Over 10% school van drivers have poor eyesight

Around 10 to 15 percent school van drivers suffer from eye disorders, a survey conducted by the Health Ministry Vision 2020 Secretariat has discovered.

A Health Ministry spokesman said the Vision 2020 Secretariat conducted

a survey among 700 school van drivers in the Colombo district and found that 100 of them have poorest eye sight while 21 of them required immediate eye surgeries. Another 56 of them underwent surgeries to replace eye lenses. Over 100 spectacles were distributed among them free of charge. "Some drivers are totally blind in one one eye while some have cataract in both eyes. Some school van drivers who suffer from various eye problems have never visited an eye specialist during their life time. Other school van drivers use spectacles but never get their lens power checked which further reduced their eye sight,'he said.

"The balance of the body depends on the eye sight and school van drivers with poor eye sight run the risk of causing dangerous road accidents, putting the lives of school children and pedestrians at risk. All drivers need to undergo an annual eye check up and the required facilities are available at state hospitals, free of charge. Eye lenses and spectacles are provided for them free of charge, 'he said.