Safety cars...

Eye tests for over-70s part of shake-up. Crackdown on booze and drug-driving

- SOPHIE HUSKISSON

THE daughter of a road crash victim has welcomed plans to force older motorists to take regular eye tests in a huge shakeup of driving laws.

Geraldine Gibson, 79, died when she pulled out into oncoming traffic.

Her daughter, Claire Eady, believes her mum would still be alive if she had been made to check her eyesight.

She said: "My mum's been killed in a car crash was just something you never think they're going to say.

"I don't think my mum would have thought she needed to stop driving because too many things depended on her being out in a car."

Under proposals announced yesterday - the first anniversary of the tragedy, near Launceston in Cornwall - drivers over 70 could be required to take an eye test every three years.

The UK is one of only three European countries to rely on self-reporting of eyesight problems that affect driving.

Earlier this year, a coroner called the UK's licensing system the "laxest in Europe".

Justice Minister Alex Davies-Jones said the plans, set to be published in the autumn, will be the biggest shakeup for decades.

She added: "What the public have been telling us that they want, they want us to be taking action, they feel like the time is right for us to review these laws."

Ms Davies-Jones said all the plans will be reviewed as part of a consultation with drivers and the public.

They will include a tougher drink-driving limit in England and Wales - 22 micrograms per 100ml of breath, in line with Scotland, down from 35mcg.

There is no exact equivalent in terms of how many drinks this is, as people process alcohol differently depending on factors such as age, sex and weight.

Police could also be allowed to rely on saliva tests instead of blood tests to check for drug-driving to make it easier to bring prosecutions.