Why do people drive when they can’t see clearly?

Fylan, Fiona; Hughes, Amy R.; Wood, Joanne M.; Elliott, David B.

doi:10.1016/j.trf.2018.04.005

Cited by 21 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…; Fylan et al. ). A recent focus group study that explored why some drivers choose not to wear their spectacles for driving (mean age 45 ± 12 years), revealed that drivers are unclear about what constitutes an adequate level of vision for safe driving and that, at least some drivers, would like direct advice from their eye care practitioners regarding whether their vision is safe for driving (Fylan et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A recent focus group study that explored why some drivers choose not to wear their spectacles for driving (mean age 45 ± 12 years), revealed that drivers are unclear about what constitutes an adequate level of vision for safe driving and that, at least some drivers, would like direct advice from their eye care practitioners regarding whether their vision is safe for driving (Fylan et al. ). While that study did not specifically investigate vision and night‐driving, participants in the study recognized the greater need for vision correction and visual awareness in challenging lighting conditions such as at night.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Older drivers' self‐reported vision‐related night‐driving difficulties and night‐driving performance

Kimlin

Black

Wood

2019

Acta Ophthalmologica

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Purpose: To investigate associations between older drivers' perceived visionrelated night-driving difficulties and night-time driving performance measured on a closed-road circuit. Methods: Participants included 26 older drivers (71.8 AE 6.3 years) who reported vision-related night-driving difficulties assessed with the vision and night driving questionnaire (VND-Q). High-contrast, photopic visual acuity (VA) and ratings of discomfort glare (de Boer scale) were also assessed. Nighttime driving performance was measured on a closed-road circuit that involved recognition, hazard avoidance and lane-keeping tasks in the absence and presence of intermittent glare. Generalized linear mixed models investigated the relationship between VND-Q scores and overall driving performance scores, as well as with discomfort glare ratings and VA. Results: Greater levels of vision-related night-driving difficulties (VND-Q scores) were significantly associated with poorer night-driving performance (p = 0.003); the association was even stronger for driving performance in the presence of intermittent glare (p = 0.001). Reduced VA was associated with poorer night-driving performance (p = 0.022) but the association was weaker than for the VND-Q scores. In contrast, ratings of discomfort glare were not significantly associated with driving performance (p = 0.14). Conclusion: The VND-Q was significantly associated with night-time driving performance and provides a useful instrument for assessing vision-related nightdriving difficulties which can be incorporated into clinical vision assessments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Older drivers' self‐reported vision‐related night‐driving difficulties and night‐driving performance

Kimlin

Black

Wood

2019

Acta Ophthalmologica

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“…The impact of optical blur on nighttime driving is also important given that many people drive with uncorrected refractive errors. For example, one study reported that 80% of drivers who failed to meet the legal vision standards for driving had uncorrected refractive errors, and in a focus group study, participants suggested that they chose to not wear their spectacles for night driving as they made glare worse . While there is no crash data linking uncorrected refractive error and nighttime crash risk, there is evidence from simulator and closed‐road studies that the relative effects of blur on driving ability depend on the driving skills considered.…”

Section: Vision and Night‐time Drivingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Wood

2019

Ophthalmic Physiologic Optic

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Purpose Nighttime driving is dangerous and is one of the most challenging driving situations for most drivers. Fatality rates are higher at night than in the day when adjusted for distances travelled, particularly for crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists. Although there are multiple contributory factors, the low light levels at night are believed to be the major cause of collisions with pedestrians and cyclists at night, most likely due to their reduced visibility. Understanding the visibility problems involved in nighttime driving is thus critical, given the increased risk to road safety. Recent Findings This review discusses research that highlights key differences in the nighttime road environment compared to the day and how this affects visual function and driving performance, together with an overview of studies investigating how driver age and visual status affect nighttime driving performance. Research that has focused on the visibility of vulnerable road users at nighttime (pedestrians and cyclists) is also included. Summary Collectively, the research evidence suggests that visual function is reduced under the mesopic lighting conditions of night driving and that these effects are exacerbated by increasing age and visual impairment. Light and glare from road lighting and headlights have significant impacts on vision and night driving and these effects are likely to change with evolving technologies, such as LED streetlighting and headlights. Research also highlights the importance of the visibility of vulnerable road users at night and the role of retroreflective clothing in the ‘biomotion’ configuration for improving their conspicuity and hence safety.

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“…For example, adaptation to new lenses to correct refractive errors from astigmatism [ 89 ] or myopia have been associated with more unsafe driving behavior and less comfort [ 61 ]. However, even though they recognize the importance of clear vision on the road, many drivers report not wearing their optimal correction while driving [ 90 ]. Our study emphasizes the importance of education on the potential driving risks associated with poor vision when dealing with the multiple tasks involving high visual and cognitive demands in current vehicles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased visual and cognitive demands emphasize the importance of meeting visual needs at all distances while driving

et al. 2021

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Having an optimal quality of vision as well as adequate cognitive capacities is known to be essential for driving safety. However, the interaction between vision and cognitive mechanisms while driving remains unclear. We hypothesized that, in a context of high cognitive load, reduced visual acuity would have a negative impact on driving behavior, even when the acuity corresponds to the legal threshold for obtaining a driving license in Canada, and that the impact observed on driving performance would be greater with the increase in the threshold of degradation of visual acuity. In order to investigate this relationship, we examined driving behavior in a driving simulator under optimal and reduced vision conditions through two scenarios involving different levels of cognitive demand. These were: 1. a simple rural driving scenario with some pre-programmed events and 2. a highway driving scenario accompanied by a concurrent task involving the use of a navigation device. Two groups of visual quality degradation (lower/ higher) were evaluated according to their driving behavior. The results support the hypothesis: A dual task effect was indeed observed provoking less stable driving behavior, but in addition to this, by statistically controlling the impact of cognitive load, the effect of visual load emerged in this dual task context. These results support the idea that visual quality degradation impacts driving behavior when combined with a high mental workload driving environment while specifying that this impact is not present in the context of low cognitive load driving condition.

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Why do people drive when they can’t see clearly?

Cited by 21 publications

References 30 publications

Older drivers' self‐reported vision‐related night‐driving difficulties and night‐driving performance

Older drivers' self‐reported vision‐related night‐driving difficulties and night‐driving performance

Nighttime driving: visual, lighting and visibility challenges

Increased visual and cognitive demands emphasize the importance of meeting visual needs at all distances while driving

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