Exciting new collaboration puts vision in the driving seat

National sight charity, the Eyecare Trust and not-for-profit health cash plan provider Westfield Health, are to team up for a joint public eye health campaign designed to highlight motorists’ legal obligation to ensure their vision is roadworthy and raise awareness of new driving eyesight standards due to be introduced into UK law by 2013 as part of EU Directive 2009/113/EC.

The DRIVE campaign will launch in September with the results of a study surveying the eyesight of business drivers and online advice about driving and vision including – requirements for sight testing, tips on how to keep your eyes fit for the road and updates about the proposed changes in legislation.

Commenting on the campaign Dharmesh Patel, Chairman of the Eyecare Trust said: “It seems as though every other week we see a new piece of research highlighting the alarming number of road users who fail to meet the minimum legal vision requirements for driving. We hope that this partnership will help educate and motivate motorists to ensure their vision is roadworthy. It will also keep people up-to-date with what any proposed changes in legislation will mean for them.”

Jill Davies, Chief Executive of Westfield Health, said: “Ensuring that your eyesight is roadworthy is crucial – not just for your own safety, but for the welfare of other road users too.  This partnership will highlight the importance of having regular sight tests and hopefully make motorists think twice before getting into a car without checking their vision is good enough to drive.”

After its initial launch in September the campaign will continue into 2012 with a series of ongoing public and corporate facing initiatives.

You can follow the campaign on our new Twitter feed @DriveCampaign.