Ignorant of highway code and lights on bikes law

[User6179]

I wish everyone would stop harassing @Accy cyclist about his driving, he is perfectly safe !

 

[Alan O]

That's a good point,which i raised with him. He said that i have 100% vision to which i replied that i might have in one eye but obviously not both. He said having just one working eye shouldn't make a difference to my general eyesight. I said "Ok,so if i'm flying a two engined plane and one of those engines cuts out then i'm left with one 100% working engine,but that won't stop the plane crashing". He didn't reply to that,he just wished me a good day and said he'd see me again in 6 months. Now why would he want to see me again if there's nothing wrong with my eyesight,i wondered.

I wasn't going to comment on this thread, but I just want to point out something that I think has been missed here - stereoscopic vision (apologies if it has been mentioned and I missed it). Two eyes are not just two times one eye in terms of quantity of function (the way, say, kidneys are). With only eye, stereoscopic vision does not work, and that means depth perception is impaired. People with loss of vision in one eye can develop alternative depth vision using different visual clues, and can still be good drivers - that's something I learned from a driving instructor friend who successfully taught someone with one eye, and he spoke with somebody medical (I can't remember who) to learn about it.

But no, whatever an opthalmologist might have said, you do not have 100% vision - at least in the sense that you do not have stereoscopic vision and normal depth perception. Perhaps they meant you have 100% vision in the usual test charts and the like, which do not test stereoscopic vision?

Ok,one last comment. I do consider myself to be one of the safest drivers out there...

The one thing I have to say here is... doesn't everyone?

 

[Alan O]

Right,i've sent them an e-mail with my name and D.O.B etc. It says they'll get back to me within 6 weeks. They don't ask what the medical condition is,so i'm assuming they'll ask that when they contact me. Maybe they will send me for a medical or write to the opthamologist who examined me for his findings. One way or another this will be resolved hopefully soon, then i can either carry on driving or surrender my license. I think they'll take the word of the opthamologist and just have it on record that i'm blind in my right eye. I think they'll let me keep my license when they look at my driving history and see that i've only had 3 points on my license in 38 years and that was for a triviality. They'll see that since losing my right eyesight nearly 6 years ago i haven't had an accident or been given points,so this should satisfy them that i'm a competent driver,even if i only have one functioning eye.

I've just spoken with my driving instructor friend, and he's not quite as optimistic. Firstly, he reckons you could well get into trouble for not having informed the DVLA six years ago. Secondly, they may well examine your medical history and judge it on that, but they might want you to sit a fresh eye test specifically with respect to driving, looking for things like peripheral vision and depth perception - and they may well suspend your licence until that's done.

Finally, he also asked, did you inform your insurance company? If not, you have probably been driving without valid insurance for six years.

Not trying to be harsh on you here, just passing on what a driving instructor said.

 

[Accy cyclist]

But no, whatever an opthalmologist might have said, you do not have 100% vision - at least in the sense that you do not have stereoscopic vision and normal depth perception. Perhaps they meant you have 100% vision in the usual test charts and the like, which do not test stereoscopic vision?

That is what i've been trying to get them to understand! Like my two engined plane analogy,one engine may be working at 100% but if the other isn't then the plane isn't functioning at 100%. They just test my right eye and say it's working perfectly well,but they don't take into account that without my right eye things can be difficult. As for driving,my depth perception is ok. I can judge distances and can brake etc accordingly. Width is a problem though. Judging how far i am away from parked vehicles is difficult sometimes. Not only when i'm driving but also when i'm cycling sometimes. I remember the bloke who ran the Wednesday bike rides i went on. He was constantly telling me to "get in,don't cycle in the middle of the lane". I was probably misjudging the distance between me and parked vehicles. Or it could've been because i have a fear of being doored,like most cyclists do.

 

[Alan O]

That is what i've been trying to get them to understand! Like my two engined plane analogy,one engine may be working at 100% but if the other isn't then the plane isn't functioning at 100%.

My point is that it's worse than just the plane analogy. It's not just that you can do everything you could before just not as well, it's that you can't do stereoscopic vision at all with only one eye.

 

[Accy cyclist]

My point is that it's worse than just the plane analogy. It's not just that you can do everything you could before just not as well, it's that you can't do stereoscopic vision at all with only one eye.

