Ocular health status and visual fitness of commercial drivers in Abakaliki Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: The stipulated minimum visual requirement for issuance of commercial driving license in Nigeria is based only on distance visual acuity (VA) minimum of 6/9 in the better eye and 6/12 in the poorer eye. The objective of this study was to describe the ocular health status of commercial vehicle drivers who are registered with the major motor parks in Abakaliki Metropolis and their visual fitness for commercial driving.

Methodology: This was a cross sectional descriptive study of the ocular health of all drivers in 4 major commercial motor parks in Abakaliki, Southeastern Nigeria; who presented for eye screening during the Federal Road Safety Corps of Nigeria - organized drivers’ sensitisation on visual testing. Relevant data were collected and analysed using SPSS software package version 22 and presented in simple tables showing frequencies, percentages and proportions. Relationship between presenting visual acuity (PVA) and self-reported history of road traffic accident (RTA) was tested using the chi square Statistic. Significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results: The 103 drivers who participated in this study were all males. Their ages ranged from 24 to 75 years with a mean age of 43.2 ± 12.3 years. Nearly half of the participants (46 or 44.2%) had ocular complaints, out of which 43 (93.5%) reported difficulty with near vision (reading small prints), and 36 (78.3%) reported diminution of distant vision. Ocular examination revealed that 44 participants (42.7%) had no eye disorder, while 59 (57.3%) had various ocular disorders including glaucoma 25 (42.4%), refractive errors 11 (18.6%); cataract 11 (18.6%); pterygium 5 (8.5%); hypertensive retinopathy 4 (6.8%), age-related macular degeneration 2 (3.4%); and optic atrophy 1 (1.7%). Visual acuity testing revealed that only 86 (83.5%) of the drivers met the federal road safety commission’s guideline for visual acuity level for commercial vehicle drivers of ≥ 6/12 in the poorer eye.

Conclusion: A significant number (17 or 16.5%) of commercial drivers in Abakaliki metropolis were unfit for commercial driving by the federal road safety commission’s guideline. The most common ocular disorders were glaucoma, cataract and uncorrected refractive errors.