Defective colour vision is a risk factor in driving

Verriest et al (1980) claimed ‘definite proof that colour-defective drivers do not have more accidents than people with normal colour vision’ by showing that colour-defective drivers were not over-represented in a sample of 2058 male drivers who had caused a traffic accident. In the same paper, however, it is shown that protans have significantly more rear-end collisions and other accidents caused by overlooking signal lights. Deutans had more accidents at traffic lights. The differing conclusions can only be reconciled by assuming that colour-defective drivers have fewer other accidents to compensate for their greater frequency of accidents involving signal lights, and this is inherently improbable.

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