From an analysis of the data of 462 automobile drivers with inadequate visual acuity it was established that the frequency of visits to the ophthalmologist by drivers with inadequate vision is determined less by age than by the cause of the visual deficiency. Here, considerable differences appear in the duration of inadequate vision before it is detected by the ophthalmologist and in the frequency of visits to the ophthalmologist. These have the effect that the refractive error, the most common visual deficiency among younger drivers, is considerably more important as an accident risk in road traffic than one might assume from the number of those affected. A precautionary elimination of visual deficiencies as cause of accidents therefore necessitates an examination of visual acuity which includes all age groups. In order to eliminate visual deficiencies in road traffic as a cause of accidents as a precaution, the officials responsible must find a practicable way of detecting and eliminating these deficiencies so early as possible. On the other hand, ophthalmologists must make it clear to their visually unsuited patients that in their own and the general interest they should give up driving.
Adolescent Adult