[edalemja]

I'm so worried about having to read the number plate. My instructor has asked me to do it a couple of times, and he didn't say anything after so I presume I read them right. But then sometimes I'll just be walking along and I'll try to read one and it feels like I can't read it.

I used to wear glasses when I was younger, and I have reading glasses now, but I've never worn them when driving. I went to the optician's a few weeks ago and he said I might feel more comfortable wearing them when driving, and that it was up to me.

So I don't know if I should start wearing them for driving or if I'm just being a major worrywart. I am known for worrying about EVERYTHING and working myself up. I just love driving, and my instructor has said I'm a good driver, so I would be totally mortified if I failed before even leaving the test centre..

[TrueUnitedFan]

Can you read words from a far distance? If not then you really should wear glasses.

I'm short sighted and I wear glasses because my eyes are so bad, if a car was around 15 yards away, I wouldn't be able to see the registration.

[The Umpire]

if they help you read reg plates from the required distance, then certainly wear them.

[Billa Bong]

you might as well wear them if you can't read the numbers...but obviously you are the only one who will know if you need them or not

good luck for your test anyways

[FXX]

Even if you can just about read them from the given distance without glasses, 20/20 vision is pretty handy for driving. No one is going to kill you for keeping a cheap pair of driving glasses in your car.

If you're squinting and struggling to read them on the test you aren't going to fill your examiner with much confidence either.

[edalemja]

(Original post by TrueUnitedFan)
Can you read words from a far distance? If not then you really should wear glasses.

I'm short sighted and I wear glasses because my eyes are so bad, if a car was around 15 yards away, I wouldn't be able to see the registration.

That's the thing, generally my distance is good. It's just reading number plates. I don't know if it's just because I panic that I'm almost forcing myself not to be able to read it.. if that makes sense. Sometimes the letters just seem jumbled and the longer I stare at it the harder it is to decipher.

Thanks everyone for your advice though. I'm thinking of just saying to my instructor next lesson that I went to the optician's and they said I might be more comfortable driving with my reading glasses, so can I do a lesson with them to see if it's better. You think that'll be okay? I don't want to get into trouble or anything because I never said anything about needing glasses when I applied for my license.. Although that was about 3 years ago so I should be alright? They must allow for people's prescriptions to change, right?

[Advisor]

(Original post by edalemja)
That's the thing, generally my distance is good. It's just reading number plates. I don't know if it's just because I panic that I'm almost forcing myself not to be able to read it.. if that makes sense. Sometimes the letters just seem jumbled and the longer I stare at it the harder it is to decipher.

This sounds more like a psychological problem than an eyesight one.

The legal eyesight requirement is a very simple one and must be complied with at all times when driving. Can you read, in good daylight, a UK number plate on a car with letters 50mm wide from a distance of 20 metres? There is only a yes or no answer to this.

If you're concerned about being "put on the spot" on the day of the test, then you can elect to write down what you see on a piece of paper. You can look away, blink, then look back to the plate again partway through if you find the letters being jumbled in your head. Remember that the test is one of visual acuity, not of being able to read, know the alphabet, or get the digits in the correct order. Dyslexics and non english speakers are accounted for, so you can get the order of the digits wrong, as long as you can see the digits.

I might be more comfortable driving with my reading glasses, so can I do a lesson with them to see if it's better. You think that'll be okay?

Reading glasses are for close-up work and generally make things blurry at a distance. It is your distance vision which must be good to read distant signs in order to comply with the law. With every respect to optometrists out there, their word on a piece of paper means nothing to section 96 of the Road Traffic Act. Only a department of transport authorised examiner or police officer can administer the legal eyesight test for road use. This test must be carried out in good daylight with a real number plate at a distance on a real vehicle.

[edalemja]

So I just have a psychological problem? Great!

Can you read, in good daylight, a UK number plate on a car with letters 50mm wide from a distance of 20 metres?

