Enhanced vision screening of highway patrol applicants.

Background: The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) required that its vision standards be updated in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This act prohibits employers from using qualification standards to screen out people with disabilities, including vision, unless they are job-related and necessary.

Methods: Since 1992 the author and a team of optometry students have screened all MSHP applicants using the American Optometric Association (AOA)'s Vision Standards for Police Officers with the addition of grating contrast sensitivity.

Results: The mean age of this group was 24.8 years and most (87%) were male. Thirty percent wore spectacles, contact lenses, or had refractive modification. Ninety-seven percent of the applicants were able to pass all aspects of the enhanced vision screening.

Conclusion: The initiation of optometric screening to ensure that all future troopers meet the recommended vision standards for police officers should ensure uniformity of these standards for the MSHP.