Deaths on the road in Lancashire could lead to changes in the law
PLUS: A clear field with no party ready to challenge Reform UK on their rhetoric
Hello and welcome to The Lancashire Lead.
Today we lead on a letter from Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn, who is calling for changes to way the DVLA decides whether a driver’s eyesight is fit for the road.
It comes after a number of deaths linked to drivers who had shortcomings in their eyesight which had not been addressed properly.
Then on Thursday, Lancashire goes to the polls for the 2025 Lancashire County Council local elections. It’s a strange time, given it’s feasible or likely that the authority won’t exist in the near future, but it’s been marked by Reform UK making illegal immigrants the focus and other parties not really ready to take them task over it, even when disinformation creeps in.
A note on our weekend edition - we will be sending a newsletter that focuses on our coverage of the results of the election but this is likely to land at a different time than your usual Sunday morning slot, depending on when the new make-up of Lancashire County Council becomes clear.
Department for Transport called on to make sure everyone on the road can see properly
By Jamie Lopez
The death of a pensioner killed by a driver with inadequate eyesight could lead to a change in the law.
Peter Westwell, 80, was run down by Neil Pemberton in Langho in 2016, years after the driver was told he was no longer fit to be in control of a vehicle. The pensioner suffered traumatic injuries and died at the scene on the A666 Whalley Road.
Peter had agreed to give up driving when his eyesight deteriorated, losing his convenience and ease of travel in order to protect the safety of others. The opposite decision was continually taken by Pemberton and would result in him taking Peter’s life.
Investigations found that he was only able to pass the 20m number plate test using glasses but subsequently lied to police about needing them. In 2003, retinal detachment resulted in the loss of almost all detailed vision in the central field.
He was told at least twice that he shouldn’t drive before he started lying to optometrists that he was a non-driver while failing to self-report his condition when renewing his licence with the DVLA. Westwell was jailed for 32 months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
The case was one of four revisited by Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn at a rare combined inquest this month and which together led him to call on the Department for Transport (DfT) to make changes to prevent similar deaths.
Among Dr Adeley’s many warnings are that the current eyesight test for driving is dangerously inadequate. He also argued that the DVLA’s failure to refer drivers to the police when it does find out they are driving when unsafe to do so means people can “lie without sanction”.
The other road collision victims to be considered included Anne Ferguson, who was run over by a van driver who’d had severe cataracts which had developed over the previous decade. Vernon Law, from Bacup, never sought testing in this time but had a visual assessment with an optometrist a month before the crash and pretended he did not drive.
He drove every day for the next month killing Anne in a situation where there were no other circumstances which contributed to the crash.
Also considered were Marie Cunningham and Grace Foulds who were killed when they were run down in Southport by 67-year-old Glyn Jones in 2021. Jones, who would go on to be jailed for seven years and four months as a result, had been repeatedly told his eyesight was too poor to be driving more than a decade before the deadly crash.
The deaths were described as “entirely avoidable” by Mrs Cunningham’s family, who described them as the result of “an obnoxious, self-righteous man who chose to ignore repeated medical advice”.
At Jones’ sentencing, it was heard his vision was so poor he could barely see past the steering wheel but he continued to drive anyway.
Dr Adeley has issued a prevention of future deaths report to the DfT which legally compels it to respond and explain either how it will make changes or why it does not believe it has to.
In that report, he wrote: “Self-reporting of visual conditions permits drivers to lie about their current driving status to those performing an ophthalmic assessment and avoid warnings not to drive. Drivers may also admit they drive but then ignore instructions not to drive and fail to notify the DVLA.
“In such circumstances, when the DVLA becomes aware, the DVLA does not refer such cases to the police for prosecution and consequently drivers can lie without sanction.
“All three drivers in this case either lied concerning the driving status wilfully misinterpreted questions to avoid driving advice not to drive, adopted fictions of their visual performance to allow them to drive, prioritised their own enjoyment and independence over the lives of other road users and repeatedly obtained licences from the DVLA due to a defective self-reporting system that does not confirm the driver meets the visual legal standards for driving and is open to abuse.”
Terry Wilcox, of Hudgell Solicitors, represented the families of Peter, Marie and Grace at the inquest and has since warned there is nothing in place to stop deaths occurring in the same manner again.
He said: “This inquest heard how four much-loved people were taken from their families as a direct consequence of people blatantly ignoring the advice of medical professionals to stop driving due to their failing eyesight, knowing they were a risk to others on the roads.
“So many life-threatening gaps in the system have been exposed. It is quite frankly frightening.
“We presently have a system under which the DVLA relies upon drivers to self-report, hand over their licence and stop driving when they’ve been told by a qualified healthcare professional that their eyesight is not to the required standard. This inquest has shown that it simply doesn’t happen.”
The problem has proved to be both a legal and cultural one, with many drivers knowingly prioritising their own interests and ease of travel over the safety of others combined with an inadequate legal system.
Mr Wilcox said: “We heard evidence from two of the drivers themselves, who, despite the terrible consequences of what they had done, still tried to defend their entirely selfish actions.
“Their evidence was utterly appalling to hear, but also provided a hugely important reflection of the scale of this issue we are dealing with.
“People ignore what they are told when it doesn’t suit their lifestyle, and in reality, there is nothing in place to stop selfish people putting others at risk by getting back behind the wheel.
“Put simply, the DVLA and the Department of Transport have no accurate statistical data or evidence of the number of visually impaired people driving on our roads on a daily basis with failing eyesight. Tests are not done regularly enough, and when they are, they serve no purpose.
“Essentially, the only proof of suitable eyesight drivers have to provide is on the day of their driving test, when a number plate has to be read from 20 metres away. If you pass your test at 17, you are not asked to provide real evidence or proof of your eyesight ability ever again.
“Whilst drivers have to reapply for their licence at 70, it’s simply a tick-box exercise. There is no requirement to produce evidence of eyesight ability, and the inquest heard that medical professionals are massively restricted by patient confidentiality rules and regulations.
“We hope this inquest leads to change, and that change happens quickly.”
A spokesperson for the DfT said told The Lancashire Lead that the report will be fully considered once it is received.
They added: “Every death on our roads is a tragedy, and our thoughts remain with the families of everyone who has lost a loved one in this way.
“The NHS recommends adults should have their eyes tested every two years and drivers are legally required to inform the DVLA if they have a condition which affects their eyesight. We are committed to improving road safety and continue to explore ways to achieve this.”
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