Good eyesight can help to ensure safety on Coleraine’s roads

Research conducted, by the Specsavers Drive Safe Team, at the Portrush Air Show, earlier this year, found that eighty nine per cent of those surveyed considered themselves to have good enough eye sight for driving. However, sixty seven per cent of those people who had their vision screened at the Air Show were found to have vision that fell below the minimum standard for driving. They were advised to call into their local Specsavers store for a more detailed eye examination.

Over half of those surveyed said that they had had a sight test within the last two years, which is the time frame recommended by opticians. However, almost a third of individuals, twenty nine per cent of those surveyed, admitted that they had not had an eye test for two or more years.

Therefore, Specsavers in Coleraine is trying to increase awareness about the importance of having regular eye examinations. A number of selected stores are currently running a free sight test offer which is valid until the end of December.

Specsavers store director, Judith Ball, says: “Being perceptive and alert as a driver – especially on busy and congested roads – is essential. It is particularly important to follow the advice of the local Specsavers optometrists across the province, who recommend that regular eye examinations, once every two years, are important.

“As the Portrush Air Show indicated, almost all of those surveyed felt that their eyesight was good enough for driving. However, over half of the respondents admitted that it has been two years or more since they had last visited an opticians, meaning that any changes in their eyesight may have gone undetected. The results also indicated that those who felt their eyes were fit for driving, almost two thirds of them were advised to have a more detailed eye examination.

“In light of these recent figures, we at Specsavers in Coleraine want to do all that we possibly can to help promote the importance of sight tests, general eye health and the overall importance of high quality vision when driving. Drivers who choose to ignore that advice are putting themselves and others at risk on the roads”

If you are concerned about your eyesight, or if you would like to book an eye test at the Coleraine Specsavers store, please call 02870 326346 to speak to one of the professionally trained staff. Alternatively you can log on to www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/coleraine.