Assessment of Visual Acuity and Visual field and their Relationship with Road Traffic Crashes among Commercial Drivers in North-Central, Nigeria (Case study of Plateau State)

Abstract

Driving is an intensive visual task that involved good vision. In Nigeria and other countries most people rely on commercial drivers for transporting themselves. In driving, visual acuity plays a vital role in detecting and responding to hazards, navigating the roads and avoiding collisions (Bruce et al., 2023). This study aimed to assess visual acuity, visual field and their relationship with road traffic crashes among commercial drivers in Plateau state North-central, Nigeria.  A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used and data were collected for 50 commercial drivers in some selected motor parks in Plateau state. Participant were randomly selected at the motor parks. The study instruments included: Snellen chart letters, measuring tape and a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Microsoft Excell version 2021. The analysis indicated that, 35(70%) and 36(72%) of the commercial drivers in the selected motor parks in Plateau have adequate visual acuities in Right and Left eyes with 7(14%) and 6(12%) having partial visual acuity of 6/9 in both eyes and 8(16%) have visual acuity defects in both eyes. The results show that out of the participated commercial drivers in Plateau, whose visual field (Peripheral and central visual field) were tested, 43(86%) have normal peripheral visual filed with defects of 7(14%) and 45(90%) have normal Central visual field with defects of 5(10%) in the Right Eye R(E). While 42(84%) have normal peripheral visual filed with defects of 8(16%) and 44(88%) have normal Central Visual filed with defects of 6(12%) in the left eye. The results indicated that, the defects are mostly as a result of the driver’s negligence. These defects are associated with Road Traffic Crashes.