It has now been welcomed that all drivers, commercial and private, will have their eyes tested at least once every 15 years.
The Federation of Manufacturing opticians confirmed that tighter legislation will be introduced to ensure that all motorist's eyesight is adequate for driving.
Delegates at a recent seminar were told that legislation, passed in the EU parliament in 2006, is set to be introduced in 2011.
The current proposal is that holders of private licences will have to have their eyes tested every 10 to 15 years and holders of commercial licences every five years.
Each EU country has until 2013 to transpose the directive into national law.
"The only eyesight requirement of drivers at the moment is that they can clearly see a number plate at 20 meters in front of them, and this was passed in the 1930s" said Mark Raines, director of cooperate and retail development for specsavers.
"Driving today requires so much more, including the ability to refocus between different distances such as from driving instruments in the car to objects on the outside road and good peripheral vision."
"Any directives that ensure a driver's eyesight is good enough for driving is excellent news."
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