Hampshire drivers the worst for UK vision-related accidents

Vision Direct has explored the most dangerous areas across the UK due to adverse weather conditions, common vision-related failures during driving tests, and the most frequent vision-related causes of collisions and accidents.

They analysed data from the Department for Transport (DfT) showed that, over the last 10 years in the UK, “uncorrected or defective eyesight” has been listed as a contributing factor in 62 road fatalities and 2,648 casualties.

In 2023, six lives were lost, and 187 serious traffic accidents occurred across the UK due to poor eyesight.

Worst areas in the UK for vision-related road accidents

With the data broken down by county, Vision Direct found the worst areas for casualties caused by uncorrected or defective eyesight between 2014 and 2023.

Casualties here refer to all people injured or killed in road traffic accidents.

1. Hampshire - 109
2. Kent - 103
3. West Sussex - 100
4. Essex - 89
5. Cornwall - 80
6. Hertfordshire - 77
7. Devon - 67
8. Norfolk - 60
9. Suffolk - 54
10. Surrey - 54

Vision Direct adds: "The South East has reported 600 casualties between 2014-2023 due to bad eyesight alone, all of which could have been prevented with regular checkups at the opticians."

In a further analysis of data, it was discovered that 75 people in Hampshire had failed the eyesight check on their driving test since 2019.

This was found to be at:

• Southampton (Maybush) -  29 failures
• Portsmouth  - 18
• Farnborough - 17 
• Winchester - 7
• Lee-on-the-Solent - 3
• Basingstoke - 1 

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Vision Direct adds: "Every driving test in the UK includes a basic eyesight check, during which the examiner asks the candidate to read a standard vehicle number plate from a distance of 20 metres.

"This is a standard practice and the first step before proceeding to the practical driving test.

"However, many candidates still fail to pass it. Across the UK, in the last five years, 2,332 people failed their eyesight check, with 75 of them in Hampshire."