THE DRIVING HABITS OF PATIENTS ADMITTED T O A COUNTY EYE DEPARTMENT FOR CATARACT-SURGERY - IS AN UNLIMITED DRIVING LICENSE STILL ACCEPTABLE- RESULTS OF AN ANALYSIS OF 1124 PATIENTS

Background The aim of the study was to evaluate the driving habits and patterns of those patients, who underwent cataract-surgery during a o ne year period at the Landesaugenklinik Salzburg and to compare the pr eoperative visual acuity with the legal requirements in effect in Aust ria. Materials and Methods The best-corrected visual acuity prior to s urgery and the individual driving customs were noted on a detailed que stionaire. Results A minimum of 5.6% of the overall number of patients with cataract (not taking visual field defects into account) were dri ving a motor vehicle with a visual acuity not sufficient to meet curre nt legal requirements. Considering only those drivers licence holders that admitted to still driving a motor vehicle it can be concluded tha t 26% have a legally unsatisfactory visual acuity. As between 28.000 a nd 31.000 cataract-operations are performed yearly in Austria, this st udy seems to clearly indicate that at least 1.600 of these persons - r egardless of an additional visual field defect - are illegally driving a motor vehicle. It can be additionally concluded that the number of undetected cases is significantly higher. Conclusions It therefore see ms appropriate to call for a mandatory eye exam by a qualified ophthal mologist of all persons holding a driving licence, possibly beginning at the age of 60. The license issued therafter should be valied for an age-related period of time only.