Eye test for driving licence

reilig · 04-10-2010 2:58pm #1

Hi,

Can someone tell me if an Optrometrist will do the basic eye test for me to obtain a driving licence or would I be better going to my gp? reason I ask is that there ia a specsavers close to my office that I could go to at lunch time any day rather than taking time off to go to my gp. Also, does anyone know how much I would be charged?

Dan

Stark · 04-10-2010 2:59pm

Specsavers will do it for you. Was about €15 when I did it from what I remember.

BikingChick · 11-10-2010 1:10pm

I shopped around and found 1 optician signed the driving licence form for free but the test cost €25. Another charged €15 for the form, but gave a free test. In my town, they are all small independent opticians but some of the larger ones may give better deals.

endplate · 11-10-2010 11:16pm

It varies from place to place. For example our place charges €30 for a full eye test and if the person comes back within a year looking for a drivers report the wife will sign one for free. Otherwise if somebody comes in soley for a drivers report we will charge €15

robinph · 17-10-2010 9:37pm

Got mine done in a VisonExpress or Specsavers.

Couldn't believe it that they passed me without my glasses on though, I nearly walked into the door on the way out as I'd not put them back on again at that point.

Yawns · 17-10-2010 9:42pm

Yeah I know plenty of people with poor eyesight but get a perfect drivers license form when they visit a certain place in D.24

The gf also got hers there too and she had really bad eyesight etc, even admitted to Eye & Ear in City Center cos of it. Makes you wonder just how many people out there behind the wheel of a car that shouldn't be cos of examiners not caring.

Btw noone I know asked for the exaniner to do them any favors, the examiner is either piss poor incompetent or just doesn't give a ****.

robinph · 18-10-2010 10:23am

Nah, I think the test is pointless. The optician that tested me wasn't incompetent or anything, just that the requirements that have been determined by someone else as the standard of eyesight required in order to be allowed to drive are so poor.

It's the standard for passing the test that need to be looked at, not the people doing the testing. I think the test is basically just checking for the person having to eye balls somewhere in their head, nothing about if they can actually see anything or not with them.

cython · 18-10-2010 10:38am

robinph wrote: »

Nah, I think the test is pointless. The optician that tested me wasn't incompetent or anything, just that the requirements that have been determined by someone else as the standard of eyesight required in order to be allowed to drive are so poor.

It's the standard for passing the test that need to be looked at, not the people doing the testing. I think the test is basically just checking for the person having to eye balls somewhere in their head, nothing about if they can actually see anything or not with them.

+1.

I was told by an optician when I got this done that while I met the legal requirements for driving without corrective lenses, that certainly didn't mean that doing so would be a good idea, as he felt that the requirements were too lax

seamus · 18-10-2010 11:41am

cython wrote: »

I was told by an optician when I got this done that while I met the legal requirements for driving without corrective lenses, that certainly didn't mean that doing so would be a good idea, as he felt that the requirements were too lax

Yep, I've heard a number of people say this - they're technically legal for driving but they wouldn't dream of getting behind the wheel without a pair of glasses on. Scary really.

Stark · 18-10-2010 11:47am

Yeah I wear glasses all the time even though I'm technically legal to drive without.

Thing is, I'm sort of fine during the day but then my vision goes to absolute pot at night if I'm not wearing my glasses. Like there is no way I'd spot a pedestrian or cyclist in dark clothing if I didn't have my glasses on and there'd be blinding glare coming from lights against me as my eyes wouldn't be able to focus the light. I'm fine when wearing the glasses. Scary as these are the things you hear people frequently compain about when night driving.

tball1 · 18-10-2010 5:50pm

good thread

johnnysmack · 18-10-2010 8:38pm

Anyone know what the actual legal requirement is?

Stark · 18-10-2010 8:58pm

20/40 vision I think.

jwabh · 17-12-2010 8:41pm

It's on the bottom of the driving licence eyesight report form.

(a) The person shall have a visual acuity (with corrective lenses, where necessary) of not less than 0.5 (6/12) when using both
eyes together

(b) The horizontal field of`vision of the person shall not be less than 150o

(c) A person with sight in one eye only shall have a visual acuity (with corrective lenses, where necessary) of not less than
0.6 (6/10), an unrestricted field of vision in the eye concerned and the monocular vision must have existed for sufficient
time to allow adaptation.

