Up to a quarter of us may drive without our glasses, and many more of us may not realise we need them. Anne Dempsey reports
Almost 400 people died on Irish roads last year. Many of the deaths were due to speeding, inexperience, carelessness or drink-driving. Could poor vision also have played a part?
According to Specsavers Opticians, a quarter of UK drivers do not wear their prescribed glasses behind the wheel, and many more may need glasses but not know it.
For most of us our sight deteriorates as we grow older, as the lenses in our eyes grow less flexible, compromising near sight, long sight or both. Many older people can use their cars perfectly legally and safely, as the law does not require drivers to have perfect vision.
But an anomaly means that although you need an eye test for a provisional licence you don't need one for a full licence, even though your sight may have deteriorated in the intervening months or years. Nor do you need an eye test to renew a driving licence as you move from your 40s to your 50s and beyond. Only at 70 must you have one.
Pat Costello, chief executive of the National Safety Council, says he is not aware of any Irish research that links road accidents to poor eyesight.
"What we would stress is a driver's responsibility and duty of care towards other road users. We know the prime causes of crashes - I won't call them accidents - are speeding, alcohol, drugs. If people are aware that their eyesight is not up to the required driving standard it is their responsibility to rectify this."
Now's your chance. On Friday and Saturday Specsavers is bringing its Drive Safe roadshow to its stores in Tallaght and Santry, in Dublin, offering free vision screening and discount eye tests. These will also be available at six other branches in October, November and December. The test will show whether your sight meets legal driving requirements. A score of six or more is a pass; below six and Specsavers advises a full eye test (at the discounted rate).
What is involved? Business was brisk at the chain's Grafton Street branch when this reporter, who wears glasses for reading but not for driving, went for an eye test. A procedure lasting minutes meant looking through a camera-type lens at a picture, then receiving a puff of air in each eye.
Optometrist Seamus Breslin is the branch manager. "The preliminary test gives a good indication of whether you are long- or short-sighted. The puff test measures pressure in the eye. One disease we look out for is glaucoma, described as a thief of sight, because it involves very gradual damage of the optic nerve and people may not realise what is happening. Five per cent of people aged 40-50 may have glaucoma, rising to 15-20 per cent with a family history. Caught in time, it is eminently treatable with eye drops."
A full test lasts 20 minutes and begins by testing ability to read a line of white letters on a black screen. Those who do so fluently meet the legal driving requirement for central long-sighted vision. Those who struggle may need glasses, particularly for night driving. Happily I made the grade.
"When I started here, in 1990, people couldn't read that first line, knew they needed glasses but couldn't afford them. These days it is happening less, as the price of glasses has come down, though I would expect to achieve less satisfactory results in rural Ireland, because it's easier for people in cities to wander in for an eye test," says Breslin.
A detailed examination, using an optometrist's torch, found my optic nerve to be in good general health, but I turned out to have a muscle imbalance that makes it difficult to focus on text when tired. This, says Breslin, is relatively common, correctable by inserting a prism in reading glasses.
What does he expect from the roadshow? "I expect to find a proportion of 50- to 60-year-olds who do not meet the legal requirements to drive and didn't realise it. A good indication is people who say I'm fine for driving but need glasses for TV. If you need glasses for television it's a good bet you need glasses for driving, because the same central long vision is involved. All you may need do is to begin wearing them when driving. You may not need another pair at all, though it is best to have this checked out."
A pair of glasses costs from €45, although most of Specsavers' cost €99-€139- or up to €250 for designer frames. A new option is UltraDrive, a €45 lens treatment for road users that reduces glare, enhances contrast and sharpens colours.
Drive Safe is in Tallaght on Friday and Santry on Saturday. Vision screening is free, as are overhaul, cleaning and repair of glasses. A full test at the stores costs €15 instead of €25 until September 30th. The discount is available in Cork, Dún Laoghaire, Limerick (two stores), Newbridge and Navanfrom October to December