The safety of driving an automobile with Bioptic Telescopic Spectacles (BTS) is controversial, yet statistical analysis of driving performance may help resolve questions. All 64 persons licensed to drive in Texas with BTS and who had driven at least one year were compared to a random control group. BTS drivers had 1.34 times more accidents than controls (p< 0.05). Although telescope users do not have a significantly higher chance of having a first accident, BTS drivers who were involved in one accident are likely to have more accidents than control subjects. The telescope-using drivers were at fault in 82 percent of their 22 accidents, while 40 percent of the controls were faulted in their 15 accidents. Visual field losses with bilaterally fitted telescopes are profound. A direct correlation between any specific ocular defect and a particular accident is difficult to determine.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology (1977). Resolution on bioptic telescopic spectacles.
2.
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (1983, March). Telescopic lenses - Resolution #7.
3.
American Optometric Association (1982, August). The use of bioptic telescopes for driving.Position statement of the American Optometrics Association.
4.
American Public Health Association (1984). Driver's license for the visually handicapped person. Policy statement #8316, American Journal of Public Health, 74, 285.
5.
BaileyI. (1984). Driving with bioptic telescopes—A position paper.Rehabilitation Optometry Journal, 2, 2–5.
6.
BennettC. (1983). Personal communication.
7.
BostickC. (1980). Past and future for telescopic lens users.Albany: New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
8.
BostickC. (1978). Telescope-restricted drivers.Boston: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of American Academy of Optometry, Low Vision Section.
9.
DanielsonR. (1958). Relationship of fields of vision to safety in driving.Waffic Safety, 2, 8.
10.
Department of State, Motor Vehicle Division, State of Maine (1983). Study: Bioptic lens driver, 1976–1982Maine: Author.
11.
EstermanB. (1982). Functional scoring of the binocular fieldOphthalmology, 891226–1234.
12.
EstermanB. (1967). Grid for scoring visual fields.Archives of Ophthalmology, 77, 780–786.
13.
FeinbloomW. (1977). Driving with bioptic telescopic spectacles (B.T.S.).American Journal of Optometry and Physiology, 54, 35–42.
14.
FeinbloomW. (1976). Recent developments in bioptic aids for driving. Symposium on Driving with Telescope, American Medical Association and American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.
15.
FeinbloomW. (1928). The bioptic telescopic system.American Academy of Optometry, Section on Contact Lenses and Subnormal Vision.
16.
FondaG. (1986). Suggested visual standards for drivers in the United States with vision ranging from 20/175 (6/52) to 20/50 (6/15).Annals of Ophthalmology, 18, 76–79.
17.
FondaG. (1985). Personal communication.
18.
FondaG. (1983), Bioptic telescopic spectacle is a hazard for operating a motor vehicle.Archives of Ophthalmology, 101, 1907–1908.
19.
FondaG. (1982). Approach magnification is safer than bioptic telescopic spectacles for operating a motor vehicle.Transcript of the Pennsylvania Academy for Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, 35, 137–140.
20.
FondaG. (1976). Limitations of telescopic spectacles.Symposium on Driving with Telescopes. Symposium conducted by the American Medical Association and American Association of Motor Vehicle AdministratorsWashington, DC.
21.
FondaG. (1974). Bioptic telescopic spectacles for driving a motor vehicle.Archives of Ophthalmology, 92348–349.
22.
Health and Safety Associates (1976). Proceedings of the national conference on telescopic devices and driving (pp. 33–34). Morton Grove, IL: Health and Safety Associates.
23.
JankeM., & KazarianG. (1983, February). The accident record of drivers with bioptic telescopic lenses. Report #86.Sacramento: Department of Motor Vehicles.
24.
JoseR. (1983). Bioptics and driving.Understanding Low Vision.New YorkAmerican Foundation for the Blind, p. 243.
25.
JoseR., CarterK., & CarterC. (1983Attaining program for clients considering the use of bioptic telescopes for driving.Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 77, 425–428.
26.
JoseR., & OusleyB. (1984). The visually handicapped, driving and bioptics—some new facts.Rehabilitation Optometry Journal, 22–5.
27.
KeeneyA (1974). Field loss vs. central magnification.Archives of Ophthalmology, 92, 273.
28.
KeeneyA., WeissS., & SilvaD. (1974a). Functional problems of telescopic spectacles in the driving task.Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society, 72, 132–138.
29.
KeeneyA., WeissS., & SilvaD. (1974b). Telescopic spectacles and motor vehicle driving license. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Association of Automotive Medicine, Toronto, Canada.
30.
KelleherD., MehrE., & HirschM. (1971). Motor vehicle operation by a patient with low vision: A case report.American Journal of Optometry, 48, 773–776.
31.
KorbD. (1970). Preparing the visually handicapped person for motor vehicle operation.American Journal of Optometry, 47, 619–628.
32.
LippmannO. (1982). What makes the automobile driver visually unfit to drive? Paper presented at International Congress of Ophthalmology, Ergophthalmological Symposium, San Francisco.
33.
LippmannO. (1980). Automobile driving with telescopic aids.Archives of Ophthalmology, 98, 930.
34.
LippmannO. (1979). The effect of the Texas Medical Advisory Board for driver licensing on driving performance.Proceedings of the American Association of Automotive Medicine, 204–216.
35.
LippmannO. (1976). Driving with telescopic aids.Proceedings of the Conference of the American Association of Automotive Medicine, 24–32.
36.
MannR. (1974). Technology and human rehabilitation, prostheses for sensory rehabilitation and/or sensory substitution.Advances in Biomedical Engineering, 4, 216.
37.
WallerJ. (1969). Medical impairment and highway crashes.Journal of the American Medical Association, 208, 2293–2296.
38.
WylieE. (1978). Vision and driving.Canadian Journal of Public Health, 69, 70–74.
