Hemianopic and quadrantanopic safe to drive

Hemianopic and quadrantanopic people have been declared safe to drive because they make more head movements into their blind field to compensate, according to a recent study published in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

A team led by Joanne M. Wood et al., Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia, studied eye and head movements and lane keeping in 22 participants with homonymous hemianopic defects, 8 participants with quadrantanopic defects and 30 participants with normal vision fields. All participants drove a 6.3 mile route and were objectively assessed on speed, acceleration, braking and cornering.

Findings showed that hemianopic and quadrantanopic people took more care when cornering, accelerating and braking. Lane position stability and eye movement was superior in those who were rated as safe to drive.

The study suggested that the characteristics demonstrated by the participants could be trained in rehabilitation programs to improve safety in the population.