Visual function and fitness to drive.
BACKGROUND
Driving is recognized to be a visually intensive task and accordingly there is a legal minimum standard of vision required for all motorists. The purpose of this paper is to review the current United Kingdom (UK) visual requirements for driving and discuss the evidence base behind these legal rules. The role of newer, alternative tests of visual function that may be better indicators of driving safety will also be considered. Finally, the implications of ageing on driving ability are discussed.


METHODS
A search of Medline and PubMed databases was performed using the following keywords: driving, vision, visual function, fitness to drive and ageing. In addition, papers from the Department of Transport website and UK Royal College of Ophthalmologists guidelines were studied.
Current UK visual standards for driving are based upon historical concepts, but recent advances in technology have brought about more sophisticated methods for assessing the status of the binocular visual field and examining visual attention. These tests appear to be better predictors of driving performance. Further work is required to establish whether these newer tests should be incorporated in the current UK visual standards when examining an individual's fitness to drive.
Kotecha
Aachal
A
Department of Optometry and Visual Science, City University, London City University, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HS, UK. aachalkotecha@googlemail.com
Spratt
Alexander
A
Viswanathan
Ananth
A
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001333:Automobile Driver Examination / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D006801:Humans; D006113:United Kingdom; D014787:Vision Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology