SEEING INTO THE DEEP
WRECK-LESS DRIVING ©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist
SEEING INTO THE DEEP
CASPER, WY: Rolling through Casper's main street, Jerry's brother had to warn Jerry several times that he was coming up too quickly behind stopped vehicles. Beginning about a year ago Jerry had himself noticed his same slow reaction to red traffic lights. It was even more noticeable at night. But like so many of us he just denied a change in his perception until today when his brother was harping on him about it.
As we age our eye's natural lenses harden slowly and discolor. The ligaments attached to the lens are less and less able to reshape the lens from close sight to far sight. That is why we need new prescription contacts or eye glasses every so often - and more often the older we get.
Without corrective lenses or updated ones most persons over age 50 have some of this depth perception problem. It may cause them to roar up to a "stop" situation and then at the last moment slam on the brakes because of this declining ability to judge distances. Or they may make a disastrous left-turn in front of an on-coming vehicle. – the most frequent crash cause of older drivers. Many younger drivers experience sight changes also.
Proper corrective lenses help with depth perception but not perfectly. Thus, older drivers need to be aware of (admit to) this visual decline and begin slowing the vehicle sooner and more smoothly. Persons who have had their natural lenses removed in a cataract procedure have an even greater depth perception deficit. Their cut ligaments are not attached to the plastic lens implant which replaces the natural lens and cannot continually reshape it. Bi-trifocal and progressive eye glass lenses help but nothing equals the eyesight of our youth.
GHD79 all rights reserved wellnessebooks.com/ebookstore.asp
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist
SEEING INTO THE DEEP
CASPER, WY: Rolling through Casper's main street, Jerry's brother had to warn Jerry several times that he was coming up too quickly behind stopped vehicles. Beginning about a year ago Jerry had himself noticed his same slow reaction to red traffic lights. It was even more noticeable at night. But like so many of us he just denied a change in his perception until today when his brother was harping on him about it.
As we age our eye's natural lenses harden slowly and discolor. The ligaments attached to the lens are less and less able to reshape the lens from close sight to far sight. That is why we need new prescription contacts or eye glasses every so often - and more often the older we get.
Without corrective lenses or updated ones most persons over age 50 have some of this depth perception problem. It may cause them to roar up to a "stop" situation and then at the last moment slam on the brakes because of this declining ability to judge distances. Or they may make a disastrous left-turn in front of an on-coming vehicle. – the most frequent crash cause of older drivers. Many younger drivers experience sight changes also.
Proper corrective lenses help with depth perception but not perfectly. Thus, older drivers need to be aware of (admit to) this visual decline and begin slowing the vehicle sooner and more smoothly. Persons who have had their natural lenses removed in a cataract procedure have an even greater depth perception deficit. Their cut ligaments are not attached to the plastic lens implant which replaces the natural lens and cannot continually reshape it. Bi-trifocal and progressive eye glass lenses help but nothing equals the eyesight of our youth.
GHD79 all rights reserved wellnessebooks.com/ebookstore.asp
posted by WRECK-LESS at Friday, August 05, 2005
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home