They drive but how good is their vision?
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Eye testing in progress. Pic by M.D. Nissanka
How many of us inquire into the condition of a driver’s eyesight before we employ them? We ask if they carry a valid licence, about the experience they possess, the salary they expect but rarely ever about their vision. Perhaps we take it for granted as we assume that in order to have a valid drive’s licence, a person must pass an eye examination. Unfortunately, that assumption is ill-founded.
Sujatha Samarajiwa, a retired probation officer is on a mission to promote awareness of this all-important factor, especially among school van drivers, to whom we entrust the safety of our children. Mid-February, she together with members of Methodist Church of Mount Lavinia organized an eye testing camp for school van drivers in the area.
In Sri Lanka, the test applied to obtain a driver’s licence is the Snellen eye chart test. The chart features letters, usually Latin letters, which progressively decrease in size, and merely test a person’s ability to see at long distances. A person’s ability to see colour and their peripheral vision go completely untested. A scary prospect given that the former is needed to identify traffic signals and the latter is vital when navigating the roads, especially when overtaking and at junctions.
In a presentation conducted at the camp by Kumari Ratnayake, an optometrist, from Vision Infinity, she explained how diseases that afflict the eye such as diabetes, cataracts, Macular degeneration, glaucoma and even partial blindness go undetected by the Snellen test. She blamed this along with people’s attitude towards obtaining the licence regardless of whether they have the competency to operate on the road or not, as a cause for the high number of road accidents in the country.
Interestingly enough she points out that in her line of work she’s come to see that most persons suffering from these diseases are either unaware of their affliction or brush it off as something minor. This means that conditions that can be easily corrected or prevented through the use of medication, eye-wear or surgery, are usually only detected once it’s too late.
Even those who have been prescribed spectacles, avoid wearing them whilst driving. Most complain of how difficult it is to drive with them. Ms. Ratnayaka suggests that those complaining of that should instead use a long distance spectacle when driving instead of bi- focal ones.
Held at the Mount Lavinia Methodist Church Hall, the tests were carried out by optometrists from Vision Infinity on over 40 van drivers, most of whom transport children to the nearby schools of St. Thomas’ College and Girls’ High School in Mount Lavinia.
Over the past nine months Ms Samarajiwa together with Lilani Samarajiwa has also organised conversational English classes for van drivers every Thursday morning at the Methodist Church hall. English is an international language and learning it gives the van drivers increased confidence and a sense of self worth, they believe.
The Methodist Church has been very supportive, providing a space to carry out these initiatives and even providing snacks for those attending.
Cheerful and energetic, Ms. Samarajiva firmly believes that old age should not stop people from actively contributing to society and encourages others to take up such initiatives within their own communities.