MORE than 600 drivers have been taken off the road for failing roadside eye tests brought in following a Gazette campaign.

The DVLA has taken away licences from 609 drivers since Cassie’s Law was introduced in 2013, new figures show.

Thousands of people backed the Gazette’s campaign to change the law after the tragic death of 16- year-old Cassie McCord, in Colchester.

She died after being knocked down by 87-yearold Colin Horsfall, who had failed a police eyesight test just days earlier, but was able to keep his licence.

Cassie’s Law means police now have the power to ask the DVLA for an immediate revocation of a licence, if the driver poses a risk to others on the road.

Speaking about the numbers, released under Freedom of Information laws, Cassie’s mum, Jackie McCord, said: “I had no idea until now that it was being used so widely and it is very satisfying to know it is making a difference.

“That’s more than 600 people who could still be driving, perhaps without even knowing there was a problem with their sight.

“You can’t say that in every case they would have killed somebody, but it is very likely to have prevented fatal accidents and other casualties.”

According to the figures, police forces across the UK applied 631 times to revoke licences based on failed attempts to read number plates, with 609 being revoked by the DVLA.

At the time, officers had no powers to immediately suspend a licence, but now there are three levels of revocation under the new system – immediate, within 48 hours and postal, whereby the driver will be dealt with via letter sent within 24 hours of notification from the police.

If a banned driver continues to drive, they commit a criminal offence which may lead to their arrest and vehicle being seized.

Three days before Cassie’s death, Essex police had spent two hours trying to persuade Mr Horsfall not to drive again, after he was involved in a minor collision and failed an eye test.

The Gazette and its sister paper the Essex County Standard, launched a campaign to change the law six months after Cassie’s death and in October 2012 presented a petition with 46,000 names on it to Transport Minister Stephen Hammond, who agreed to set up a hotline for police to get an immediate response from the DVLA.