Sight is the most important physical factor for driving. More than 90% of the information we receive about traffic comes to us through our vision, so good visual health is essential for safe driving. However, 27.2% of motorists in Spain suffer from a visual problem that could affect driving, according to the Visión y Vida association.
This association was created in 1955 with the aim of altruistically procuring the best for the vision of citizens by making a group of ophthalmologists and professionals in the sector available to them, as explained on its website. The Vision and Life initiative was a pioneer in Europe and has helped 13 other countries create similar associations, currently grouped under an international consortium.
Visión y Vida launches a free campaign each year specifically aimed at drivers to check their visual health. The one for this 2023 bears the suggestive name I am not a lynx to highlight another figure that should not go unnoticed by anyone: 68% of drivers with visual problems do nothing to solve them. The campaign has the support of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), the Servei Català de Trànsit (SCT) and the Traffic Directorate of the Basque Government.
Until June 28, more than 1,000 opticians-optometrists will evaluate the vision of drivers who request it on a completely voluntary basis. To access a free trial, you must first consult the opticians participating in the initiative. To do this, the Visión y Vida website shows a map of Spain with the exact location of the establishments that take part in the promotion. There is also a search engine to find the nearest opticians.
In the report The state of the vision of drivers in Spain 2022, Visión y Vida recalls that in 2017 it concluded that people with worse vision (40% or less) had three times more accidents than the rest. Similarly, there were more than 7 million drivers (27.2% of the total) who had at least one visual impairment. Of these, 600,000 Spaniards drove with less than the legally required vision (0.5).
Although the 2022 report does not present new data, the association fears that the number of drivers circulating in Spain with poor visual health has increased. The assumption is based on the percentage of 57% of people who went to have their eyes checked after the pandemic showed worse vision than before confinement.
In any case, analyzing the data obtained in the free inspection campaign carried out in 2022 (1,691 visual tests), Visión y Vida establishes that of the 27.4 million drivers who circulate on Spanish roads, 1,479,600 (5 4%) drive with a visual acuity of less than 0.8 in both eyes, the minimum required of professional drivers. Of these, 558,900 drivers (2.04%) drive with vision equal to or less than 0.5, the minimum legally required to drive.
Likewise, 36% of motorists have difficulty seeing clearly or when they look at the navigator or vehicle indicators and turn to look at the road.
Visión y Vida recalls that the driver makes, on average, about 15 decisions for each kilometer traveled and that losing more time than the established time to decipher a signal, recover from glare or focus at far distances after looking at the car's dashboard can have tragic consequences.
The use of sunglasses, not only in summer, but at sunrise and sunset, or progressive lenses for drivers with presbyopia are some of the solutions proposed by the organization.
