Accident: Josh James blacked out while
driving after watching 3D film Alice In
Wonderland
Half an hour after seeing the film Alice In Wonderland in 3D, Josh James blacked out on his way home and rolled his car. Could 3D have been to blame?
There are growing concerns about the side effects of the technology, with experts warning of altered vision, confusion, dizziness and even convulsions.
Josh himself needs no convincing that 3D was behind his accident.
Just before it happened, the 18-year-old A-level student from Plymouth went to the cinema with a group of friends; during the film he wore the 3D glasses handed out to cinema-goers and found them extremely unsettling.
‘It took ten minutes for my vision to adjust to 3D,’ recalls Josh, who has normal eyesight.
‘My sight was unfocused - blurry one minute, fine the next. I also had a pain in my temples.’
Josh says he looked away from the screen a few times to try to prevent this.
After ten minutes, the effect subsided and he was able to watch the film. When it ended, it took another ten minutes for his vision to return to normal.
‘I was aware during this time that my judgment of distances was out,’ says Josh.
‘It was difficult to work out how far away the kerb, signs and other people were - enough for me to be cautious about where I stepped.
‘But by the time I’d reached the car park, my sight had recovered enough for me to stop worrying. I thought I’d be fine to drive.’
Just minutes after dropping his friends off, Josh crashed.
‘I didn’t feel tired, so I can’t have fallen asleep,’ he says.
‘But the next thing I remember was standing in this country lane in the pitch dark and looking at my mangled car on its roof. Every panel and window was smashed in.’
Visual feast? Johnny Depp stars as the Mad Hatter in the Tim Burton film Alice In Wonderland - but watching it in 3D left Josh James's eyes in agony
‘Thankfully, I only had cuts on my hands and bruises on my head and face. I also had concussion. I can clearly remember the film and the drive back, bar 30 seconds before the crash.’
People from a nearby farm called emergency services.
‘Apparently I was talking coherently to everyone, but I don’t remember any of what I said. Police breathalysed me, but all I’d had to drink was a milkshake.
‘The paramedics were going to take me to hospital, but when they discovered my dad was a GP and my mum a nurse they suggested they keep an eye on me instead for the rest of the night.
‘I’m lucky to be alive,’ says Josh. ‘I definitely think watching a 3D film played a major part, especially as I know other people who have had strange after-effects, too.’
There has been much talk recently about a ‘3D revolution’. Millions flocked to cinemas to see 3D films such as avatar and Alice In Wonderland, the first live football match was screened in 3D in January and manufacturers are anticipating a rise in demand for 3D televisions ready for the World Cup next month.
But concerns are emerging about the effects of the technology. Last month, electronics company Samsung warned that pregnant women, the elderly, children, those suffering from serious medical conditions and people who have been sleep-deprived or drinking could be at risk of confusion, nausea, convulsions, altered vision and dizziness.
Meanwhile a recent study at the University of California, Berkeley found that 3D can cause headaches and eyestrain. So what could be triggering these symptoms?
The technology itself is hardly new; it was first developed in the Thirties and enjoyed periods of popularity in the fifties and Eighties.
But it’s now much more sophisticated - the speed at which the images are projected, and the ‘active shutter’ glasses being used bombard the eyes and brain, putting unusual strain on them, say experts.
As Professor Martin Banks, the Californian optometrist who led the study, explains that when we normally look at an object, two things happen at once.
‘You converge and focus your eyes to the same distance,’ he says.
‘But with 3D, you may have to converge your eyes to one distance, while focusing to another. So with 3D films you’re taking that normal relationship which has been in the brain for years and changing it.’
In some ways, the 3D effect is similar to motion sickness, in which the brain is confused by the messages it’s getting from the eyes and inner ear (where our balance system is located).
However, with 3D the effect may be more powerful, leading potentially to eye problems, convulsions, or in Josh’s case, it seems, blackout.
‘It’s probably more problematic for teenagers and young adults,’ says Professor Banks.
‘By the time we reach our 50s and 60s, the eyes lose the ability to focus to different distances - a condition called presbyopia that’s a natural part of the ageing process.’
So when you’re older, you experience this problem of different convergence and focus distance all the time, but have simply adjusted to it.
Samsung explains that with children, the problem may also be to do with the distance between their eyes.
‘Most people have a 2.5-inch distance and they won’t have a problem, but small children who have a smaller distance may not see the 3D image properly,’ a spokesman said.
As for pregnant women, ‘watching a 3D movie is a lot more realistic than watching something in 2D, so people who have medical conditions or are pregnant may find the images slightly disorientating’.
But are the rest of us at risk? ‘The majority of people are not going to have any difficulty while watching 3D,’ says neurologist Michael Gross.
‘However, people who might are those predisposed to headaches, particularly migraines.’
Any one who suffers from eye convergence problems may also be at risk. There is no evidence that the effects are long-term, but if you do notice vision problems or headaches, the obvious message is stop watching immediately.
As for Josh, a month after his accident he says the experience won’t stop him going to see other 3D films. ‘But I’ll definitely consider ways of getting home other than driving.’
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