Partially sighted Dudley driver who killed pedestrian he did not see jailed for three years

Peter Scriven, aged 60, was blind in one eye and had reduced sight in the other.

He did not see Arthur Fletcher crossing the road in the dark with heavy rain falling, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

The recently retired 65-year-old was near the centre of Priory Road, in Dudley, when hit by the Nissan and thrown into the opposite carriageway where he was struck by another vehicle, explained Mr Thomas Schofield, prosecuting.

The defendant, who had kept his sight difficulties secret from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for many years, did not know what he had hit and failed to stop.

He returned to the scene to talk to police once he realised the extent of damage caused to his car, which had been travelling at between 20 and 24 mph in the correct lane when tragedy struck on December 10.

Tests showed that Scriven could not read the registration number of a vehicle when more than three metres away. The minimum requirement for a motorist is 20 metres, the court was told.

His driving licence was revoked after this was revealed in an eye check in February but soon afterwards he tried unsuccessfully to get it back without mentioning his poor sight.

Scriven was diagnosed as blind in the left eye in 2002 and the sight of the right was deteriorating but this was not disclosed to the DVLA.

Mr Alexander Stein, defending, admitted it was ‘almost madness’ for the partially-sighted driver to reapply for his licence following the fatality.

He continued: “He accepts his eyesight had completely failed in one eye and the other was not as good as it should have been – and he had not told the DVLA.

“He had not seen an optician because he was terrified of being told he was going completely blind.” He finally went last week and heard the sight of his right eye could be restored by cataract surgery, it was said.

Scriven from Forrest Road, Dudley, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed and given a three-and-a-half-year driving ban by Judge James Burbidge QC, who said: “What happened to Mr Fletcher was an accident waiting to happen as long as you continued to drive while ignoring the limitations to your sight.

“You must have known each time you got into the car you were taking liberties with your life and those of others but you continued to drive when you could not really see properly.

“You were either too proud or too scared to disclose this to the DVLA. Mr Fletcher had just retired and was looking forward to that period of his life with his wife Wendy.“It is beyond belief that you sought to get your licence back after this tragic and devastating accident with a falsehood, asserting you could see appropriately.”