Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Worried about driving. (self.Blind)
submitted 5.249276041666667y ago by oneeyewilly01
Im 16 and I’m totally blind in my right eye. I was wondering if I’m still legally allowed to drive and what challenges I might have to deal with. I sometimes bump into people when I’m walking around at school and one thing I thought about was putting some sort of mirror on my left side, but I don’t know if that would work well while driving. I’ve also thought about just getting a motorcycle to eliminate blind spots altogether, but then there’s the issue of safety. Also I’m curious if my blindness will affect my college/ career opportunities. Any advice would be very much appreciated.
P.S.- Feel free to laugh at my username.
P.S.- Feel free to laugh at my username.
pomegranateskin 9 points 5y ago
Go to your eye doctor to talk about driving!
Sjb17356 4 points 5y ago
I’m completely blind in my left eye, and it’s totally legal to drive. It just takes practice and adjusting. I use my side mirrors to help guide me. I position them more towards the ground so that I’m able to gauge where I’m at in regards to the lines of the road. As far as blind spots, I just got use to the idea that I have to turn my head/neck a lot to be extra cautious.
green_apple_snapple 2 points 5y ago
I’m 24 and have my permit because I was blind in both eyes for several years. I’m now able to see what perfectly in my left eye and feel like I’m having trouble adjusting. Just a few questions:
1. How often did you practice driving? My family has always been lazy and don’t really let me practice driving (luckily my boyfriend does but that’s only about once a week when I see him).
2. Did you find that your depth perception was interfering with your ability to judge distance?
3. Did you have more difficulty driving at night?
I only ask because I’m so hard on myself and hate when I make mistakes ( like stopping where I think the line is and it’s further out into the road or thinking I don’t have space to fit while merging), and I don’t know anyone who has been in my situation.
1. How often did you practice driving? My family has always been lazy and don’t really let me practice driving (luckily my boyfriend does but that’s only about once a week when I see him).
2. Did you find that your depth perception was interfering with your ability to judge distance?
3. Did you have more difficulty driving at night?
I only ask because I’m so hard on myself and hate when I make mistakes ( like stopping where I think the line is and it’s further out into the road or thinking I don’t have space to fit while merging), and I don’t know anyone who has been in my situation.
curious_jane1 2 points 5y ago
The rules about driving with visual impairment may vary by state,m. Best bet is to check with your eye doc. Also important to do this because if they have restricted your driving in any way in your medical record, you could get in legal trouble if you have an accident. Generally people know this because the doc tells you, but it would be best to be sure.
EndlessReverberation 1 points 5y ago
As far as what you can expect in college... You should be able to do just about whatever you want to do, just as long as you are willing to put in the work. I am totally blind, and I think my college experience was at least as easy, and maybe easier, then that of my sighted class mates. College is not a difficult experience for most blind people, as long as they have good blindness skills and are able to advocate for themselves.
Good luck,
Good luck,
ControllerD 1 points 5y ago
It may help to now what country you’re in.
oneeyewilly01 [OP] 2 points 5y ago
Murica!
ControllerD 1 points 5y ago
Cool. I know here in the UK you can still drive with only one eye, but obviously no point in me quoting the regulations as they’ll be different in the US. Best of luck.
MaryJayWanna 1 points 5y ago
You can. Our depth perception stops at a certain distance and the eyes judge distance based on the size of an object. OP, good news for you, I was listening to Howard stern on the radio and he had a guest on the show that was blind in one eye, and drove fine. It is legal.
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