Basically it means that the person should be able to see at 6 meters what somebody with normal eyesight would read at 12 meters

robinph · 17-12-2010 9:01pm

jwabh wrote: »

Basically it means that the person should be able to see at 12 meters what somebody with normal eyesight would read at 6 meters

Do you mean the opposite way round, they have to see at 6 what normal eyesight would see at 12?

Either way though I still think it's a dangerous test, telling people that clearly can't see that they are OK to drive without lenses on.

jwabh · 17-12-2010 9:46pm

sorry my bad, corrected it there. It isn't ideal at all, 6/12 is still fairly bad most people would wear spx with that vision.

ramses2 · 04-01-2011 1:15pm

Any branch of Donal Macnally Opticians will do the test for you as well and they are all around Dublin. It only takes a few minutes but you should be careful to use it immedialely as the form goes out of date very quickly!

squishykins · 08-01-2011 10:37pm

If the test is that bad, it just shows how bad my eyesight is that it says I need corrective lenses on while driving! :P

On a related note, has anyone ever gotten that anti-glare stuff on their lenses (specsavers do it, I dunno where else does)? I got it, paid €75 I think, and it made the glare much worse while I was driving! I actually had to pull over and get someone to collect me :S I got the refund though so it was ok

cjdj30 · 24-01-2011 4:07pm

is the eye test really needed for people that have good vision? when my partner applied for his licence he never gave an eye test report and wasn't asker for one, when i applied,i brought all my forms over to the tax office to post them in the box they have, the guy i asked to check i had everything i needed asked if i needed glasses when i said no he gave me back the eye report and said it wasn't needed unless i needed it stated on my licence that glasses are required,my point is eye tests can cost a varied amount dependin on where you go, my daughters fella went only today to get his forms filled for his licence and his doc wants 20 for the eye test even thought he's a medical card holder.is that not a waste of money as he has perfect vision, just to hand in a form thats not going to be needed.

endplate · 26-01-2011 11:16pm

We are not fully clear on this Public servents at their best here. The drivers report test is due to change on the 1st of Feb. The new test has been issued by the RSA and is very detailed with a lot more stringent tests. But nobody told the Opticians till last week. Currently there are talks ongoing between the Opticians Board and the RSA. The new test will no doubt cost more as a lot more chair time will be required to complete the test. So basically if you need a drivers report get it done and submitted before the 1st as the old form mightn't be accepted. You have been warned

endplate · 26-01-2011 11:20pm

squishykins wrote: »

On a related note, has anyone ever gotten that anti-glare stuff on their lenses (specsavers do it, I dunno where else does)? I got it, paid €75 I think, and it made the glare much worse while I was driving! I actually had to pull over and get someone to collect me :S I got the refund though so it was ok

That is very expensive for anti glare. In our store our premium top of the range antiglare costs €55 on top of the cost of new frames our basic antiglare is €25.

Did you replace the lenses in your own frames by any chance?

NoodleMc · 09-02-2011 4:15pm

Just went to renew Drivers Licence today. Was hoping I wouldn't need the eyesight form - but nope - I do. This was at Nutgrove Shopping Center - so the guy behind the desk told me to try the optician at the Center - I think McNally. Anyway went there to chance my arm and see if I could get the form completed then and there to be told that they don't have the equipment to do the new test - but - they gave me a list of opticians that did. There were 2 names on the list (one of which was Kevin St DIT), both in Dublin City center. I was in shock and went back to the motor office to see could this possibly really be the case. Yes it is - however was told that Thomas Carroll in Dundrum also do the test. Have since found out that Specsavers also have the equipment (although they were not able to tell me that at the Motor Tax office).
Anyway - appointment booked - it will take about 1/2 hour! Didn't even ask how much it will cost - no doubt the same as getting a regular eye test. Things were so much simpler 20 years ago when you just walked into your local optican and he signed the form for you on the spot (and asked you how you were too!)
I will finish by saying that the application for for the driving licence has nothing on it to indicate when/when not you need this eye test form. It is not in fact even mentioned on the application.:mad:
Rant over..

seamus · 09-02-2011 4:29pm

NoodleMc wrote: »

Just went to renew Drivers Licence today. Was hoping I wouldn't need the eyesight form - but nope - I do.

Your post gave me a glimmer of hope that they'd actally started requiring people to submit eyesight reports every ten years. But unfortunately not. The rules state that you must only submit an eyesight report if you haven't submitted one before.

An application for a provisional licence for category A1, A, B, M or W shall be accompanied by an eyesight report, unless -
(i) the applicant has previously provided an eyesight report,
for the purposes of this Regulation.

