Driving

[Matthew_]

Thanks for that Gareth and Sally. I am not sure where I stand on this one, I have the same fear that the DVLA will just take my licence and ask questions later. My wife is disabled and does not drive so me not being able to drive too would make life difficult but not insurmountable...On the other hand, Gareth is right these things can really bite you in the bum when you don't need them to, like after an accident. More to the point I don't want to cause an accident by driving when I shouldn't be. The answer to Gareth's earlier question is that my eyesight is 6/36, 6/24 uncorrected which is no where near good enough for driving but corrected is a different matter, just did a quick test just now with a snellen chart on the wall and got 6/15 both with soft lenses in, so I think that's OK. I hoping things will improve once I am fitted with hard lenses but I am still waiting for a date for that from Gartnaval. The optometrist thinks I can drive the real problem is this:

After an hour or so in the car I get really tired and find it difficult to concentrate and my eyesight goes down hill rapidly. If I took an eyesight test after a long drive it would be bad...This basically means I am fit to drive on paper but there are limitations which only I can judge and of course this will all change again once I get the lenses. I am sure I will wan to keep the DVLA in the loop but is it worth telling them anything before I get my lenses?

[rosemary johnson]

Sounds to me as if you are getting dry eyes after a while driving.
Obvious answer is to say you should take regular breaks where you can stomp about, blink, apply lubricating drops if necessary, etc.
Do you tend not to blink when you re concentrating hard? - this would lead to eyes drying out. As might an over-enthusiastic through-flow ventilation system in the car.
As for DVLA..... well, once you have the new lenses, you'll be able to tell them what your corrected vision with them is.
I think you are absolutely right to decide to limit when and where you'll drive if it doesn't feel safe. You may be within the theoretical limits, but if it doesn't feel safe, it's better to accept that and not take chances.
As you say, the last thing you want is to cause as accident.
I don
'd drive a car, but sometimes ride out on the road on a horse. I've decided I don't like riding more than a little way up a side street on my own, and i'm not going to do it without a right eye lens (the one nearest the traffic). If we're in an accident, it's a lot worse than bent metal!
Rosemary

[Matthew_]

Hmm...I can well imagine!
Thanks for the advice. The dried eyes rings a bell, I will look at what to do with that. I always have our AC on as my wife has Asthma and I find it keeps allegens out ...we are a right pair!
I think I will use my common sense until I know where I stand with the lenses.
Thanks again.

[Janet Manning]

I found the DVLA very helpful. I went for a sight test, as I wanted them to have tested me. I passed - just ..... and received a letter saying I was O.K. to drive, but I must monitor the situation myself. I have since got better correction with sclerals, but still avoid night driving, particularly in unfamiliar places. I usually stay over on long journeys or arrange to drive in daylight.

I also avoid driving long distances on consecutive days as driving makes my eyes very dry and thus sore. I have done Oxford to Edinburgh in one go, by starting at first light and taking a 2 hour break with the lenses out at midday and having a snooze! I was very proud of myself!

My insurance company know the situation. I think this is important as they can now never turn round and say they didn't know, should I have to make a claim.

[GarethB]

Matthew,

I use aircon all the time in the car and the dry eye problem I think is what you have.

Systanbe lubricating eye drops goes alaong way to locking the moisture in your eye. Plus I rigged up one of those air freshners with a bettery poerd fan that clips on the air vent. Took the pongy stuff out and filled it with water. Ups the humidity in the car.

Recirculating the air helps too as the moisture in your breath adds to the cars humidity instead of pulling in air that gets dried by the aircon.

Regular breaks will avoid suffocation

[Matthew_]

Great, thanks..will try not to suffocate. As our chief diver told us during training:

Remember men, if you run out of air.....come to the surface!

[GarethB]

Forgot you are a diver, you could go with your own supply

[Matthew_]

I would be arrested for driving with my own supply!

[Damien W]

Remember men, if you run out of air.....come to the surface!

Smart bloke that one.

I drive long distances (sometimes as much as 700 km in a day) and have found a 10 min break every hour (we have kids 8 and 6 so have to stop anyway), a 1 hour lunch break and regular eye drops does the trick.

Have you tried winding the windows down a bit and turning the AC off from time to time. Not sure how this will effect the asthma though.

I like Gareths idea about the air fresherner, I'm guna give it a go - thanks Gareth.

In my job, I sometimes have to drive 1000 km a day to get from one place to another so 10 min breaks every hour are out of the question, so I jsut stop on the side of the road, put eye drops in and off I go again. I do stop every 2 hours tho.

Damien

[Andrew MacLean]

I have only just started to drive a car with air conditioning: my daugher has left her car with us while she is playing at festivals in Reading and elsewhere. she asked me to give her car a run occasionally to keep the engine running smoothly.

I found the imnpact on my eyes immediate and unpleasant, but I compensate by drenching my eye with artificial tears before I drive, and then making sure that I take a break after 40 minutes (max) and repeating the libation of artificial tears.

My daugher will be back at the end of August, her car will return to her and I'll be badk to driving without air conditioning.

Andrew