The biggest problem is that drivers do not realize that their vision is declining as they age. They live under the impression that they see well, that there is nothing wrong with their vision, and that there is no reason to have their vision professionally tested. There is no doubt that drivers with poor vision are a danger not only to themselves but also to other road users. They are even as dangerous as drivers under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants. This is the view of experts, but there are no accurate statistics on the number of accidents caused by poor vision, since vision tests are not conducted in traffic accident investigations.
What is the situation
Approximately 22% of the 6 million license holders in the Czech Republic, or about 1.3 million people, have driver\’s licenses that state that they can only drive with glasses or contact lenses.
In cooperation with BESIP and the Czech Insurance Office, voluntary vision screenings for drivers have been conducted at various motor vehicle events with remarkable results. According to the experts who conducted the vision tests, almost all drivers felt they could see well before the tests. A total of 3,319 drivers were tested, of whom 56 percent had perfectly good vision and 36 percent had to use glasses or contact lenses. The frightening finding, however, was that 8 percent of the drivers should not drive at all because their vision was below 50 percent.
Today, it is common for drivers to take a vision test before applying for a driver\’s license. Drivers must have their vision tested by an ophthalmologist at age 65 and every two years beginning at age 68.
An orientation test can be performed to see if they can see well; at a distance of 25 meters, they should be able to safely recognize the letters on a car license plate. If not, they should see an ophthalmologist urgently.