Guards can't wear contact lenses?

[OhNoAPacer]

I was talking to someone at work today who said that a guard on one of the local trains (cumbrian coast line, so northern) had said that they were not allowed to wear contact lenses when acting as a guard.
I must admit to expressing disbelief, but said I would post here and get an answer
So, is it the case that guards on northern, or in general, can't wear contacts, and if so what is the reason?

 

[TheEdge]

Never heard that one before. If you use glasses or contacts you need to always carry spares but never heard of contacts being banned.

 

[headshot119]

Fairly sure that's duff information, though there is defintely a requirement to carry a spare pair of glasses with you at all times. (Well at least in your bag they don't have to be glued to you)

 

[tsr]

Not all TOCs specify spare glasses for guards, though I've never heard of any exception for drivers.

 

[BestWestern]

That's total rubbish!

 

[Busaholic]

I was talking to someone at work today who said that a guard on one of the local trains (cumbrian coast line, so northern) had said that they were not allowed to wear contact lenses when acting as a guard.
I must admit to expressing disbelief, but said I would post here and get an answer
So, is it the case that guards on northern, or in general, can't wear contacts, and if so what is the reason?

I'd be interested in finding out why this was so, if true.

 

[dk1]

Sounds like very dodgy information to me. I'm a driver & lenses have been permitted for many years. I must though have a spare pair of glasses at all times not spare contacts.

 

[scrapy]

Guards (and other safety critical staff) have to meet certain standards of vision with and without contact lenses or glasses. It may be that somebody doesn't reach the required standard without lenses so cannot work with them.

 

[Michael.Y]

The full wording of the rule is that they're not allowed to wear contact lenses anywhere except on their eyes.

 

[neilb62]

It's TOC specific. I can only speak as a Driver but some allow lenses and some don't, some allow varifocals and some don't. I'm assuming as they are safety-critical the same would apply to Guards?

 

[Tim R-T-C]

I work at an opticians and we have some contact lens customers who work for railway firms, so there is no blanket ban at all.

However, some people's vision in contact lenses is not as good as in their glasses, if they have strong astigmatism for example this can be hard to correct with lenses. They might be comfortable walking around or watching TV, but the visual acuity is too low for their conductor duties.

They will probably have had a form from the railway company asking their optometrist to confirm their VAs in spectacles and/or lenses if these are worn. It might be that their vision in lenses is not as good as their glasses and falls below the required limit.

 

[driver_m]

It could be down to a lack of updating the standards. For instance TPE allowed their drivers to wear contact lenses sometime before our lot at VT did. It should really be NR's standard and it apply across the board, not TOC/FOC specific.