Aging Eyes, Lax Laws Mean Increased Night Driving Risk, says AllAboutVision.com.LA JOLLA, Calif. -- As the Baby Boomer generation moves into their 60s, record numbers of active yet aging motorists will soon be on our nation's roads. Decreased night vision caused by aging, combined with little or no regulation to ensure that individuals with driver's licenses can see well, means that roads will be less safe in the years to come - especially for aging motorists, and also for those who share the road with them. "Night Vision and Driving: How Safe Are Older Drivers?" (http://www.allaboutvision.com/over40/night-driving.htm), a new AllAboutVision.com article, describes the physiological factors and eye diseases that can lead to decreased visual performance and increased risk of injury or death from motor vehicle accidents motor vehicle accident Public health A morbid condition that kills 45,000/yr–US; 60% are < age 35; MVAs account for 500,000 hospitalizations and most 20,000 spinal cord injuries, at a cost of $75 billion/yr . The article includes a summary of sight-threatening eye diseases and their symptoms that affect nighttime driving. The article also contains a list of each state's vision screening requirements for license renewal. Some are incredibly lax; in fact, nine U.S. states don't even require vision screening at license renewal time. An accompanying article, "What Older Drivers Can Do to Improve Night Vision and Highway Safety" (http://www.allaboutvision.com/over40/night-driving-tips.htm), offers advice to older drivers on how to improve night vision and driving safety. It includes expert advice from the National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1974, NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research. It is the primary U.S. of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. These articles are part of AllAboutVision.com's Over 40 section (http://www.allaboutvision.com/over40/), which offers guidance for coping with presbyopia Presbyopia Definition The term presbyopia means "old eye" and is a vision condition involving the loss of the eye's ability to focus on close objects. - the age-related, decreased ability to focus on near points - with eyeglasses eyeglasses or spectacles, instrument or device for aiding and correcting defective sight. Eyeglasses usually consist of a pair of lenses mounted in a frame to hold them in position before the eyes. , contact lenses, reading glasses, and surgery. Online since January 2000, AllAboutVision.com provides consumers with hundreds of pages of comprehensive, up-to-date information on eye health and vision correction options. The site is accredited accredited recognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria. accredited herds cattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. by the Health on the Net Foundation Health On the Net Foundation (HON) is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 and based in Switzerland. The stated mission of the foundation is to help both laypersons and medical practitioners find useful and reliable medical and health information online. . AllAboutVision.com's most popular sections are: * Eyeglasses: http://www.allaboutvision.com/eyeglasses/ * Contact Lenses: http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/ * LASIK LASIK laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis. LA·SIK n. Eye surgery in which the surface of the cornea is reshaped using a laser, performed to correct certain refractive disorders such as myopia. & Vision Surgery: http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/ * Eye Conditions & Diseases: http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/ All About Vision is a registered service mark of Access Media Group, LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control . |
|
||||||||||||||

Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion