If you drive, it goes without saying that you know you need your eyes on the road at all times. What you might not know is that DVLA has minimum eyesight standards that all drivers need to demonstrate so they can be allowed to drive.

So how do we decide on the vision standards for driving? DVLA’ s Vision Panel Secretary Dr Gareth Rees tells us more about his role and these standards.

“ I’ ve been a doctor for 41 years and have been DVLA’ s Vision Panel Secretary for ten years. My main role is to liaise between DVLA and the Honorary Medical Advisory Panel on Visual Disorders. The panel meets every six months and is made up of eyesight specialists, who provide DVLA with expert advice on how to apply and interpret the law when assessing fitness to drive.

Dr Gareth Rees

Think your eyesight’ s getting worse? Act now

We all have busy lives, and sometimes we might overlook the signs that our eyes are not as good as they were. You might be finding it harder to judge distances, you might be struggling to read the newspapers, or it’ s getting more difficult for you to drive at night. These are just a few signs that your eyesight may be deteriorating.

In line with advice from optometrists, our advice is that you should get your eyes tested at least every two years. But if you recognise any of the signs above, don’ t wait – go and get checked out straight away with your optician or doctor. If they advise you to tell DVLA about your eyesight, you can do this online or by writing to us.

If you don’ t meet the eyesight standards, stop driving immediately and tell DVLA.

After you tell us about your condition

Don’ t worry – usually, most people who tell us they’ ve got a medical condition are still allowed to drive.

If you have a‘ progressive’( worsening) condition but can still meet the eyesight standards for driving, you may get a shortterm licence rather than a full-term one. This type of licence lasts for 1, 2, 3 or 5 years and when it’ s due for renewal, we let you know.

It’ s better to be safe than sorry. So if you’ re in doubt, get it checked out.

Follow DVLA on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and subscribe to our Inside DVLA blog.

Trade retailer Screwfix partnered with Yeovil College to launch The Screwfix Construction Trade Academy course. The move is in response to the widely reported construction skills gap and is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. The 16 students studying the course are learning the foundations of bricklaying, plumbing, carpentry and electrical contracting. The Screwfix Construction Trade Academy course is City & Guilds qualified and will see the students gain valuable skills, as well as adding to their GCSEs and help towards gaining an apprenticeship after leaving school.

As part of Screwfix’ s commitment to support the future of construction, the retailer has also invested in a new purpose-built site at the college. The‘ Screwfix Trade Skills Centre’ will see the students benefit from a dedicated space, specifically designed to meet the needs of the future tradespeople training there. The centre opened in December and features two state-ofthe-art work training areas, which have been designed to enable Yeovil College to meet the needs of its local and regional industries. With each training area having the capacity to train up to 20 students / apprentices at any one time, the students will attend the college for half day weekly sessions to give them a taster of life in the trades.

Graham Smith, Marketing Director at Screwfix, comments:“ Our trade customers tell us how busy they are but that they also struggle

to recruit skilled labourers and don’ t always find it easy to hire apprentices. The skills shortage facing the construction trades is widely talked about, therefore the partnership with Yeovil College is one of the ways we’ re supporting tradespeople and playing a small part in protecting the future skills supply in construction, while demonstrating how interesting and rewarding a career in the trade can be.”

John Evans, Principal at Yeovil College, added:“ It’ s great to have the support of Screwfix for our new construction skills course and purpose-built skills

centre. It is important we train young people in the area to ensure there is no local skills gap, and this centre will go some way towards this. We believe the new students will learn the foundations for a career in the construction trade and we hope they find the opportunity rewarding.”

Screwfix helps tradespeople overcome some of the perceived barriers associated with taking on an apprentice by offering‘ Your Guide to Hiring an Apprentice’; a bitesize booklet available for free online at Screwfix. com.