As far as I know, yes. Like I said, my instructor has asked me to read a number plate a couple of times, and I presume I read it correctly seeing as he didn't say anything. It was just difficult to read. Again, as I said, it all seemed a bit jumbled together. But then my instructor didn't measure out the distance or anything. We were just sat in the car and he randomly said "can you read that number plate?".

Remember that the test is one of visual acuity, not of being able to read, know the alphabet, or get the digits in the correct order. Dyslexics and non english speakers are accounted for, so you can get the order of the digits wrong, as long as you can see the digits.

That's the problem though, sometimes a 'W' will look like an 'M', or a '5' will look like an 'S'. I know to a certain extent you can do it through a process of elimination, like because a new number plate has two letters, then two numbers, then three letters.. so obviously the second character would be an 'S', not a '5'. But in other cases, that won't help at all. Maybe I will ask to write it down, because at least then I have a couple of seconds to compose myself rather than just blurting out whatever comes to mind..

Reading glasses are for close-up work and generally make things blurry at a distance. It is your distance vision which must be good to read distant signs in order to comply with the law.

Well the optician didn't say anything about me needing distance glasses, so I took it that my eyesight was fine in that respect. So I was just going to let it go, do my test and not worry about it. But worrying is in my nature, so here I am. I did used to wear distance glasses, but then I was told I wouldn't need them anymore. I think that's where a lot of this worry comes from, because I used to wear glasses all the time. Plus, I've tried wearing my glasses and looking at something in the distance and it doesn't make it blurry. It does actually make it easier to see things, which is why I thought I should ask to do a lesson with my glasses, to see if I'd be better off doing it with them.

Do you work for the DfT or something? You seem to have a broad knowledge of this sort of thing..

[Kathy89]

It is normal for farsighted teens to notice that their reading glasses are helping them seeing distant things too, especially writing.

Although you might consider weaker glasses for driving or watching movies. It might help you even more.

What is your regular prescription? If it is more then +1.5 it makes a lot of sense you feel better with glasses for distance.

[jumpingjesusholycow]

If you really were a danger, or your eyesight was in any way hindering your ability to drive I would presume that your instructor would have said so from the off. They're not in the business of allowing unsafe drivers to take over the road if they can't pass the first hurdle.

In any case, I don't suppose it would hurt to just ask your instructor.

[Advisor]

(Original post by edalemja)
That's the problem though, sometimes a 'W' will look like an 'M', or a '5' will look like an 'S'. I know to a certain extent you can do it through a process of elimination, like because a new number plate has two letters, then two numbers, then three letters.. so obviously the second character would be an 'S', not a '5'.

That's good logic.. and don't worry too much about the S/5 thing. The first attempt is usually done much further away than the legal distance, so the examiner would normally use a little discretion between two very similar characters. Same with I vs. 1 ; the letter I is never used on UK number plates, but if you said "I", it will be accepted as the number 1 looks identical. For M and W, it's essentially the same letter upside down, so most examiners I know show some discretion on the first attempt, although if you get to the final attempt with the official tape, it has to be correct. With 20/20 vision, M and W are very distinct, so if you are really struggling to tell them apart, perhaps your vision is borderline, so some eyesight correction will be beneficial. Remember that the legal requirement is only the legal minimum. In practice, your eyesight should be much better than this to drive safely and respond in a timely manner to signs and hazards.

(Original post by jumpingjesusholycow)
If you really were a danger, or your eyesight was in any way hindering your ability to drive I would presume that your instructor would have said so from the off. They're not in the business of allowing unsafe drivers to take over the road if they can't pass the first hurdle.

If only that were true! In theory, it should be, but there are a lot of hopeless and/or unprofessional instructors out there who don't give a damn as long as you pay them. I've known a few instructors present candidates for test with illegally defective eyesight. One has even presented two candidates who were as blind as a bat, so he obviously doesn't bother to check. Even the OP's instructor wasn't exactly helpful with his feedback or his phrasing of the question.

[Jay™]

I read the numberplate wrong on my test i was so nervous, the plate was like P12 NGJ, and i said H instead of J for some reason, the examiner just gave a wtf look and said 'H?!' and i was like oh no sorry i mean J, and all was well

[edalemja]

so if you are really struggling to tell them apart, perhaps your vision is borderline, so some eyesight correction will be beneficial.

