
DG60	Causing death by careless driving with drug level above the limit			2	9	5	16
DR10	Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit	34,464	34,389	33,480	31,269	16,505	150,107
DR12		8	4	5	4		21
DR14			1				1
DR20	Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink	446	497	532	511	302	2,288
DR30	Driving or attempting to drive then failing to supply a specimen for analysis	4,598	4,835	5,390	5,461	2,897	23,181
DR31	Driving or attempting to drive then refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity	5	5	17	28	15	70
DR40	In charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above limit	217	540	615	568	304	2,244
DR50	In charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink	34	81	90	89	54	348
DR60	Failure to provide a specimen for analysis in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive	136	325	308	310	184	1,263
DR61	Refusing to give permission for analysis of a blood sample that was taken without consent due to incapacity in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive	3	2	2	9	8	24
DR70	Failing to provide specimen for breath test	41	97	121	130	85	474
DR80	Driving or attempting to drive when unfit through drugs	838	866	773	574	331	3,382
DR90	In charge of a vehicle when unfit through drugs	18	34	24	35	12	123
IN10	Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks	1,971	4,204	4,189	4,321	2,154	16,839
IN12		1	1	3		1	6
IN14		29	50	50	32	17	178
LC10		1	3			1	5
LC14					1		1
LC20	Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence	131	297	288	290	155	1,161
LC24					1		1
LC30	Driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence		2	2			4
LC40	Driving a vehicle having failed to notify a disability		1		1		2
LC50	Driving after a licence has been cancelled (revoked) or refused on medical grounds	1	4	7	14	12	38
MR09	Reckless or dangerous driving (whether or not resulting in death, injury or serious risk)		7	5	12	1	25
MR19	Wilful failure to carry out the obligation placed on driver after being involved in a road accident (hit or run)		1		1		2
MR29	Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or other substance affecting or diminishing the mental and physical abilities of a driver	12	31	23	48	7	121
MR39	Driving a vehicle faster than the permitted speed	1	2	3	2		8
MR49	Driving a vehicle while disqualified		3	1	1	2	7
MR59	Other conduct constituting an offence for which a driving disqualification has been imposed by the State of Offence	7	28	10	14	4	63
MS10	Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position	1				2	3
MS20	Unlawful pillion riding			2			2
MS50	Motor racing on the highway	7	12	27	2	6	54
MS60	Offences not covered by other codes (including offences relating to breach of requirements as to control a vehicle)	51	136	98	101	56	442
MS90	Failure to give information as to identify of driver etc	82	273	314	297	123	1,089
MW10	Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits)		2	2	2	3	9
NE96		1		1	1		3
NE97		23	51	74	65	3	216
NE98		180	448	512	712	289	2,141
NE99		163	359	220	214	162	1,118
PC10	Undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations					1	1
PC20	Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle		1	1	1		3
PC30	Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with stationary vehicle	1	2	3	1		7
SP10	Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits	38	119	72	66	41	336
SP20	Exceeding speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles)	1	7	11	11	11	41
SP30	Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road	1,229	3,089	2,979	2,928	1,509	11,734
SP40	Exceeding passenger vehicle speed limit	2	2	11	3		18
SP50	Exceeding speed limit on a motorway	502	1,421	1,395	1,205	710	5,233
SP60					1		1
TS10	Failing to comply with traffic light signals	11	18	23	22	11	85
TS20	Failing to comply with double white lines	1	3	3	1		8
TS30	Failing to comply with 'stop' sign	2	1	1			4
TS40	Failing to comply with direction of a constable/warden	6	15	12	12	9	54
TS50	Failing to comply with traffic sign (excluding 'stop' signs, traffic lights or double white lines)	1	2	1	3		7
TT99	Special code - shows disqualification under 'totting-up' - if the total of penalty points reaches 12 or more within 3 years, the driver can be disqualified	7,478	21,825	24,150	29,137	18,726	101,316
UT10		10	7	2			19
UT20			2				2
UT40		6	16	3			25
UT50	Aggravated taking of a vehicle	1,096	2,449	2,495	2,252	1,080	9,372
UT52						1	1
UT54			1				1
Total		58,721	90,737	101,826	108,470	61,811	421,565

Total number of notifications received by DVLA for the last 5 years (eyesight related conditions)

	Year	Number of notifications
	2013	166,148
	2014	161,117
	2015	156,367
	2016	173,975
	2017	200,289
Total		857,896

Total number of licenses that have been refused on application for a licence or revoked for eyesight related conditions over the last 5 years

	Year	Group 1 (car/motorcycle)	Group 2 (lorry/bus)
	2013	7,373	2,035
	2014	9,077	1,306
	2015	9,059	1,134
	2016	9,094	1,298
	2017	8,200	1,192
Total		42,803	6,965	49,768