It has been said that as we get our older our eyes and our eyesight diminishes. Drivers take care of our eyes and eyesight as we go through the aging process. After all most of us depend on our cars and vehicles and want to maintain both our independence which our cars afford us and as well retain our vehicle driving licenses and permits.



It has been said that eighty to ninety five percent of all sensing clues in drivers come though our eyes. Poor vision capacity is related directly to poor or even terrible, unsafe driving. Reduced performance from ?faulty? vision shows up in response to signals, signs and traffic events in ways that can lead to accidents, near accidents and even collisions with other vehicles as well as other accidents.

Further doctors cannot correct all vision problems , but only trained health care professionals ? be they doctors or optometrists can help those with these vision problems that are correctable, such as visual acuity ( the ability to focus their eyes) as well as disease related vision loss. Seeing a doctor or such health care professional on a regular and ongoing basis is only way to ensure that a person's vision is the best that it can be.

Aging does indeed bring some vision problems. However it can be said that overall we will all share these difficulties in a very fair and predictable way. No matter who well we all have taken care of our eyes , you can count that one way or another that we all can come to expect that these changes and perhaps problems will develop , occur and happen.

It has been more than well shown and documented that overall between the ages of forty (40) and sixty (60) that night vision and our simple abilities to see during the night time become smaller and less, as the muscles in our eyes become less elastic ? that is becomes less elastic and less ?springy? in their abilities to bounce back and stretch. It's as if the muscles of the eyes develop the arthritis often associated with aging and the aging processes. Overall as well the lenses of the eyes become thicker and less clear. It becomes harder for most people as they go through the aging process to see clearly, easily and with acuity. Overall, in most cases, simply put a sixty (60) year old driver must have approximately 10 times the light needed in similar cases and situations when driving than in similar driving conditions experienced by a twenty year driver.

During this time in addition, the eyes become sensitive to glare, which also makes driving at night difficult. Eye lenses become thicker and yellowed with age, resulting in a fogging vision and sensitivity to glare. A 55 year old takes eight times as long to recover from glare as a 16 year old.

Visual changes accelerate at age 55. As a person reaches this age of their lives they may well begin to miss objects that are not moving, that is such as pedestrians waiting to enter a crosswalk.

At around age 70, people often find that their ?peripheral? vision may also begin to deteriorate. Overall in tests it has been shown that drivers receive98 % of their visual communication through peripheral vision. In addition distinguishing between colors becomes more difficult. Red colors do not appear as bright to many older eyes and it may take senior drivers twice as long, than it took in earlier years to detect the flash or brake lights.

Another visual ability tat declines over the years is depth perception that is how close you are in relation to a car or other object ahead. This capacity is especially critical when trying to judge how fast other cars are coming, which contributes to problems that may come when senior drivers are making left turns.

What can be can be done to handle the loss of vision that normally happens and can be expected as people age?

First of all take the corrective steps recommended by your doctor. If eyeglasses are prescribed, keep them up to date by letting your doctor know at once if your glasses or contact lenses are not working the best for you.

Next enroll in an older driver training course where you can learn specific techniques for coping with the limits imposed by aging eyes. You may also learn about how to use special devices, such as larger mirrors that can be easily installed on your car or other vehicle types.

Accept the limits of ?aging eyes? and reduce the amount of driving that you do after dark and at twilight. Indeed twilight time periods are on of the most dangerous time periods overall. The chances of having a collision are three times greater at night than in the daytime.

In addition it is best to avoid tinted windshields. Always keep your windshields and headlights clean and in the Manitoba summer take care to keep those headlights as well as your windshield bug free.

Lastly when driving turn your head frequently to compensate for that diminished peripheral vision and as well keep your eyes up. Look at the road well ahead to see trouble before road trouble reaches you. It's that simple.