How Often Do Elderly Drivers Need an Eye Exam?

Video Transcript

"I'm Dr. Jim Kirkconnell Bellevue Eye Care Center in Nashville, Tennessee. How often should older people have their vision tested? First, we have to recognize that driving is a privilege. It's not a right. Public safety comes first. One of the more difficult things I've ever had to do in the course of my career is to tell somebody that they can't drive anymore, that their vision is poor, or they have lost side vision and that's the time when he or she realizes they are losing his or her independence. The short answer is that someone should be seen every year for routine care. Legally, it varies state to state according to what should be done. I personally think when somebody reaches the age of sixty five, they should have their vision checked either by the state or by a doctor every two years, there are changes that can happen just within a short period of time. If somebody is unfortunate to have a disease such as glaucoma, diretanepthony, or macural degeneration. So that's something that varies by state. But in order just to take care of yourself, once you get past the age of forty or certainly sixty five, it's important to evaluate the health of your eye every year and that involves coming in and seeing one of your doctors to make sure that you're seeing what you should. Now, legally, twenty/forty vision is what is required in order to keep your license in almost all states, certainly in Tennessee. That may only be twenty/forty in one eye. We have to remember that we're trying to keep our neighbors safe. It's not just that everybody has the right to drive."