IAM RoadSmart and HealthcarePlan team up to offer ‘vision’ of the future to business drivers

Business drivers whose employers use IAM RoadSmart courses can now benefit from reduced rate glasses and eye care thanks to a new partnership with HeathcarePlan.

It is estimated nearly 3,000 crashes a year are caused by poor driver vision (reference 1) and with one-third of all crashes on the road involving drivers on a business journey (reference 2) it is a problem that many businesses are ignoring at their and others’ risk.

HealthcarePlan will offer a 10% discount on its Driver EyecarePlan packages to business drivers whose employers use IAM RoadSmart products, and in addition make a £2 per driver donation to the charitable work of IAM RoadSmart.

The business driver receives the incentive in the form of vouchers which can be redeemed against a range of eye care products – including a full eyesight test, optical correction prescription and a complete set of glasses.

All EyecarePlans can be delivered to the employee by email or text message and the employee can choose to visit either one of 640 Boots Opticians or any of 640 HealthcarePlan affiliated independent practices.

Lesley Upham, IAM RoadSmart commercial director, said: “The issue of drivers at the wheel of a car, van or lorry with uncorrected or defective vision is a serious one. Employers need to realise they have a legal obligation to ensure that if they are aware of any of their drivers having eyesight that is so poor to be breaking the law, that they know about it and have addressed the issue.”

“With this in mind, we are pleased to link up with HeathcarePlan to offer this very valuable incentive to business drivers – which could ultimately save lives.”

Lyn Hodges, director of strategic planning at HeathcarePlan, added: “This is something that is so easy to fix and could benefit so many people beyond the drivers themselves.

“The facts are that 64 people were killed in Britain last year by drivers on the road with defective or uncorrected eyesight. Of the 2,300 people who need glasses or contact lenses, a survey found a quarter drove without them, increasing their chances of an accident four-fold.

“That is something we want to tackle here and now – and we aim to make inroads into that by working with IAM RoadSmart.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Reference 1: https://www.confused.com/on-the-road/safety/drivers-with-poor-eyesight-running-risks    

Reference 2: http://www.drivingforbetterbusiness.com/why.aspx

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IAM RoadSmart has a mission to make better drivers and riders in order to improve road safety, inspire confidence and make driving and riding enjoyable. It does this through a range of courses for all road users, from online assessments through to the advanced driving and riding tests. IAM RoadSmart is the trading name of all businesses operated by the UK’s largest road safety charity, the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and was formed in April 2016 combining the IAM, IAM Drive & Survive, PDS and IAM Driver Retraining Academy. The organisation has 92,000 members and campaigns on road safety on their behalf. At any one time there are over 7,000 drivers and riders actively engaged with IAM RoadSmart’s courses, from members of the public to company drivers, while our Driver Retraining Academy has helped 2,500 drivers to shorten their bans through education and support programmes.

To find out more about IAM RoadSmart products and services visit the new website www.iamroadsmart.com          

To find out the name of your own local IAM RoadSmart group please visit: https://wwwiamroadsmart.com/local-groups       

ENDS ALL