Glare sensitivity and professional drivers' safety: a case of rod-cone dystrophy with negative electroretinogram.
BACKGROUND
To obtain a driver's licence certain requirements for visual acuity and visual field have to be fulfilled. Mesopic contrast and glare sensitivity are not regularly tested and are not crucial to passing the driving test.


METHODS
We report a case of a 39-year-old professional bus driver whose only complaint was increased glare sensitivity. After he had been involved in four traffic accidents, ophthalmological investigations revealed binocular annular scotomata and night blindness, leading to the diagnosis of rod-cone dystrophy.


CONCLUSIONS
Enhanced glare sensitivity is a common complaint in elderly people or people with the beginnings of cataract but may also represent an initial symptom of a retinal disorder. It is therefore advisable for traffic safety if drivers with such complaints undergo a complete ophthalmological investigation including visual field testing.
Jägle
Herbert
H
Department of Pathophysiology of Vision and Neuro-ophthalmology, University Eye Hospital, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. herbert.jaegle@uni-tuebingen
Besch
Dorothea
D
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000328:Adult; D001333:Automobile Driver Examination; D001334:Automobile Driving; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D004596:Electroretinography; D019466:Glare; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009755:Night Blindness / Q000175:diagnosis; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000473:pathology*; D012162:Retinal Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012449:Safety; D012607:Scotoma / Q000175:diagnosis; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*