Drivers in Michigan and elsewhere might not realize how their visual impairments could affect their ability to drive safely. When vision degeneration progresses, the affected person might not realize how significant the deterioration is. People who do not go for annual eye examinations might have no idea how they are risking their own lives and the lives of others when they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Several different conditions can affect eyesight.
Distance judgment, peripheral vision and visual acuity
Drivers who struggle with identifying or discerning detail might have impaired visual acuity, affecting a driver’s ability to read traffic flow changes and road signs. Drivers who can no longer see anything surrounding their visual field and only see what is directly in the center of their visual field have peripheral vision impairment.
Another dangerous condition is the inability of some drivers to judge distance. That problem affects a driver’s ability to maintain safe following distances. Impaired distance judgment night cause drivers to stop short or too far into intersections and make too wide turns.
Eye movement and visual perception
The way a driver’s brain processes what the eyes see is visual perception. If a driver’s visual perception is compromised, the driver’s vision might blur when looking from one object to another. It could also affect how a person distinguishes foreground from background and where pedestrians, signs and other vehicles are, relative to themselves and each other.
Another eye problem involves impaired eye movement. Drivers with this condition cannot control their eye movement, such as scanning from left to right. Their eyes will perform random scanning with uncontrolled eye movements.
Victims of Michigan car accidents that drivers with impaired vision caused likely have grounds to pursue damage recovery. If negligence by the other party can be established, the victims can pursue personal injury lawsuits in civil court in pursuit of financial relief to cover medical expenses, lost wages and other documented losses.