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Driving and your vision
January 2006
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Regular eyes and vision assessments are necessary for drivers of all ages. |
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| Unfortunately many drivers do not check the state of their eyes and vision regularly. Therefore changes that do happen, go unnoticed. |
Unfortunately many drivers do not check the state of their eyes and vision regularly. Therefore changes that do happen, go unnoticed.
The result of this situation, is a significant increase of road traffic accidents that could have been otherwise prevented.
Drivers with impaired vision are not able to see correctly and timely the road signs. Many have glasses or contact lenses that do not correct their vision to the degree needed.
As a matter of fact many people do not realize, at least at the initial stages, that their vision is undergoing changes and decreasing. For this reason it is important for professional and non professional drivers, of all ages, to be regularly checked for the state of their vision.
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Research done in the United Kingdom by the Royal
National Institute for the Blind, showed that 1 out of 3 drivers violate
the law and put themselves as well as others in danger because they
drive while their vision is impaired. The Institute advises that drivers of all kind of vehicles and independently of their age, should check for the health of their eyes and the situation of their vision every 2 years. Additionally whenever they realize that their vision is blurred or any other change occurs to their sight, they should seek medical advise. |
It was estimated that 13 million drivers do not undergo eyes and vision examinations and do not know or are aware whether there was a decrease of their sight. Sadly, many of them do suspect that probably their vision is not as good as it should have been. However and in spite of this they do not seek medical advise and care.
This negligence is a cause of accidents. It is observed not only in people who do not have glasses or lenses but as well in people that have already been diagnosed with visual impairment and carry glasses or wear lenses.
It is important to add that the regular eyes examination, does not only contribute for the prevention of road accidents. It does help significantly for the timely diagnosis of a number of serious diseases.
Many diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, macular generation (the most common cause of blindness in the Western world, age related), glaucoma, cataract, can be diagnosed in time through regular eyes check up.
The timely screening and diagnosis of these ailments allows a better therapy outcome and prevents visual impairment and blindness.
According to the Royal National Institute for the Blind, in the United Kingdom legislation requires that a driver should be able to read number plates of a car from a distance of 20,5 meters under normal lighting conditions. This distance is equivalent to approximately the length of 2 cars.
Drivers who do not satisfy these criteria or they do not have the necessary visual corrections and therefore violate the law, are subject to fines or other penalties.
In conclusion we would like to stress out the fact that regular eyes and vision assessments are necessary for drivers of all ages.
In this way it is possible to diminish the number of road traffic accidents. In this manner, many deaths can be prevented as well as many permanent incapacities and human suffering.
Additionally the regular eyes examinations contribute to the screening, diagnosis and in time administration of therapy of many serious diseases that are vision and even life threatening if they remain neglected.
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