My line manager frequently drives me to off-site meetings and there have been a number of near-misses with other cars on the road, which he finds amusing and puts down to age. I think his vision is deteriorating and he will cause a serious accident, but I am unsure how to broach the subject without damaging our working relationship.

This issue is a difficult one for you to manage personally and professionally and it definitely requires that you take immediate action. If you don’t take steps to stop your manager from driving until he has been deemed fit to do so, you are putting the lives and safety of you, your manager and members of the public at risk. Should the worst happen, it would have serious implications for your manager, your conscience and your organisation.

Seek help from your employer If you feel unable to talk to your manager directly about this problem, then you need to seek immediate advice and assistance from your HR or occupational health teams, whose role it is to give you support to manage this situation. It is likely that your employer has a driver eyecare policy in place that underlines the legal obligations the business has to stop your manager driving until he has had an eye test.

Since the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter Act in April 2008, a British employer could be held accountable for a fatal accident caused by an employee as a result of poor eyesight. In this situation, employers could face prosecution if significant management failures could be identified and proved against them.

Ignorance of the need for any driver on company business to wear glasses would not be a good enough excuse if the worst happened and your line manager was charged with this offence. This makes the need for you to take action from both a moral and commercial perspective clear.

Don’t panic about his reaction I appreciate your concerns that your working relationship may suffer as a result of any confrontation with him on this, but there is a chance you will be pleasantly surprised by his reaction to your intervention. After all, he may not actually want to drive and may be using humour to hide his own concerns.

The fact you already have a positive working relationship with him is something you should use to your advantage. Is there the opportunity to discuss your concerns in a relaxed, light-hearted way that will prompt him to take action to correct his eyesight quickly? Or can you create the opportunity within a conversation to alert him to your concerns, for example, talking about a “friend” who is facing a similar situation. Alongside this course of action, you should be assertive and insist on driving to any off-site meetings in the short term – presuming that you have the appropriate driving licence and insurance – and, if challenged by your line manager, consider whether to take the opportunity to raise your concerns with him, face-to-face.

Regardless of how you do decide to address this issue, speed is of the essence and you must take appropriate action at the very first opportunity.

- Andrew Adams is an eyecare manager at Accor Services, an employee benefits and HR consultancy. Send your questions to businessfeatures@thetimes.co.uk

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