n Could you tell me how you think I
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• a• will get on as regards the eyesight requirements of the heavy goods vehicle medical certificate? My position is this: when I was aged eight I lost most of the vision in my right eye due to an accident However, the sight in my /aft eye is peifect. I am employed as a foremen fitter in charge of over 150 vehicles, and in the course of my employment I have to drive all types
of vehicles. Now aged 31, have been driving heavy vehicles since I was 21. In all this time I have never been involved in an accident.
My job involves inspecting and testing h.g.v. and my employers have told me that if I can't hold an h.g.v. licence I will have to resign. So my standard of living is at stake.
I have had my eyes tested by an optician and been told that the sight in my right eye is very sub-standard; but he confirmed that the left eye is perfect. The readings were: right eye L6/60 and left eye 6/7.5+. and he did not think this would be detrimental to my driving a heavy goods vehicle.
AThe assessment of your medical ,,suit
ability for driving heavy goods vehicles, when applying for an h.g.v. driving licence, lies entirely in the hands of the doctor who examines you and completes the form. Question 7D on the medical certificate specifically applies to people in your situation but is likely to penalize only those who have less than 6/12 vision with one eye and 6/36 with the other eye, or whose field of vision is unsatisfactory.
We suggest that when you apply for a licence you either put your doctor in touch with the optician who examined you or obtain a signed statement from the optician, con
cerning your eyesight, to take to the doctor.
It seems likely that, so long as your actual field of vision is sufficiently good, the weakness of one eye would not prevent you from qualifying for a licence.