Vision standards for driving in Canada and the United States. A review for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.

We review the vision requirements for driving with the goal of revising current Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS) recommendations for vision standards for driving. The report comprises two sections. In the first section we report the results of a survey of transportation authorities in Canada and the United States conducted on behalf of the COS to determine the current standards and medical review procedures. The results suggest that although the standards in Canada are more consistent than those in the United States, few of the standards in either country are evidence-based. In the second section we review the recent literature on visual function and driving. We conclude from this review that adequate contrast sensitivity is as important as, if not more important than, good visual acuity for driving and that there is little evidence to support a monocular standard for acuity, contrast sensitivity or visual field. Although there is evidence that the extent of a visual field defect is related to the ability to perform driving tasks, there is little evidence to suggest a relation between the location of the visual field defect and fitness to drive.

[1]  C. Johnson,et al.  Mass visual field screening in a driving population. , 1980, Ophthalmology.

[2]  B Esterman,et al.  Functional scoring of the binocular field. , 1982, Ophthalmology.

[3]  F. Meyer,et al.  Risk of automobile accidents among elderly drivers with impairments or chronic diseases. , 1994, Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique.

[4]  J. Gresset,et al.  Risk of accidents among elderly car drivers with visual acuity equal to 6/12 or 6/15 and lack of binocular vision , 1994, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[5]  N. Drasdo,et al.  A COMPARISON OF THE BRITISH NUMBER PLATE AND SNELLEN VISION TESTS FOR CAR DRIVERS , 1981, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[6]  W. Charman,et al.  VISUAL STANDARDS FOR DRIVING , 1985, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[7]  M J Allen.  VISION REQUIREMENTS FOR DRIVING , 1970 .

[8]  J E Sheedy,et al.  Monovision Contact Lens Wear and Occupational Task Performance , 1988, American journal of optometry and physiological optics.

[9]  D Shinar,et al.  Visual Requirements for Safety and Mobility of Older Drivers , 1991, Human factors.

[10]  Mary K. Janke,et al.  PERFORMANCE OF VISUALLY IMPAIRED HEAVY-VEHICLE OPERATORS , 1992 .

[11]  C. Owsley,et al.  The useful field of view test: a new technique for evaluating age-related declines in visual function. , 1993, Journal of the American Optometric Association.

[12]  J P Szlyk,et al.  Evaluation of driving performance in patients with juvenile macular dystrophies. , 1993, Archives of ophthalmology.

[13]  M. Bullimore,et al.  Assessing the reliability, discriminative ability, and validity of disability glare tests. , 1993, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[14]  K. Ball,et al.  Visual attention problems as a predictor of vehicle crashes in older drivers. , 1993, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[15]  M. Fleury,et al.  Age, Cognitive Style, and Traffic Signs , 1994, Perceptual and motor skills.

[16]  L Staplin,et al.  Retrospective evaluation of alternative vision screening criteria for older and younger drivers. , 1993, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[17]  N. Pachana,et al.  Alzheimer and vascular dementias and driving. A prospective road and laboratory study. , 1995, JAMA.

[18]  J. Wood,et al.  Elderly Drivers and Simulated Visual Impairment , 1995, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[19]  G. Fishman,et al.  Driving performance of retinitis pigmentosa patients. , 1981, The British journal of ophthalmology.

[20]  B L Hills,et al.  A reanalysis of California driver vision data: general findings , 1977 .

[21]  J. Wood,et al.  Effect of Visual Impairment on Driving , 1994, Human factors.

[22]  C. Johnson,et al.  Visual function, driving safety, and the elderly. , 1987, Ophthalmology.

[23]  J. Haxby,et al.  Motor vehicle crashes in dementia of the alzheimer type , 1988, Annals of neurology.

[24]  D W Kline,et al.  Optimizing the visibility of displays for older observers. , 1994, Experimental aging research.

[25]  C. Johnson,et al.  Incidence of visual field loss in 20,000 eyes and its relationship to driving performance. , 1983, Archives of ophthalmology.

[26]  S. Mackie,et al.  How much blame can be placed on laser photocoagulation for failure to attain driving standards? , 1995, Eye.

[27]  C E Lewis,et al.  Landing performance by low-time private pilots after the sudden loss of binocular vision--cyclops II. , 1973, Aerospace medicine.

[28]  W H Brouwer,et al.  Divided Attention in Experienced Young and Older Drivers: Lane Tracking and Visual Analysis in a Dynamic Driving Simulator , 1991, Human factors.

[29]  J. Szlyk,et al.  Assessment of driving performance in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. , 1992, Archives of ophthalmology.

[30]  B L Cole,et al.  What Do Color Vision Defectives Say About Everyday Tasks? , 1989, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[31]  C. Owsley,et al.  Vision and Driving in the Elderly , 1994, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[32]  R Troutbeck,et al.  Effect of restriction of the binocular visual field on driving performance , 1992, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[33]  M. Brigell,et al.  Effects of Age and Hemianopic Visual Field Loss on Driving , 1993, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[34]  B Esterman,et al.  Grid for Scoring Visual Fields: II. Perimeter , 1968 .

[35]  John T. Yates,et al.  Color Vision Issues In Modern Military Aviation. , 1994 .

[36]  Lewis Ce,et al.  Flight research program. XIV. Landing performance in jet aircraft after the loss of binocular vision. , 1969 .

[37]  S J Anderson,et al.  Night driving: effects of glare from vehicle headlights on motion perception , 1995, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[38]  W A Harrell,et al.  Older Motorist Yielding to Pedestrians: Are Older Drivers Inattentive and Unwilling to Stop? , 1993, International journal of aging & human development.

[39]  L. Fried,et al.  Visual Impairment and Disability in Older Adults , 1994, Optometry and vision science : official publication of the American Academy of Optometry.

[40]  J. Szlyk,et al.  A comparison of driving in older subjects with and without age-related macular degeneration. , 1995, Archives of ophthalmology.

[41]  C. Owsley,et al.  PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE EYE , 2022 .

[42]  A. Burg.  The relationship between vision test scores and driving record; general findings , 1967 .

[43]  J. Wood,et al.  The effect of artificial visual impairment on functional visual fields and driving performance , 1993 .

[44]  B. Esterman,et al.  COMPUTERIZED SCORING OF THE FUNCTIONAL FIELD PRELIMINARY REPORT , 1985 .

[45]  D. Roenker,et al.  Age and visual search: expanding the useful field of view. , 1988, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[46]  Joanne M. Wood,et al.  Vision and Driving: Selective Effect of Optical Blur on Different Driving Tasks , 1998, Hum. Factors.

[47]  L. Hakamies‐Blomqvist,et al.  Compensation in older drivers as reflected in their fatal accidents. , 1994, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[48]  Marlos Viana,et al.  SHORT NOTE Relative Effects of Age and Compromised Vision on Driving Performance , 1995, Hum. Factors.

[49]  R. Sekuler,et al.  Vision, aging, and driving: the problems of older drivers. , 1992, Journal of gerontology.

[50]  K. Ball,et al.  Visual/cognitive correlates of vehicle accidents in older drivers. , 1991, Psychology and aging.

[51]  R. A. Bell,et al.  Homonymous hemianopic field defects and driving in Canada. , 1991, Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie.

[52]  K Sundet,et al.  To drive or not to drive: neuropsychological assessment for driver's license among stroke patients. , 1995, Scandinavian journal of psychology.