Night vision spectacles unsafe for night driving—Optometrist

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Night vision spectacles unsafe for night driving—Optometrist
Night vision spectacles unsafe for night driving—Optometrist

Africa-Press – Ghana. Tema, Jan. 21, GNA – Dr. Alfred Gardemor, an optometrist at the Nsawam Government Hospital, has cautioned drivers against the use of night vision spectacles, saying, doing that is unsafe for persons with eye problems.

He said the tinted or polarized lenses used on the night vision glasses were designed to reduce the amount of light getting to the eye and therefore “anyone who does this at night will actually make it harder to see, not easier”.

Wearing such a spectacle at night would reduce the light entering the eyes – the ability to see clearly at night would be reduced by about 40 per cent.

Dr. Gardemor was speaking at a sensitization programme jointly organized by the Ghana Optometric Association and the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to encourage people to report to the hospital early with any eye disorders.

The advocacy programme has the added goal of getting policy makers to give priority to the promotion of eye health. Dr. Gardemor indicated that reducing the amount of light seen by wearing night vision glasses contributed to additional visual impairment which affected one’s ability to drive safely at night.

“They are not appropriate because already we are trying to see, and our streets are not well lit, we are using the car highlight and now wearing tinted glasses which would reduce the small light entering.” He added that the wearing of night vision spectacles was only worsening the night driving challenges.

Dr. Kwame Yeboah, optometrist at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital reminded drivers to go for regular eye checkups, noting that, good vision was one of the main and essential ingredients for driving automobiles.

“Without vision you can’t drive properly; of the five senses, vision is the most important for driving and road safety. It is needed to see the road and everything on it; it is needed to protect pedestrians, identify road hazards, road signs and see indicators on the dashboard.”

Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Tema Regional Manager of the GNA, said the association and the wire service had agreed to work together to promote vision health.

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