Did Dominic Cummings break the law, or just the Highway Code?

‘You do the eyesight test before you drive, you don’t drive in order to do the eyesight test — that’s just nuts,’ says former traffic patrol officer

Senior police officials have scrambled to warn people of the dangers of driving with impaired vision after Dominic Cummings claimed he took a 60-mile round trip to test if he was fit to drive the 260 miles back to his home in London.

The prime minister’s most senior aide said he drove from his parents’ home in Durham to Barnard Castle — about 30 miles away in Teesdale — with his wife and young son on 12 April to test his eyesight because it “seemed to have been affected” when he fell unwell with suspected coronavirus.

Mr Cummings said he and his wife agreed they should “go for a short drive to see if [he] could drive safely” before embarking on the long journey back to their home in London the following day.

However, his explanation has raised questions over the law surrounding driving while unfit do so and with impaired vision.

What do the law and Highway Code say about driving and eyesight?

Rule 92 of the Highway Code cites section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, stating: “You MUST be able to read a vehicle number plate, in good daylight, from a distance of 20 metres (or 20.5 metres where the old style number plate is used).

“If you need to wear glasses (or contact lenses) to do this, you MUST wear them at all times while driving. The police have the power to require a driver to undertake an eyesight test.”

By law, a driver must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from a distance of 20 metres.

According to Section 96 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, a person is guilty of an offence if they drive a vehicle on a road while their eyesight is defective. This could include driving without wearing prescribed glasses, for example.

If a motorist is pulled over by police and asked to perform an eyesight test but fails the test, they would be guilty of an offence. If they refuse to do the test, they would also be guilty of an offence.

Dr David Wilkinson, a former police constable of 18 years and traffic patrol officer of five years for Cumbria Police, said the eyesight regulations are “clear cut”.

He told The Independent: “The Road Traffic Act 1988 says your eyesight has got to be of this standard [to read a number plate 20 metres away] and you’ve got to be fit to drive.

“If you’re not wearing prescription lenses and things, that’s also an offence. If there’s an element of doubt, this is your life and it’s also somebody else’s life, you don’t do it.”

“If Dominic Cummings’ eyesight was going and he couldn’t pass the eyesight test then he’s definitely broken the law,” said Dr Wilkinson, who is now editor-in-chief of The Oxford Review, but he added: “There’s a difference between committing the offence and proving it.”

Should you take a ‘test’ drive to check whether your vision is impaired?

Dr Wilkinson doesn’t think so. He said: “The point, as far as I’m concerned, is you do the eyesight test before you drive, you don’t drive in order to do the eyesight test. That’s just nuts.

“It’s a bit like putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger to see if there’s a bullet in it, it’s the wrong way round.”

Sir Peter Fahy, former chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, says getting behind the wheel is “ill-advised as a means of testing your eyesight as to whether you’re fit to drive” and “certainly appears to be against the Highway Code”.

And John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, also thinks this is bad a idea.

He tweeted: “If you’re feeling unwell and your eyesight may be impaired do not drive your vehicle to test your ability to drive.”

Surrey Police road policing unit suggests anyone with concerns about their eyesight shouldn’t drive “until you’ve sought the advice of a qualified optician”.

What do the law and Highway Code say about being unfit to drive?

Rule 90 of the Highway Code states: “Make sure that you are fit to drive. You MUST report to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) any health condition likely to affect your driving.”

It also says you must not drink and drive or drive under the influence of drugs or certain types of medicine.

Dominic Cummings’ wife was unwell when he drove 260 miles from London to Durham on 27 March, however he said he only displayed symptoms the following day.

Mr Cummings said he was still feeling “weak and exhausted” on 12 April — the day he took a 60-mile round trip to Barnard Castle — but that he had no other Covid symptoms. In the same statement, he said he felt “a bit sick” when he arrived at the tourist spot and sat on a riverbank for 15 minutes but felt better once he returned to the car.

In a nutshell, Dr Wilkinson says it is not advisable to drive while feeling unwell or impaired in any way, and that if you have an accident and are found to have been unwell beforehand, you could be prosecuted for an offence such as driving without due care or attention.

He said: “If you drive with any form of impairment that’s likely to change the way you are making decisions while you’re driving or change your driving at all then largely you shouldn’t be driving.”

But, he added: “With the exception of eyesight under the Road Traffic Act, there’s no specific regulation for impairment without drink or drugs.

“It really is down to the manner of the driving and whether they’re fit and people’s own discretion.

“The Highway Code definitely says if you’re not feeling well, don’t drive.”

What about stopping for breaks?

Dominic Cummings is understood to have driven directly from his home in Islington, north London, to his parents’ farm on the outskirts of Durham without stopping. This would take roughly about four hours and 40 minutes.

Under GB domestic rules, drivers of goods vehicles, such as HGVs, and passenger-carrying vehicles, including buses, must take rest breaks during a certain amount of continuous driving.

Rule 91 in the Highway Code says a minimum break of 15 minutes after every two hours of driving is recommended — however this is only advisory, rather than legally required.

Dr Wilkinson said: “If you feel drowsy at all or tired you should stop. It’s not a specific offence, but if you then go and have an accident whilst you’re feeling tired you will be done for driving without due care and attention or due consideration or even dangerous driving.

“You get prosecuted for dangerous driving if you fall asleep at the wheel on the motorway.”