Evaluating the Impact of Presbyopic Eyewear on Driving Performance Among Commercial Drivers

Abstract

Purpose: To establish how presbyopic eyewear affects the performance of commercial drivers on the road.

Methods: Eighty six commercial drivers who were between the ages of 40 to 65 years were recruited and the cross sectional study conducted through purposive sampling. The sample was divided into two age brackets namely 40 50 years and 51 65 years. The inclusion criteria were to be an active commercial driver within the above age bracket with the diagnosis of presbyopia and were or had worn or still wore presbyopic corrective eyewear. Those drivers with ocular pathology not related to the presbyopia or the drivers with neurological diseases with the vision or driving impairments were excluded.

Results: The sampling population of this cross-sectional experiment was 86 commercial drivers aged 40-65 years, separated into 2 age groups (40-50 and 51-65 years) of sample. Individuals with presbyopia and corrective eyewear were chosen. Information was gathered by use of survey questionnaires on the basis of checking visual challenges during driving, eyewear, driving experience and record of accidents. Distance and near vision visual acuity was conducted with no correction and corrected. T-tests, ANOVA and Chi-square were also used to analyze the relationships between the use of presbyopic eyewear and visual performance and difficulties in driving. The level of significance of p was considered as 0.05.

Conclusion: The research points out that the prevalence of presbyopia is very high among the commercial drivers in the age group of 40-65 years old the majority of which are aware of corrective eyewear and use it. Although presbyopic eyewear is highly effective in enhancing the level of visual acuity and certain tasks related to driving, they continue to experience challenges such as the inability to change the focus, poor visibility at the dashboard, night glare and visual fatigue, especially among people with a shorter period or infrequent eyewear usage. Even though the eyewear use did not cause any substantial decrease in the accidents involvement, regular and extended use seems to be crucial to reduce the visual impairments during driving. These results indicate that to improve the safety and comfort of driving in this group, specific methods of vision correction, as well as frequent eye exams are necessary.