DVLA field test

[Raycov]

When I last took the DVLA field test (which I have done for many years) the machine kept beeping and I found myself reacting to the beeps and thus creating a negative score. When the test is about measuring your peripheral vision what is the purpose of the beeps?

[JanD236]

I think they must have had the beeps switched on by mistake? Surely they should have been silent.

[Raycov in reply to JanD236]

It raises the question whether there should be any beeps at all. Have others experienced this?

[JanD236 in reply to Raycov]

I had beeps on a test at specsavers but I think the next time I took the test there it was silent. I assumed they’d left the beeps on by mistake when it happened. How could you not ‘cheat’ when they’re on?

I also had the test at a different opticians and that was silent.

You could phone DVLA to ask?

[Hidden in reply to JanD236]

I too had test at Specsavers and the bleeps were very off putting. I would not advise phoning DVLA its a waste of time, you'll be kept hanging on for ages and they aren't very helpful

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner]

Hello Raycov.

The beeps are to acknowledge the beep but can be distracting to some users.

Any visual field test machine which emits a beep each time you press the button can be adjusted but it cannot be muted completely if doing a test for UK driving. These are normally a Henson.

When the DVLA send out letters asking someone to make an appointment at a Specsavers branch they now give the option of up to 4 branches and state what type of visual field test machine they have. You then have an option of phoning the branch and ask about the machine that they use.

[Raycov in reply to Trish_GlaucomaUK]

Hi Thanks for your reply

In my test the beeps did not occur when I pressed the button but came at random times.

[Trish_GlaucomaUK Partner in reply to Raycov]

The machine will do random beeps if the eyes are not fixating on the central light. This means that the person is looking around for the lights without realising and that is why you were hearing them randomly.