With all due respect, if you can become totally blind from something as normal as headlights coming toward you, you are a danger on the road. I am very aware of how much it sucks to not be able to drive, but it would suck a lot more if anything happened because of your blindness.

I'm sorry if this comes off a bit blunt or harsh, but English is not my first language. Tactfulness is quite difficult, if you only have bad news.

I just wonder how long you are planning to put off your ophthalmologist visits? Because if you lived where I lived, an opthomologist would revoke your driving licence the very moment they hear you are still driving... and maybe your driving license has been past it's due for quite some time.

The more important question here is this: when you are going to stop driving? What would have to happen before you stop driving? After your next near miss? After your first crash? After you have already injured someone?

Maybe it's better to start preparing for the inevitable, since it's better to have changes happen in your own terms rather than losing your driving licence out of the blue. Although the writing is already on the wall, isn't it?

***

This reminds of a demo video I saw last year (I have a tunnel vision, I can still see forward even without glasses). The video was a comparison between what a normally sighted person pays attention to in the traffic compared to someone with glaucoma. The regular person's focus was bouncing all over over place as they tried to capture everything that was happening in front of them: other traffic, pedestrians, traffic signs and lights and so on.

The glaucoma patient's focus was rather chilling though, since he/she only paid attention to the car which was right in front of them. Only couple times the glaucoma driver focuses on traffic on the opposing lane, but they never focused on pedestrians, mirrors or traffic signs. The VI driver was so fixated to the car right in front of them, that it was actually quite scary.

This makes me wonder... if you would have an eye tracker analyzing your focus when you drive, what would it look like? How much you are really seeing about what is going on when you are driving?

And furthermore, how many close calls you have already had without noticing it yourself?

Not being able to drive sucks, especially in the USA, where a car is vital to survival.

But it'll suck a lot worse if you hit and kill a child, which is a very real possible outcome, based in your descriptions.

Please stop driving.

If you're already at the point of using a cane and considering O&M, you shouldn't be driving, period.

There are few things harder than accepting the limitations of your disability. But from reading your question, my only wonder is if maybe, driving has already gotten to the point that its too risky or painful for you.

Headlights, the sun, reflections of street lights all cause the same whiteout issue for me so I only drive on cloudy days or high noon during the summer. To discourage any “well, maybe it’ll be ok this time…” nonsense, I sold my car then bought a house a 5 minute walk from 3 bus lines. My driver’s license is still valid because the state doesn’t care what my vision is like as long as I can read the eye chart. Same for my doctor. He shrugs me off when I tell him about my glare problems and visual snow because I can read his eye chart-in a perfect clinical setting. We do not live in a clinical setting. Environmental factors affect our ability to see clearly which affects our ability to drive safely. I know you don’t want to. But it’s time. Put down the car keys.

As you said, there is only so much caution you can consciously exercise yet when your eyes become blinded suddenly, there is no exit ramp for that moment. You will be, literally, operating a deadly weapon while blinded. Can you live with yourself if you had one of these episodes behind the wheel, and the car crash killed another person? Would you be criminally liable?

Rather than avoiding your doctor's appointments because you don't want your drivers license taken away, PLEASE create plans to move toward a car free life. It's time to move to a walkable town with ample public transit. Build a new life the way you want to rather than continuing as is, then waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under you. I know in the US we killed most of our walkable downtown streets and public transit to favor car dependency in the 60s-80s, but there are towns making huge strides towards undoing that damage.

It absolutely sucks to loose the independence and practicality of driving. I'm not VI (daughter is) but live rurally and couldn't imagine not driving, a few of my neighbours don't drive and I don't know how they do it. They say they don't need it and as drivers I don't think we can grasp that, but to them it is perfectly possible. They rely on others 100%. I know it's something we can't fathom as drivers.

I would try to encourage any other adults in the house to drive, look into carpooling, or where I live there is no public transport so people have agreed (on Facebook community pages) with strangers who do the same route/commute to give lifts in return for petrol money. There are ways around it but it does definitely take huge getting used to when someone has to give up the car

For 2 weeks before Christmas my car was in getting fixed and I felt so useless, had to hire a taxi to bring me and my kids to the town for work/school everyday, I had to get groceries delivered. Couldn't do playdates, hobbies, see people etc.

I'm already aware with "normal" night blindness etc I will not be living/driving in this area when I am older. I will not be comfortable with my or others safety being at risk with my crap driving skills. The only alternative for me is to move to a town.

For my VI daughter I'm aware we will either have to be her driver for life, get her an adult trike (but the distances are still too long for that) or she will also have to move into a town.

You are definitely ego tripping here and your ego is pretty inflated. A significantly enlarged ego isn’t good.

Stop!!!!!! Driving!!!!!! Now!!!!!! Stop!!!!! Making!!!!!! Excuses!!!!!!!! You!!!!!! Have!!!!!!! No!!!!!!! Business!!!!!! Driving!!!!!!