You do not require an eyesight report to renew a full driving licence unless you never submitted one before.

This was at Nutgrove Shopping Center - so the guy behind the desk told me to try the optician at the Center - I think McNally. Anyway went there to chance my arm and see if I could get the form completed then and there to be told that they don't have the equipment to do the new test - but - they gave me a list of opticians that did.

Even odder - I got my eyesight report in that exact opticians (granted it was ten years ago), they used to do a special where they did the test and filled the form out for you for £20 if you went in before midday. The eyesight report form hasn't really changed, so they shouldn't need any "new equipment" to do a simple eye test.

Are you in a special group - i.e. you have a pre-existing problem with your eyes (aside from plain old long/short sightedness) or are you over 70?

robinph · 09-02-2011 5:41pm

What possible special equipment could it be that the licensing people need, but that an optician doesn't have?

Sounds like they are trying to improve things from what they used to have, the old test being along the lines of "Can you see how many fingers I'm holding up? No this hand where I'm holding up 3 fingers". But unless they are checking for if people have x-ray vision or something I cannot fathom why an opticians standard set of tools wouldn't be sufficient to establish if you can read a road sign or not.

NoodleMc · 09-02-2011 7:11pm

Nope - I just have plain old bad eyesight! (and although some days I feel over 70 - I'm not). The reason I have to do a new form is that even though I have worn glasses for over 20 years and this would be my 3rd licence - the motor tax office did not put my eye sight resatriction on my last licence - so this is seen as a change.

Actually my thought is that everyone should be required to have an eye sight test done every time you renew your licence (a lot can change in 10 years).

In the US (where I lived for a while) - they do an eye test on the spot when you go to renew your licence - it's a simple look through a microscope type thing and read the letters.

seamus · 09-02-2011 9:12pm

NoodleMc wrote: »

The reason I have to do a new form is that even though I have worn glasses for over 20 years and this would be my 3rd licence - the motor tax office did not put my eye sight resatriction on my last licence - so this is seen as a change.

Hah. This doesn't surprise me at all when it comes to driver licensing.
No problem if you want a licence that says you don't need glasses but if you voluntarily ask to have that restriction put on the licence, you better prove that you need it. :rolleyes:

It's something which should probably be marked by default on all licences unless the applicant supplies a report saying they don't need glasses.

endplate · 09-02-2011 10:57pm

The new drivers report has been revised for the moment as the RSA forgot to tell the Association of Optometrists it was coming in. As a result there was no time for the practices to get updated with the necessary new equipment. One test has no equipment at all it was down to the Optician to decide the result.

Now we are pretty much back to where we were before the changes. The only difference now is the form that has to be filled out.

There are 2 drivers report levels out now. Class 1 deals with ordinary drivers and Class 2 deals with commercial drivers which has more stringent tests.

The fees for the class 1 drivers should be the same as before about €15 and every shop is again able to carry out the test. This is subject to change in the near future.

endplate · 09-02-2011 11:05pm

robinph wrote: »

What possible special equipment could it be that the licensing people need, but that an optician doesn't have?
QUOTE]

The main equipment that some Opticians don't necessarly have are a

Visual Fields screener. This test prints a map how good your peripheral vision is.

A Contrast Sensivity chart. Is an expensive sheet of cardboard with letters that gradually fade as you scan down the chart (I know we just bought one). To pass this test you have to be able to read down to the second last line which can be quite diffiecult.

These tests are not required for the class 1 drivers (Ordinary drivers) at the moment

mambo · 17-02-2011 10:46am

endplate wrote: »

The new drivers report has been revised for the moment as the RSA forgot to tell the Association of Optometrists it was coming in. As a result there was no time for the practices to get updated with the necessary new equipment. One test has no equipment at all it was down to the Optician to decide the result.

Now we are pretty much back to where we were before the changes. The only difference now is the form that has to be filled out.

Is the form "Eyesight Certificate D502" at
http://www.dublincity.ie/RoadsandTraffic/DrivingLicences/pages/learnerdrivingpermit.aspx
still valid then?

endplate · 17-02-2011 9:50pm

No that's the old form. Here's a link to the new form.

marrakechheat · 23-02-2011 9:48pm

Hi my friend is thinking to get a provisional license and he has to get an eye test certificate for that. From what i read the cost seems to starts from 15 euro. Is there a cheaper place or is it even possible to get it done for free, he is on a tight budget and not working at the moment. Thanks

Eye test for driving licence

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