dbg

I recently renewed my driver's license and the clerk at the counter suggested I do the eye exam without correction. I don't wear my glasses during normal daily activity and get by fine, but I've been wearing glasses while driving for years. I like to see perfectly, and they help a ton at night. I tried the exam without --and it was a breeze. It was scary easy. I left that station appalled when she told me 20-40 was all anyone needed.

I'm doubly more alert and almost paranoid now when riding to work --thinking about people with 20-40 vision (and probably worse because they might be barely passing THAT bar by extreme squinting, or worse --theirs is deteriorating rapidly and they haven't been retested in 6 years) who are driving the same roads.
Be careful out there.

rumrunn6

just renewed my mine over the internet, there was no eye exam. can't remember the last time I had to do that

Pamestique 

I haven't had to take a physical test in the DMV for years... but you don't have to tell me to be careful... first off, alot of drivers here had no licenses at all, so there's that. And others, I have no clue how they past any test much less the eye test... drive defensively at all times!

obed7

lots of folks see perfectly, they just don't look.

Retro Grouch 

Whoa! Since I have a school bus CDL and I'm over 71, I have to test for my license every single year. The testing part (not the eye exam) takes around 3 hours. The hardest part of the exam is a "pretrip inspection" which has absolutely nothing to do with real life. It's really a test of how well you can memorize. Once I pass that I can breathe more easily knowing that all I have to do is driving skills and a road driving test (in a 40' bus).

StephenH

I have problems with vision, but in driving, it's not as bad as you might imagine. The major problem is reading road signs. Seeing cars, seeing cyclists, seeing the signs, no problem. Reading the fine print at a distance is different, though.

wphamilton

Eye test is every other renewal here until you're 64, which caught me off-guard when I renewed it last year. I thought I could renew on-line again, but the secure ID required me to go in, the traditional GA DMV 4-6 hour wait, and then the surprise eye test. It varies by state but I'll bet that's it's not uncommon. I'd definitely take it without corrective lenses even if I usually wore glasses while driving. I wouldn't want to get gigged for it sometime if I got pulled over for some other infraction, and happened to not have them on.

I didn't even have glasses with me but Georgia only requires "20/60 in one eye" (20/40 commercial). It IS pretty scary when you think about it.

rumrunn6

my teen kids have insanely good vision, I hate them. we drive down the road and they call out states from passing plates and I'm like, what? I can barely make out the letters of the plate never mind read the state!

rydabent

I too can pass the MV sight test without my glasses. At distance my sight is still very good, but it does make you wonder how well some people driving really can see.

ModeratedUser150120149

Eye exams typically start in the +65 range. With the new Secure Licenses no more online renewals.
My DMV isn't the big pain it once was. They have web cams in the office. Bring them up on the smartphone and, wow, little or no wait.

All that said, to me the biggest problem is the large number of unlicensed or licensed suspended drivers. I'm told that in some states as many as 1/3 of all vehicles on he road are operated by unlicensed drivers. Amazing how many accident reports show one or both drivers with no or suspended license. Take them off the road and congestion goes down while safety goes up.

trackhub

In Massachusetts, the RMV (Our DMV, for you west coasters) allows you to renew your license on-line, but the next time it comes up for renewal,
in five years, you must appear in person at a Registry of Motor Vehicles office, for a fresh pic and an eye exam. Then, next time, you may renew
on-line again. I think 20-40 is also the standard here. They will also issue you an ID card, clearly marked "This is not a license", if you do not drive.
They used to issue these ID cards for free to seniors, but I don't know if this is still practiced or not.

Strangely enough, they have adopted a new policy: All license photos are now taken with glasses off. Yes, I was directed to removed my glasses,
when I renewed mine last year. Why, I know not.

John E

I am up for renewal this summer, on my 65th birthday. My wife was allowed to renew last year, on her 64th birthday, but I think I recall California requiring eye exams starting at age 65 -- we'll see (so to speak).

With a -7.00 correction for myopia coupled with a 2-diopter astigmatism, I would not even think about trying to pass the eye exam without corrective lenses.

My ophthalmologist tells me that the German driver's eye exam includes a low-contrast test to catch folks whose cataracts would interfere with driving under low light conditions. We should probably have that here, as well, although it would probably accelerate my schedule for eventual cataract surgery.

prathmann

I suspect you're being overly concerned about the 20-40 vision issue and possibly not enough about other vision issues. I would have little chance of passing the 20-40 eye chart test without corrective lenses. But I frequently bicycle without these lenses and feel perfectly safe. The only issue I have without corrective lenses is being able to read printed signs at a substantial distance but I can see pedestrians, cyclists, cars, potholes, road debris, etc. just fine.

