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Vision loss from glaucoma may double risk for auto accidents
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CHICAGO — Motorists with advanced glaucoma had twice as many automobile accidents as those with normal vision in a Japanese study, according to a news release from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
“To help ensure everyone’s safety on our roadways, we would like to create mandatory vision testing guidelines for glaucoma patients,” Shiho Kunimatsu-Sanuki, MD, lead study author, said in the release. “We now know that integrating the visual field test into the requirements for a driver’s license could save lives.”
The study, presented at the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, included 36 subjects with advanced glaucoma and 36 subjects with normal vision who were tested using a driving simulator. Both groups had similar age, driving experience and other characteristics.
The most common accident scenario in both groups was a child, car or other obstacle abruptly entering the driver’s path from one side. The glaucoma group had more than double the number of collisions compared with the normal-vision group, the release said.
The authors said many people with glaucoma would pass conventional visual acuity tests required in most countries. However, glaucoma reduces peripheral vision and diminishes drivers’ ability to judge and adjust to traffic patterns, stay in the proper lane, and see traffic lights and pedestrians, they said.