OT - Driving In France, new law!

[Lobster]

David

[Dave]

nightjar My pilot's licence requires me to carry a spare pair when flying too. I

The only other ppl I know, still has good vision in both eyes. Can you continue to fly with a cataract on one eye like can do when driving?

Dave

[Dave]

Which brings up the point of would they check your vision with the spare pair and are they qualified to do that?

Dave

[nightjar]

Class 1 is the lowest approved level of protection. Class 3 is the highest and is intended for constant use on motorways. The difference appears to be the amount of reflective material used. SFAIK, the class is not specified for use in cars in any of the european legislation.

[nightjar]

I suspect the CAA would require a safety pilot to be aboard, but it is not something I have needed to ask them about. By the time most people are likely to be prone to cataracts, they will be on 12 or 6 monthly medicals (which include a vision test) anyway.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

One of my pairs came with a sports strap, which fits tightly across the back of the head and stops them coming off accidentally. I've yet to use it.

Colin Bignell

[Chewbacca]

If it's just reading glasses you want, ASDA have 2 pairs in a pack for £2. Unbelievable. I am not sure why, but they are in the pharmacy section and not the optical section (£10 here) in out big Asda.

[Bob Eager]

Wouldn't be much good for me as the two eyes are totally different (disregarding the lack of much central vision in one of them).

[Adrian]

"nightjar" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

There's a standard tag which the French require to be present. A quick google suggests EN471 is the applicable one.

[nightjar]

EN471 is the European standard for high visibility clothing, but anything that is either Class 1, 2 or 3 will carry that standard mark.

Colin Bignell

[Adrian]

"nightjar" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Furry muff, but some pikey stuff might not.

[The Medway Handyman]

Interesting site that, great prices. Are they OK?

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Dave saying something like:

Most certainly. I used to know a one-eyed PPL - a bit of a git, but that was nothing to do with his flying, which was technically quite good (apart from when he put my life at risk, but that was a one-off). He did say his flying test was quite intensive. He's lost an eye when a kid, so was well used to it.

[Lobster]

I have a 15 GBP pair from them; no complaints about the service or the quality of the specs. However, the only problem IMHO is the fitting aspect - that's the one thing you can't really do online. In the optician's showroom you get to try different frames till you find one that works for you; and although glassesdirect have a very good returns policy (and they'll also send you blank frames to try out) it's not quite the same. They also suggest that you take the measurements printed on your existing frame and match those. Courtesy of my apparently broad head and small nose my specs continually slide down my nose.

David

[Lobster]

Was it anything to with his being optically challenged, though?

David

[Dave]

I had my first one done at the age of 52, the next one is not due until the eye gets worse.

Dave

[nightjar]

It took several years between needing the operation for a friend of mine, which caused her some problems. After the operation, she had one eye with good distance vision and one that still needed a few dioptres correction, which lead to headaches if she didn't wear glasses, which she rarely did.

Checking the current CAA rules, it looks as though they have dropped the two year medical for younger PPL holders, so everyone needs an annual test, with six monthly medicals starting at age 60.

Colin Bignell

[Dave]

Thanks for that, one of the regulars in my real ale pub still has a PPL, but he doesn't come in every day. He is now in his seventies. Not sure if he still flies though.

Going back to dioptres the eye that was operated on comes back into focus at about 2 foot from the paper/screen etc and continues to infinity.

Dave

[Rob]

nightjar Checking the current CAA rules, it looks as though they have dropped the two

Dont think thats right. I'm over 70 and the medical requirement is still annual. Well it was last June!

Rob

[nightjar]

It appears there is more than one CAA and I may have picked up the wrong one. Another source puts it at annual above age 49. I failed my medical a few years ago, so I don't have first hand experience any more.

Colin Bignell