As drivers, we are very focused on safety, it’s a must-have. Whilst we are concerned about our car’s safety features, we often don’t think about the major influential factor in crashes: human error.
We know that vision is the most important sense for making decisions on the road and that uncorrected vision is a contributor to crash risk.^ Road safety starts with good vision, and that means seeing well at all distances, in all conditions.
Be aware of signs & symptoms
But how do you know if you might be at risk? Ask yourself if you experience any of the following:
- When driving do you have trouble recognising details on road signs or number plates?
- Difficulty judging the distance of oncoming vehicles, particularly at night?
- Trouble seeing cars and roads clearly in changing light conditions, e.g. from day to dusk, dusk to night?
- Visual sensitivity to oncoming car, motorbike, bus or truck headlights?
- Need to move your head to see in vehicle side mirrors or read your dashboard clearly?
- Reluctance to drive at night or in unfamiliar environments?
- Uncertainty and lack of confidence behind the wheel of a car?
- Complaints of headaches, blurred or double vision after you drive.
How can we help with poor Vision while Driving?
Today, we have more options and technologies than ever before to help you stay safe on the road.
Here are some of the common ways we can help:
- Vision Correction: Wearing glasses or contact lenses improves your vision clarity and depth perception while driving, so you can better judge your surroundings.
- Progressive Lenses improve vision at every range of distance, with a smooth transition from reading road signs in the distance to viewing the dashboard in front of you.
- Anti-Reflective Coating reduces glare, light streaking and distortion from oncoming headlights, particularly beneficial for night driving.
- Polarised Sunglasses eliminate distracting and sometimes dangerous ‘horizontal glare’, which is caused by light reflections from surfaces including roads, other cars, and your dashboard.
Feel comfortable driving this year.
Book a comprehensive vision appointment with us today.
And don’t forget that we can process any private health fund optical extras during your visit.
^Dr. Tj Van Der Berg, 2005, Relevance of glare sensitivity and impairment of visual function
among European drivers, European Commission. World Health Organisation
Training Manual 2006: Road Traffic Injury Prevention
