As you might surmise, vision requirements for commercial licensure are much stricter. As a quick reference, you can find a table of vision restrictions for noncommercial licensure at /Driving_Restrictions_per_State. Some states don’t have minimum visual field requirements or require vision testing for license renewal. Visual field requirements for driving in the United States may range anywhere from 55 to 150 degrees. Most requirements specify whether the visual acuity listed is for one or both eyes and/or include certain restrictions for poorer vision such as daytime-only driving or avoiding freeways. Other states require at least 20/100 visual acuity for some driving, which falls within the World Health Organization’s low-vision definition of visual acuity between 20/60 and 20/200. Many states set minimum visual acuity at 20/40, which is also how low-vision is defined by the National Institutes of Health.

Vision requirements for driving vary considerably across the United States, so it’s helpful for ophthalmologists to know their state’s regulations. Here, I’ll review visual requirements for driving, what we know about glaucoma patients’ on-road performance and discuss how I approach the inevitably difficult conversation with the patient. So, when and how should you tell a patient to hang up the keys? Other drivers also pose a potential threat. Cognitive issues, processing speed, executive function, planning ability, reaction time, coordination and cellphone use may all come into play. Do you and your patients know their driving risk and whether they meet their state’s vision requirements for driving?Īt the same time, there are plenty of other factors that might make someone unsafe to drive that have nothing to do with their vision, some of which ophthalmologists don’t typically assess. However, we see in the literature that even small amounts of peripheral field loss can hinder safe driving. Most glaucoma patients don’t notice their gradual peripheral field loss and continue to drive since they retain good central vision. A ccidents happen, but they may be happening more among glaucoma patients.

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