Experts want stricter visual tests for drivers

MANILA, Philippines - Eye experts urged yesterday the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to include peripheral or field vision in its visual screening procedures for driver’s license applicants.

Dr. Franklin Kleiner, councilor of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology (PAO), said it is not enough that the LTO checks on the direct line or central vision of applicants.

Kleiner said the LTO should also screen applicants for their peripheral or field vision to know if they could see vehicles or pedestrians coming from their left and right sides.

“For the safety of motorists, field vision must be included in measuring the visual function of those applying for driver’s license. We also have to check if the peripheral vision of a motorist is not impaired,” he told a press briefing to celebrate Sight Saving Month this August.

Such a procedure is already being done abroad using a machine. 

An applicant puts his head inside the machine that produces lights at the side. If peripheral vision is not damaged, the applicant can see these lights.

It is estimated that some four million Filipinos suffer from visual impairment like error of refraction, glaucoma, cataract and blindness due to diabetes and hypertension, among others.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said blindness was most common among the elderly and the poor who have no access to health facilities.

“We have coordinated a nationwide eye screening and cataract surgery with selected government and private hospitals, so I urge the public to have their eyes checked to prevent blindness later in life,” he added.

In the 3rd National Blindness Survey done in 2002, the top three causes of visual impairment in the Philippines were cataract, error of refraction and glaucoma.

Cataract pertains to the clouding of the lens in your eye while eyeglasses could correct refraction. Glaucoma, on the other hand, is an eye disorder wherein the eye’s optic nerve is damaged when the fluid pressure inside eyes slowly rises.

Dr. Noel Chua, chairman of the National Committee for Sight Preservation, said the country has enough ophthalmologists but most doctors hold clinics in urban areas only and are not available in far-flung areas.

Chua said if eye doctors would only be located throughout the country, efforts to ensure healthy eyesight for Filipinos would be boosted.