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Worrying signs on drivers’ eyesight

A survey of licenced drivers found more than two thirds had trouble making out street markers. Troels Sommerville reports.

After I called out a series of random letters in vain hope that’s what the blurry lines were, the woman behind the counter of the local AA told me I had passed the eye-test.

She issued my restricted licence and off I drove, unable to read street signs until I was driving past them.

That was a long time ago and I have since seen the light – and an optometrist – so now wear glasses while driving.

But that isn’t the case for everyone. According to an online survey of around 1000 licenced drivers, commissioned by Specsavers and conducted between March and April this year, 71% of respondents have issues seeing road signs when they are behind the wheel.

Given that Waka Kotahi says there are about 4.3 million registered licences in New Zealand – and even taking into account any possible discrepancy in the survey result – that is a concerning number of people driving without being able to make out everything they see. Of those surveyed, 20% also admit to having issues seeing traffic lights, while 16% said they’ve missed zebra crossings.

But the test for eyes is only carried out when you sit your initial licence test, then a cursory one every 10 years when the licence has to be renewed. And that test isn’t even that good either, says Bruce Wilson, who spent much of his 16 years in the NZ Police investigating crashes.

Unsurprisingly he confirms it is important people can see properly when driving, and says even small issues with people’s vision can impair them enough for it to make a big difference when trying to stay safe on the roads.

‘‘You have to be able to see things properly before you can react to them. If you have to look at a road sign a few seconds longer, then that’s time you’re not focusing on other things like the road, pedestrians or traffic.’’

Studies have shown drivers are only able to focus on a small area of their vision at a time, so making sure it’s clear and up to par is vital, Wilson says.

The current tests conducted at testing stations only screen for visual awareness and visual fields, and the people behind the counter aren’t able to check drivers for conditions such as night blindness.

Wilson’s position is echoed by Wellington optometrist David Aldridge, who says it’s important to get on top of any changes in eyesight ‘‘before it goes off a cliff’’.

He rattles off a number of conditions that can change eyesight rapidly – but are treatable with early detection – before adding that the 10 years between any required eyesight assessment for a licence is too long. But it doesn’t take a professional running you through a battery of tests for you to be aware you need to get your eyes tested.

‘‘If someone sitting beside you in the car can see something that you can’t then that’s probably a sign you don’t want to ignore,’’ Aldridge says.

He also says fatigue, headaches, squinting and leaning forward to see while driving are solid indicators it might be time to head to the optometrist.

And those issues already affecting drivers’ eyesight are only exacerbated in winter when the sun sits much lower in the sky, there’s less light, and there’s more regular rain making it harder to see while on the road.

For 34-year-old Pat Brennan, driving without his glasses isn’t up for discussion, as he is ‘‘a few points off being clinically blind’’ without them.

He has had glasses since an early age, and regularly gets his eyes tested as his vision continues to change.

He says the issue with the licence test is that it doesn’t go far enough, and 10 years is too long to wait between eye tests.

‘‘My licence [photo] is close to unrecognisable from who I was [when I last got it],’’ he says.

‘‘It’s much better to figure out you need glasses by getting your eyes tested than by hitting something.’’

NEWS

en-nz

2023-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-05-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/281719798958550

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