Cataract as the root cause of fatal road traffic accidents in pedestrians.

Senile cataract is an important cause of preventable blindness, affecting 12-15 million people worldwide. In India, approximately 3.8 million people become blind from cataract each year. Moreover, in India, senile cataract develops at a relatively younger age than that seen in developed countries. However, during routine postmortem examination, search for cataract is often ignored, although it could be a major factor responsible for many road traffic accidents. This paper reports two cases of road traffic accident, where the judgement of the court exonerated the accused drivers based on the findings of eye examination during autopsy. Routine examination of the eye for cataract is recommended in every person involved in a road traffic accident irrespective of whether he is a victim or an accused.