OTOH, the DMV eye chart test does nothing to measure the extent to which a person's vision is impaired when in poor light or when encountering glare such as oncoming headlights at night or setting sun situations at dusk. Nor does it measure impairments in peripheral vision which can be critical in being alert to potential collisions. I'm far more concerned about such vision defects than about the acuity of vision measured by the eye charts.

choteau

My wife's Grandmother is 97 years old and blind in one eye. Still one of the safest drivers I know. By the way she started driving a truck at the age of 13, so she's got about 84 years of practice. She won't drive at night or when raining hard. (She also has an outstanding ticket from Wyoming for speeding!)

B. Carfree

The lack of a real vision test is only part of the problem with the licensed drivers on the road. back in the '90s, CA published the failure numbers for people taking the knowledge test. Most licensed drivers failed the test! The DMV was looking at how to make it easier when the state decided to stop making people take it for renewals.

B. Carfree

About half the fatal wrecks around here involve a drunk who has lost his/her license. What's amazing is it takes four convictions for DUII to finally lose a license in OR.

JohnJ80

Well, I had cause to be in the license bureau in Minnesota about a month ago. While I was waiting for my number to be called, I watched probably about 10 elderly people go through the process of getting their driver's license renewed. About half of them couldn't pass the vision test with or without glasses. They were told that they had to go get their glasses fixed and to come back again. Every one of them went out and got in their car and drove away....

J.

rumrunn6

nice

John E

+20/20
My point precisely. I had a legally blind friend with 8-degree tunnel vision who voluntarily gave up driving. As far as the DMV was concerned, he could read the letters on the Snellen chart and was good to go. I still think we need the German low-contrast test, as well.

ModeratedUser150120149

Was watching an expose in a major Rocky Mountain city concerning drivers who ignore their status. In this case people left the court house where their drivers license had just been revoked or suspended. They exited the courthouse, went to their cars and drove off. All the time while the TV reporter and camera operator were following.

The point is that citizens don't demand proper enforcement of critical laws.

Little Darwin

I concur. I forget what my uncorrected vision is, but as I recall it is in the 20/40 range. I have started driving without my glasses, and only noticed it when looking for the finer details on signs. I guess I might not see a rider a mile away, but no problem within 1/2 mile unless the rider was very well camouflaged.

If I don't pick my glasses up from the nightstand when I wake up, I sometimes don't realize it until I need to read something. I have watched tv for an hour or so before I noticed, and then, only because I want to see the text at the bottom of the screen.

Phloom

When I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1, I had to report my health condition to the government. It became mandatory for me to have a physical examination every year to renew my drivers license. I thought that was excessive. Physical examinations for driver's licenses are not covered by our publicly funded healthcare system. The renewal fees and the physical cost me about $200 every year.

The first time in my life, I was angry enough to write letters to the politicians and I had one contract where I worked in our legislative assembly. I am a computer nerd. I used that opportunity to talk with our political leadership. I whined about the injustice of forcing me to spend money for a physical exam to renew my driver's license yet a convicted drunk driver who volunteered to break the law and endanger the public doesn't have to do anything to keep their license after they get it back. Personally, I think drunk drivers should have their vehicle confiscated and crushed, along with the fines and/or jail time. And if there ever was a reason for capital punishment, repeat drunk driving would be a good one.

After almost twenty years of complaining, I finally got the system to change. I am now required to renew my driver's license every 5 years like everyone else. Still have to get the physical but paying for one every 5 years is much more reasonable. If I drive with low blood sugar and I am in an accident, I should be punished. A diabetic with low blood sugar is far more dangerous than a drunk. It happened to me once while driving. I managed to pull over before I did have an accident. Scared the hell out of me. Now, I test before I drive and I keep snacks in the glove box.

As far as a vision test goes, I have memorized the eye testing chart. They should really change them.

Dave Cutter

They were perfectly legal (if their licenses hadn't expired) and they were completely safe as well. Most people find out they have cataracts at the DMV. The eyes lens clouds and their vision becomes hazy. It would be similar to driving in fog (in the early stages)... and as you know driving in fog requires caution... but isn't exceptionally dangerous.

Cataracts are a natural and normal part of aging and can be corrected on almost everyone.

Yep! There... and about everywhere else. About half of all adult cycling deaths involve drugs and/or alcohol as well. Our entire society pays a heavy price because of the burden of addictive behaviors.

Of course with this being the 50+ forum.... everyone has likely already seen this.

Retro Grouch 

They've got us covered there too. Just this Tuesday my random number came up and I had to pee in a cup. That's OK with me because I not only got off work a (paid) hour early but I also got an additional hour's pay.

JohnJ80

if you can't see well enough to pass the eye test then you should not be behind the wheel. It simply does not matter if you have a valid license or not. That's driving while visually impaired and they are 2.5 times more likely to likely to be involved in an at-fault crash. So they are not safer and it is not ok.

https://m.biomedgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/54/4/M203.short

In some states it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while visually impaired. Therefore it can be illegal to get back behind the wheel after that state vision test is failed.

This seems obvious and dangerous to me and I'm surprised anyone would say it it ok.