Can I Drive If I Am Visually Impaired?

Vision is essential to so many everyday tasks. From cooking to watching T.V., it’s hard to imagine what life would be like without being able to see well. This becomes especially apparent when we think about driving. Driving is dangerous enough for a person with 20/20 vision, but what about for the visually impaired? Can blind people drive?

Most often, the answer to that question is “no.” This means that it can be hard for visually impaired people to retain their independence. They must rely on family, friends, and neighbors to take them wherever they need to go. That can be a huge inconvenience to both the visually impaired person and the people who have to drive them around. If you have a family member or friend who has experienced visual impairment, you are very familiar with this issue.

But just what is considered visually impaired? A visual impairment is defined as any significant vision loss that cannot be fully corrected with standard glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery. It exists on a wide spectrum ranging from mild partial sight to total blindness, impacting an individual’s ability to perform daily tasks.

As you well know, there are many eyesight issues that make things like driving difficult. As people age, there is more and more to worry about; even seeing in color! However, new technology makes things easier for the visually impaired every day.

In fact, some new devices may allow some visually impaired people to drive safely. One such device is the bioptic telescope, which we’ll discuss in a minute. And, who knows, with new technological advancements coming out every day, just about everyone may be able to safely operate a vehicle one day!

Bioptic Telescopes: Can a Person with Low Vision Drive?

As technology continues to develop, there are answers for people with low vision who hope to still maintain independence. One such option is the bioptic telescope. These devices are special eyeglasses with small telescopes mounted toward the top of the lens. Much like binoculars, they enlarge images. This allows the visually impaired to see from further away.

What makes driving with low vision so dangerous is that these individuals have to get extremely close to a sign or traffic signal before they can see it. This leaves them almost no time to react and slow down to make a turn. Bioptic telescopes allow them to see the signs and traffic signals much sooner. This gives them plenty of time to react. If you think back to driver’s ed, you’ll remember that a lot of driving safety depends on quick reaction time.

Now, if you’re thinking that looking through telescopes all the time while driving would be exhausting, you’d be right. Thankfully, the visually impaired drivers do not have to look through the telescopes continuously while they drive. They can tilt their heads down to look through the telescopes to see what signs or traffic signals are in the distance. This makes the tool much more useful and comfortable.

Practice Makes Perfect

Bioptic telescopes necessitate an adjustment period. So, people choosing to wear them need to practice using them before they go for a drive. They start off using the telescopes while walking around. They then wear them while riding as a passenger to help acclimate their eyes to the tools. Once they have gotten used to using them that way, they are then able to start driving with them. Imagine the freedom that comes with being able to drive again!

This invention has given many people with vision impairments the ability to become independent again. Unfortunately, they come with a price tag of about $2,000 at the lower price point. Because of this price point, there are a lot of visually impaired people who could benefit from them but can’t afford to spend that amount of money out of pocket. Most insurance companies don’t offer coverage for these devices yet, either.

And, it’s important to note that not all people with low vision can benefit from these devices. Drivers with mild-to-moderate central vision impairment can drive with bioptic telescopes in approximately 45 US states, provided they undergo training and pass rigorous specialized tests. People with completely unrestricted vision or severe blindness do not qualify for driving with bioptic lenses.

Other Driving Options for the Visually Impaired: Driving Simulators for Hemianopia

Hemianopia is another visual condition that can still allow people to drive under certain conditions.  People diagnosed with hemianopia have gone blind in half of their visual field in one or both of their eyes. Various traumas, tumors, or strokes cause this debilitating issue. One of the worst parts about hemianopia is that it often leaves these individuals unable to drive.

Laws in some parts of the United States prohibit people with hemianopia from driving at all. This goes for some other countries as well. However, in other countries, people with hemianopia are allowed to drive if they pass a special driving test. Some researchers hope that in time, most people with hemianopia will be able to drive assisted by special devices and extensive training. New simulators are allowing doctors to research ways they can help people with this issue overcome it.

The Problem with Intersections

People with hemianopia need to compensate the most when they approach intersections.  They have to turn their heads away from their vision-loss side to detect other cars. This means that if you have hemianopia, it is almost as if you are trying to drive if you are blind in one eye. People with normal vision can detect these obstacles while looking straight ahead. If the driver with hemianopia doesn’t turn their head quickly enough, they can miss entire cars driving through.  This is a safety risk for both the person driving with low vision and the driver with normal vision.

In order to mitigate this issue, researchers are using a driving simulator to study the actions of people with hemianopia. They compared the results to people with normal vision. Unfortunately, the results were not that good. The people with hemianopia either didn’t look far enough toward the side that their vision loss was on or they didn’t look at all.

The researchers hope that if people with hemianopia receive training to teach them how to properly compensate for their loss of field vision while driving, they may be able to safely drive eventually. A recent master’s thesis found that with sufficient directional warnings, people with hemianopia were able to drive safely 80% of the time. While that statistic isn’t great for an incident that could mean life or death, it does show that doctors are making meaningful progress toward helping people with visual impairments meet licensing requirements.

Eyesight Improvement

While natural vitamin supplements will not help people with hemianopia restore their vision, some people with common vision problems might be able to improve their eyesight through the use of eye vitamins like our Ocu-Plus Formula. If your vision is poor due to common vision problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness, presbyopia, or astigmatism, eye vitamins can actually strengthen your eyes and help prevent eye diseases.

Many people who have had to wear corrective lenses their whole lives have actually improved their vision so much with eye vitamins that they no longer need corrective lenses to see clearly. That is a huge step in the fight against vision loss, as is the latest technology mentioned here. So, even if you can’t afford fancy telescopes or don’t want to undergo risky procedures like LASIK, you can still work on strengthening your eyes naturally and safely.

So, whether you can drive if you are visually impaired varies. If you are legally blind, or legally blind with glasses, the answer is probably no. But, perhaps as new technology continues to develop, more and more visually impaired people will be able to maintain their independence and continue to drive.