The majority of American drivers wear prescription eyewear on the road, according to research by AAA, which used the Nov. 3 end of daylight saving time to encouraged drivers to have their eyes checked.
Research shows that pedestrian and cyclist deaths increase with the fall-back time change.
AAA said 62% of drivers wear prescription eyeglasses, contact lenses or sunglasses. Eighty percent of prescription lens wearers keep them on constantly when behind the wheel, and 94% of those required to for their driver licenses do so.
Of those who wear prescription lenses, AAA said 37% haven’t gotten their eyes checked in more than a year, a trend that’s more pronounced among drivers ages 18 to 54, just 53% of whom had had eye exams in the past year.
In addition to encouraging new eye exams, AAA advised drivers to ease into the fall-winter period of earlier evening darkness in the following ways:
Slow speeds and increase following distance to at least four seconds behind the vehicle in front.
Move your eyes to the right side of the road if an oncoming vehicle fails to dim its bright headlights, focusing on the edge line of the lane
Focus on objects’ outlines in dim light rather than direct looks.
Keep moving your eyes instead of focusing on the middle of the area your headlights illuminate so you can notice sudden lights that can signal oncoming vehicles.