Thanks for your advice. I think I'm going to just ask my instructor about doing a lesson with my glasses on and see what he says.. I've never had any problems with spotting hazards or anything like that.. the other day I even spotted one when he didn't. It's just purely reading the number plate I'm worrying about, so we'll see what happens I guess.

[duracell]

I had the exact same thing in the weeks before my test. I always wear my lenses/glasses when driving, but even with them in/on I'd find myself trying to read the odd number plate now and then and getting worried about it. What I'd say is the plates I had to read for both my tests were closer than I'd anticipated/remembered. It is probably just you second guessing yourself in anxiety.

On that note though, I'd recommend trying a lesson with your glasses and see how much of a difference it makes.

[edalemja]

What I'd say is the plates I had to read for both my tests were closer than I'd anticipated/remembered. It is probably just you second guessing yourself in anxiety.

I hope so.. because I love driving so much, and I've wanted to drive since I was younger. It took me about two years to finally book my first lesson. So to fall at the final hurdle would be horrible. I'm happy to talk to someone who was in a similar position though. I was out yesterday and tried reading every number plate I saw pretty much, and some of them I did struggle a bit.. I don't know if I just have a bad sense of how far 20 metres actually is and I'm doing it from too far away or what..

And thanks, I am definitely going to try a lesson with my glasses on.

[Bouchra9]

Hi there, I haven't read the full thread so I don't know if this has been suggested yet, but I have the same problem as you! The first plate I read in lessons I got wrong and it just feels like it's 50/50 whether or not I'll be able to read the plate on test day!

I have an eye disease called a keratoconus, which I get special lenses for that bring my vision up to standard. However, I always have the mentality that my eyes are terrible and that I don't see as well as everyone else.

I went to my eye doctor today about my driving test concerns and he tested my vision with my lenses in. It was 20/20 which is way better than it needs to be to drive. I was very confused but he went on to say that he's seen this a lot before; people lose confidence when they know their eyes are not right and they get so worked up about failing the plate test that they fail the plate test! He called it 'panic blindness' and said that there are a few things I can do to help it: try and stay calm; put my hand above my eyes (as you would when the sun is glaring on them) or put the visor down if driving as this actually makes the black of the letters blacker; and really study number plates, for example, learning the sequence of letters and numbers so that you never say a 6 is a G or whatever, learning the more common number endings (like one number is nearly always a 5 or 1 on recent cars etc); and just generally practising in you own time as you're walking around.

It's unbelievable how much of an impact nerves can have on the blurriness of the letters, but if you bear in mind that it's anxiety based it should help you to combat it.

[Kathy89]

(Original post by Bouchra9)
Hi there, I haven't read the full thread so I don't know if this has been suggested yet, but I have the same problem as you! The first plate I read in lessons I got wrong and it just feels like it's 50/50 whether or not I'll be able to read the plate on test day!

I have an eye disease called a keratoconus, which I get special lenses for that bring my vision up to standard. However, I always have the mentality that my eyes are terrible and that I don't see as well as everyone else.

I went to my eye doctor today about my driving test concerns and he tested my vision with my lenses in. It was 20/20 which is way better than it needs to be to drive. I was very confused but he went on to say that he's seen this a lot before; people lose confidence when they know their eyes are not right and they get so worked up about failing the plate test that they fail the plate test! He called it 'panic blindness' and said that there are a few things I can do to help it: try and stay calm; put my hand above my eyes (as you would when the sun is glaring on them) or put the visor down if driving as this actually makes the black of the letters blacker; and really study number plates, for example, learning the sequence of letters and numbers so that you never say a 6 is a G or whatever, learning the more common number endings (like one number is nearly always a 5 or 1 on recent cars etc); and just generally practising in you own time as you're walking around.

It's unbelievable how much of an impact nerves can have on the blurriness of the letters, but if you bear in mind that it's anxiety based it should help you to combat it.

100% right!