Experts seek better LTO eyesight tests

The eye test given by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is not accurate in checking the vision of applicants for a driver’s license, according to an eye doctor.

Dr. Dominga Padilla, Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology (PAO) president, said the LTO must adopt a set visual standard for screening to ensure that only qualified applicants would be issued a driver’s license.

“We are coordinating closely with the LTO,” she said. “We are recommending the improvement of the screening procedures to promote road safety.”

Speaking to reporters at the Department of Health during the celebration of Sight Saving Month, Padilla said PAO has furnished Health Secretary Francisco Duque III a copy of its policy statement on “Vision Requirements for Driving” to be submitted to the LTO.

Many of the estimated 6,000 road accidents every year are caused by visual impairment of motorists, she added.

Padilla said the LTO’s screening procedures do not cover the peripheral vision of applicants for driver’s licenses, among other weaknesses.

“Sometimes, your vision is 20/20, but you are like a horse,” she said. “You cannot see the left and right if you are looking straight.”

Padilla said that making an applicant read an eye test chart is not enough to check his vision.

“(It doesn’t mean that) just because you can see, you are already functional to drive,” she said. “Visual function is not necessarily your functional vision.”

In a statement, PAO said that “driving is a highly visual task,” and that about 90 percent of information used while driving is derived from vision.

PAO said it is seeking the establishment of a standard protocol that can be used in evaluating applicants for driver’s licenses.

“The purpose of this project is to promote road safety by proposing vision screening tests that are inexpensive and simple enough to be administered by the common personnel of the licensing agency,” read the statement.

PAO said there are two visual functions that are crucial to driving – visual acuity and peripheral visual field.

“This standard implies that drivers who can read 20/40 on a well-lighted, stationary chart are assumed to have time to detect and react to obstacles, pedestrians, other vehicles and signs while moving at the maximum speed under day or night conditions,” read the statement.

PAO said that visual acuity is the most widely used parameter and the only criterion applied in most countries.

“Vision is regarded important in the safe operation of motor vehicles,” read the statement.

“But while the evidence relating vision problems to road injuries is weak, visual assessment for driving is considered a major health issue.”

On the other hand, peripheral visual field is deemed as the most important parameter for both static (avoidance of curbs, barricades or height clearance) and dynamic situations (avoidance of collisions or approaching pedestrians), PAO added.