If you wear glasses for driving - make sure you wear them!

A MOTORIST who should have been wearing glasses has had his driving licence taken away in the first example in Avon and Somerset of police using a new power known as 'Cassie's Law'.

The 22-year-old was found to be driving other than in accordance with his licence conditions, which said he had to wear glasses or contact lenses.

The officer who stopped him, on suspicion of speeding, in Bristol contacted the DVLA and within hours the man had his driving licence revoked.

Chief Inspector John Holt, of Avon and Somerset's Operations and Roads Policing Unit, said he now expected more application of the new rules across the force area.

He said: "Previously we would have had to write to or fax the DVLA to request the removal of a licence, which could take several days. Now we can just telephone or email and take a potentially dangerous driver off the roads in just a few minutes."

It was the death of a Colchester 16-year-old Cassie McCord that led to a campaign for changes at the DVLA. She was killed in 2011 by an elderly motorist who had been told by police not to drive after failing an eyesight test.

Chief Inspector Holt said: "This is an important new weapon in our ongoing campaign to make the roads in Avon and Somerset safer for all."

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