OLDER drivers are being urged to keep a check on their eyesight to ensure they stay safe on the roads.

Scarborough and Ryedale Road Safety Group has reminded motorists that regular eyesight checks every one to two years are important for those in the older age groups, whether they wear glasses or not.

Mark Naylor, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue station manager, said getting older does not make you a bad driver but your eyesight may change.

“At night, you may have trouble seeing things clearly and glare can also be a problem, from oncoming headlights, street lights or the sun,” he said.

“It might be harder to see people and movements outside your direct line of sight. It may take you longer to read street or traffic signs or even recognise familiar places.

“Eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration, as well as some medicines, may also change your vision.”

Mark said clear comfortable vision will allow drivers to respond and react to signs and other road users more quickly and accurately.

Driving with defective sight carries a maximum penalty of £1,000, three penalty points or a discretionary disqualification.

He said: “Driving gives many people independence and in rural communities this is essential. As we get older, it is inevitable that health will begin to deteriorate making older drivers more at risk of being involved in an accident.