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Bioptic Drivers in the USA: Survey of Driving Habits and Telescope Use

Bioptic Drivers in the USA: Survey of Driving Habits and Telescope Use. Alex Bowers, Doris Apfelbaum and Eli Peli. Driving with Bioptic in USA. Should Bioptic driving be permitted?. Safety records and driving performance Limited data available Impact on quality of life

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Bioptic Drivers in the USA: Survey of Driving Habits and Telescope Use

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  1. Bioptic Drivers in the USA: Survey of Driving Habits and Telescope Use Alex Bowers, Doris Apfelbaumand Eli Peli

  2. Driving with Bioptic in USA

  3. Should Bioptic driving be permitted? • Safety records and driving performance • Limited data available • Impact on quality of life • Social and economic considerations • Is the bioptic telescope useful as a driving aid?

  4. Opinions

  5. Do bioptic telescopes meet the driving needs of people with reduced acuity? • Bioptic usage patterns • Are bioptics used when driving? • How much and for which tasks? • Driving habits • When, where, how far? • Do bioptic drivers restrict their driving? • Quality of life • Impact of bioptic driving on quality of life

  6. Participants 58 current or recent (in last 3 years) bioptic drivers

  7. Sample Characteristics 60% Congenital ocular conditions 12% Age-related macular degeneration 12% Juvenile macular dystrophy

  8. Bioptic Telescopes Used Majority used: • Monocular telescope 95% • 3x or 4x magnification 88% • Manufacturer: Designs for Vision 74%

  9. Bioptic Usage Patterns

  10. Wearing bioptic when driving

  11. Time looking through bioptic Median 5%

  12. Bioptic use for 8 driving tasks

  13. Bioptics are used when driving! • 90% would use bioptic even if not required for licensing • BUT: Only 60% of drivers wore all the time • Bioptic drivers only wear and use bioptic when they think that it will be useful

  14. Driving Habits Driving Habits Questionnaire Owsley et al (1999) J. Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci; 54:M203-211

  15. General driving habits Confident about driving: • Drive same speed as the general flow 84% • Rate quality of driving to be above average 72% • Moderately or very confident driving with bioptic 88% • But 60% used visual assistance (passenger) • Reading traffic signs • Identifying color of traffic light signals • Warning of hazards ahead • Help with directions or navigation

  16. Median: 200 miles per week Distances driven Miles per week • Furthest distance: • 60% out of state • 33% > 300 miles Normally-sighted: 203 miles per week (US Dept Transportation, 2003)

  17. Driving difficulty in 9 situations

  18. Driving difficulty in 9 situations

  19. With the onset of visual impairment people tend to restrict their driving • Investigated whether driving is less restricted when a bioptic is used. • Compared our results to previous studies that used Driving Habits Questionnaire for visually impaired driving without bioptics • Hypothesis: • Bioptic drivers would have less restricted habits than non-bioptic drivers with similar visual acuity of a similar age

  20. Bioptic drivers compared to non-bioptic drivers with AMD1 1. DeCarlo et al (2003) Optom Vis Sci; 80:207-213

  21. General driving habits * Chi square, p = 0.1

  22. Percentage reporting no difficulty with driving p < 0.02

  23. Percentage avoiding driving p < 0.05

  24. Quality of life

  25. Impact of bioptic use on quality of life

  26. Employment For subjects aged ≤ 65 years: • 90% were employed • 85% drove to work

  27. Bioptics do meet the driving needs of people with reduced acuity • Bioptics are used when driving • Bioptics have a positive effect on driving habits and freedom of movement • Quality of life is enhanced through being permitted to drive with a bioptic

  28. Future research • Objective measures of bioptic usage • Evaluation of driving performance with and without bioptic

  29. Acknowledgements • Subject recruitment • Chuck Huss (West Virginia Low Vision Driving Program) • Renee Paquin (New Hampshire Association for the Blind) • Bioptic Drivers Network (www.biopticdriving.org) Supported in part by NIH grant #EY12890

  30. Thank you!

  31. Bioptic drivers compared to non-bioptic drivers with cataract1 and normal sight1 1. Owsley et al (1999) J. Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci; 54:M203-211

  32. p < 0.03 * * * * * * Percentage reporting driving difficulty

  33. 45 degree field

  34. Perceived driving difficulty and other self-restricting behaviors: * p = 0.05; ** p =0.01

  35. Bioptic Telescopes • For people with moderately reduced visual acuity • Spectacle mounted • Distance spotting • Most of time look through carrier lens

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