Blind cyclist fined for riding bike on dual carriageway while “extremely” intoxicated – months after crashing into car while cycling drunk

Is that while they're riding into wheelchairs on the pavement at 30 mph? Or something like that…

..... how can they be safe ?

I used to know a guy who was legally blind but could also legally drive a car - though he chose not to.
Eyesight tests differ, standards for conditions vary, and problems with eyesight vary.
In hos case he had tunnel vision. He could see things he was looking directly at (with very thick lensed glasses) but nothing else. The standard for driving in the UK just demands that you can read a number plate at a certain distance. I suspect more people fail this test because they're dyslexic than because their eyesight isn't adequate.
 

I think the standard eyesight test is not fit for purpose. I chose to stop riding motorbikes recently due to my eyesight getting worse but every year I ask my optician if I'm safe to drive and they say yes. I also have a yearly physical at work and easily pass the eyesight test.

NOtotheEU wrote:

I think the standard eyesight test is not fit for purpose. 

The general obligation to self-report and surrender the DVSA licence due to a long list of medical conditions also allows for a cured patient to attend a DVSA eye test and have their licence restored if they pass.

That test is clinical and regulated so completely different to the can-read-a-number-plate nonsense. I know this because I broke my right eye orbit (skull) and later recovered. An important test is the field of view so most relevant to riding in groups or on busy highways.

The other group who get a proper test are the 70 year old. They must provide an optician test result to demonstrate fitness to drive and repeat every 3 years.

So it's the new drivers who don't get a serious test, only..

PS: commiserations and respect on the end of your mc riding. I ride on circuit for less nutters, on a good day, and to only 80% knowing how important vision is. You go where you look.

Thanks and It's good to hear you recovered.

My eyes are bad enough to get free extended eye tests. A couple of years ago I failed the field of view test so badly due to floaters they sent me straight to the eye hospital. After a load of tests including acing their field of view test I left with a clean bill of health and permission to keep driving.

I hope that the DVSA eye test is a lot stricter than anything they've ever given me.

fixit wrote:

visualy impaired person riding a bike? how? drunk too? 

You don't need excellent eyesight to ride a bike.

I'm short-sighted (I can see nearby things clearly, but have difficulty seeing fine details at distance e.g. faces) but don't find that a problem when cycling. If I can't see something clearly, then I go closer until I can. Also, most hazards don't require excellent eyesight as you can just attempt to avoid potholes rather than needing to pick out the details of them. As I don't drive, I find the only time that I bother wearing my glasses is when I go to the cinema as the screen is far enough away that any subtitles become a bit blurry, though still legible.

Your myopia isn't that bad from your description, so you probably aren't legally blind without your glasses; I knew a bloke at school who was an albino, which causes extreme longsightedness and can't be corrected enough to get a car licence, so he was legally blind even with glasses and got a blind pension and free public transport; despite this, his vision was good enough to ride a bike flat out on public roads.

fixit wrote:

visualy impaired person riding a bike? how? drunk too? 

Blind drunk.

Actually, I admire the guy!

chapeau 👏