After the completion of its “Slepi Vrazi” (Blind Killers) project, funded under the FIA Road Safety Grants Programme, the Autoclub of the Czech Republic (ACCR) organised a press conference to share the results of its research and engage with the media on the importance of vision in tackling road casualties.

Over the course of two years, the Club conducted 4,298 eye tests during several road safety and automobile events in 42 towns across the Czech Republic. The Club’s results were quite alarming: 71% of people tested were found to need sight correction of some sort, of which 8% had such bad vision that they should not be driving at all.

The results also showed that very often drivers were unaware of their eyesight problems. In fact, among the drivers who were diagnosed with impaired vision, 58% considered their eyesight good enough to drive.

“The seriousness of the problem is obvious. We know that in 2017 there were 103,821 road accidents, while alcohol or drugs were involved in nearly 5,000 of them. We also know that the number of drivers with poor eyesight is much higher than that of drivers under the influence of addictive substances. They are more or less equally dangerous but their accidents are not registered by anyone,” says Jan Šťovíček, president of The Autoclub of the Czech Republic.

Based on these results, The Autoclub of the Czech Republic has been advocating a change in the law which will introduce mandatory eye checks for drivers renewing their driving license. The draft legislation proposed by the Government is now being reviewed for inclusion in a new road safety law.

Finally, to raise greater awareness on this topic, the Club has also created a short film on the danger of bad eyesight while driving that was broadcasted during events and on their social media accounts.

For more information about the FIA Road Safety Grants Programme: http://www.roadsafety.fia-grants.com/