Lisa Kristalovich
Purpose: To determine whether drivers with visual field impairments are more likely to have traffic accidents or traffic violations than drivers without visual field impairments.
Methods: Ophthalmology visual tests of 445 drivers were stratified into groups based on the degree of visual field impairment. The number of traffic accidents and violations in each group that occurred in one year post-visual field test was compared using Chi square analysis.
Findings: Drivers with visual field impairments did not have a higher probability of accidents (p=0.402) or traffic violations (p=0.108) than drivers without visual field impairment. Drivers who did not meet the licensing guidelines were less likely to be a licensed driver than individuals who met the guidelines (p=0.004) and less likely to retain a driver’s license (p=0.001).
Conclusion: The low number of traffic accidents and violations suggests the BC driver licensing process is achieving the goal of public safety.
Accepted for publication:
Kristalovich, L., & Mortenson, W. B. (2018). Visual field impairments and driver fitness: a one-year review of traffic accidents and violations. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(5). [accepted]