A POLICE crackdown on drivers with defective eye sight has been welcomed by the mum of a teenager killed by a motorist.

Every motorist stopped by roads police officers from three forces this month will be required to read a number plate from 20 metres.

Anyone who fails will have their driving licence revoked.

Data from the tests will be used to improve understanding of the extent of poor driver vision.

The initiative is being run by police forces in Thames Valley, Hampshire and the West Midlands and is supported by road safety charity Brake and optician firm Vision Express.

Jackie McCord pushed for eye sight tests as she campaigned for the introduction of Cassie’s Law.

The legislation was named after her daughter, Cassie, 16, was killed when Colin Horsfall, 87, lost control of his vehicle in Head Street, Colchester, and drove into her.

Three days earlier Mr Horsfall had refused to give up his licence after an accident in which he drove into the wrong way of the petrol station at Tesco, in Highwoods, Colchester. He also failed an eyesight test carried out by police at the scene.

Under Cassie’s Law, a campaign backed by the Gazette, the police can apply for licences to be revoked immediately by the DVLA if they consider the driver is unfit. However, eye sight tests are still not compulsory.

Cassie’s mum Jackie said: “Whatever they do to improve road safety has got to be a bonus and the fact they are going to be routinely doing this in three areas is to be welcomed. Depending on the outcome it might warrant a serious enough issue to be rolled out across the country.

“If they take one driver off the road who shouldn’t be there, that is better than none.”

Sergeant Rob Heard warned officers will be carrying out eyesight checks “at every opportunity”.

Officers can request an urgent revocation of a licence through the DVLA if they believe the safety of other road users will be put at risk if a driver remains on the road.

Brake and Vision Express are calling for an eye test to be required when licences are renewed every ten years.

Currently, the only mandatory sight test takes place during the practical test, when learners must read a number plate from 20 metres.

Once someone has obtained their licence, it is up to them to tell the DVLA if they have an eyesight problem.

Joshua Harris, Brake’s director of campaigns, said: “It is frankly madness there is no mandatory requirement on drivers to have an eye test throughout the course of their driving life.”

“Only by introducing rigorous and professional eye tests can we fully tackle the problem of unsafe drivers on our roads.”