title: Color Vision and the Railways: Part 1. The Railway LED Lantern Test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Lantern tests and practical tests are often used in the assessment of prospective railway employees. The lantern tests rarely embody the actual colors used in signaling on the railways. Practical tests have a number of problems, most notably consistency of application and practicability. This work was carried out to provide the Railway LED Lantern Test (RLLT) as a validated method of assessing the color vision of railway workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The RLLT, a simulated practical test using the same LEDs (light-emitting diodes) as are used in modern railway signals, was developed. It was tested on 46 color vision-normal (CVN) and 37 color vision-deficient (CVD) subjects. A modified prototype was then tested on 106 CVN subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 106 CVN subjects and most mildly affected CVD subjects passed the modified lantern at 3 m. At 6 m, 1 of the 106 normal color vision subjects failed by missing a single red light. All the CVD subjects failed. The RLLT carried out at 3 m allowed mildly affected CVD subjects to pass and demonstrate adequate color vision for the less demanding railway tasks. Carried out at 6 m, it essentially reinforced normal color vision as the standard.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The RLLT is a simply administered test that has a direct link to the actual visual task of the rail worker. The RLLT lantern has been adopted as an approved test in the Australian National Standard for Health Assessment of Rail Safety Workers in place of a practical test. It has the potential to be a valid part of any railway color vision standard.
authors.affiliation: *PhD, FAAO †MBBS, MSciTech(Occ Med) ‡MSafetyScience, PhD §MOptom School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (SJD, JL, MRH); and Sydney and NSW Trains, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (AC).
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Dain
authors.forename: Armand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Casolin
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Mohd Radzi
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hilmi
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003119:Color Perception Tests / Q000266:history / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards*; D055253:Color Vision / Q000502:physiology*; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000592:standards; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011890:Railroads; D014938:Work Capacity Evaluation; D055815:Young Adult