Vision is crucial to driving. As much as 90 per cent of the information you need while driving is gathered through your eyes. Poor eyesight is a major risk factor for road traffic injuries.
A recent study conducted by Mission for Vision throws up alarming findings on refractive errors among heavy vehicle and public transport drivers. ‘’During 2019-20, we screened 15,000 drivers across 12 states; 40 per cent of them were found to have uncorrected refractive errors,’’ said Sabitra Kundu, head of Programme Development at Mission for Vision, a not-for-profit organisation that works for the eradication of avoidable blindness.
Kundu was speaking at a virtual international conference on ‘Eye Health in Changing World’ organised by India Vision Institute, an NGO working to augment primary eyecare capacity in the country and ensure availability of spectacles for every Indian.
The panel discussion on ‘vision and safety’ turned out to be an eyeopener for many. It threw light on how visual challenges among drivers have been a major cause of road traffic accidents in India. ‘’We studied more than 30,000 truckers across India. It was found that 68 per cent of the commercial vehicle drivers in India never had an eye test done; 60 per cent of them need a pair of white glasses,’’ said Anshu Taneja, country director, India, Vision Spring.
‘’80 per cent of deaths on Indian roads are due to driver errors. Of all the fatalities, 26 per cent involve commercial vehicle drivers. One in four of those commercial vehicle drivers cannot see signs at a 20-30 metre distance,’’ he said, adding that clear vision certificates should be made mandatory for drivers. Vision Spring provides quality glasses to 2.5 billion people worldwide.
Drivers in India with unacceptable vision test results were found to have an 81 per cent road crash involvement rate. This is 30 per cent less in drivers with good vision.
‘’In 2018, 1.35 million people died and 50 million people were injured in road accidents worldwide; 90 per cent of the road traffic accident deaths are in low and middle income countries; 11 per cent were in India. Road traffic accidents are the number 1 killer of young people aged 15-29,’’ said Kristan Gross, global communications and awareness manager, Vision Impact Institute.
According to a report by the World Health Organisation, India, which has just 1 per cent of the world’s vehicles, accounts for 6 per cent of the world’s road traffic accidents. A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, found that a whopping 81 per cent of drivers who had at least one visual defect were involved in some sort of accident; 30 per cent of those who got a driving licence would not have satisfied the International College of Ophthalmologists’ vision requirements for driving safety guidelines.
The panel discussion was moderated by Vinod Daniel, CEO of India Vision Institute.
