DOT set for U-turn on eyesight regs
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by Lee Kimber • The Government has laid the groundwork for a U-turn on European eyesight rules which were set to cost thousands of drivers their jobs this summer.
Road safety minister Steven Norris has asked civil servants to consider alternatives after drivers, unions and MPs complained that Britain was implementing a law that other EC states were ignoring.
At the heart of the issue are grandfather rights—the right of existing drivers to continue driving without having to meet new regulations. Every country other than Britain has opted to allow existing drivers to retain their licences even if they fail the 30% tougher eyesight test. The Department of Transport initially ruled out the same treatment for British drivers saying it would be unworkable.
Unions have also argued that the industry was not given enough time to comment on the proposals.
An URTU spokesman says: "There was a cock-up over the consultation process. We would certainly have protested if we'd known what it involved."
The DOT says officials will this week ask EU embassies how their countries are applying the directive to both spectaclewearing and one-eyed drivers before reporting back to Norris.
"He doesn't want to change it, frankly," a DOT spokesman says, "but he's leaving them an open door." The DOT says Norris also asked civil servants why URTU did not receive the consultation pack. URTU claims an array of consultants from British industry, lawyers, unions and govermnent who normally comment on proposed laws only saw parts of the draft legislation.