So what would happen if they took my license off me? Would they have to issue me with a bus pass?

 

[Alan O]

So what would happen if they took my license off me? Would they have to issue me with a bus pass?

I've no idea, sorry. I know local councils are responsible for bus passes (including for various disabilities), so I guess contacting them would be your best bet.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

So what would happen if they took my license off me? Would they have to issue me with a bus pass?

Why do you feel it is their responsibility to provide you with a method of transport?

 

[Accy cyclist]

My point is that it's worse than just the plane analogy. It's not just that you can do everything you could before just not as well, it's that you can't do stereoscopic vision at all with only one eye.

I know i keep saying it,but at the end of my last examination i asked the opthamologist if i was entitled to a buss pass due to me being blind in one eye. He replied "Unfortunately not as you have perfect vision in your left eye and the law states that you are entitled to drive,so no bus pass i'm afraid". The only thing i can think of that maybe makes him wrong is that he sounded like he was from Spain(his name and accent made me think this) and that he was thinking about Spanish and not British law. Maybe that's the case?

 

[Alan O]

Why do you feel it is their responsibility to provide you with a method of transport?

Councils do provide bus passes for people with disabilities, and blind or partially sighted is one of the categories (though what degree of partial sight, I don't know).

 

[Accy cyclist]

I've no idea, sorry. I know local councils are responsible for bus passes (including for various disabilities), so I guess contacting them would be your best bet.

I contacted them last year about one. They told me that i'd need a letter form an opthamologist to qualify for one. I think they have to give you a bus pass if they take your license off you. A bus pass is ok,but no where near as good as a driving license as busses only run to certain places and around here they stop running after 9pm.

 

[Alan O]

I know i keep saying it,but at the end of my last examination i asked the opthamologist if i was entitled to a buss pass due to me being blind in one eye. He replied "Unfortunately not as you have perfect vision in your left eye and the law states that you are entitled to drive,so no bus pass i'm afraid". The only thing i can think of that maybe makes him wrong is that he sounded like he was from Spain(his name and accent made me think this) and that he was thinking about Spanish and not British law. Maybe that's the case?

Again, as others have suggested, the opthamologist's judgment on the law has no more weight than the butcher's or the postman's. And my driving instructor friend (whose opinion, obviously, is also not law but I'd trust his knowledge over an opthamologist) says "you have perfect vision in your left eye and the law states that you are entitled to drive" is nonsense - it's decided on a case-by-case basis. Why he might be wrong, I have no idea - and speculation doesn't really help.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

So what would happen if they took my license off me? Would they have to issue me with a bus pass?

Have a read at this on the RNIB site: https://www.rnib.org.uk/eye-health/registering-your-sight-loss

I know I'm entitled to a disabled person's railcard (1/3 discount on fares) because I wear hearing aids. You'd probably qualify for that at least.

 

[Profpointy]

I wasn't going to comment on this thread, but I just want to point out something that I think has been missed here - stereoscopic vision (apologies if it has been mentioned and I missed it). Two eyes are not just two times one eye in terms of quantity of function (the way, say, kidneys are). With only eye, stereoscopic vision does not work, and that means depth perception is impaired. People with loss of vision in one eye can develop alternative depth vision using different visual clues, and can still be good drivers - that's something I learned from a driving instructor friend who successfully taught someone with one eye, and he spoke with somebody medical (I can't remember who) to learn about it.

But no, whatever an opthalmologist might have said, you do not have 100% vision - at least in the sense that you do not have stereoscopic vision and normal depth perception. Perhaps they meant you have 100% vision in the usual test charts and the like, which do not test stereoscopic vision?


The one thing I have to say here is... doesn't everyone?

I have it on good authority, (from a PhD physicist whose speciality was 3d image perception and displays) that depth /distance perception from two eyes only really apllied to close up things - sewing, watchmaking etc). It would not help distance perception in driving, though you would obviously have a wider perioheral view. Incidentally that's why 3d movies are a bit of a false gimick rather than reality.

Also there is certainly no automatic ban for blind in one eye driving.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Have a read at this on the RNIB site: https://www.rnib.org.uk/eye-health/registering-your-sight-loss

I know I'm entitled to a disabled person's railcard (1/3 discount on fares) because I wear hearing aids. You'd probably qualify for that at least.

I contacted the RNIB when i lost my right eyesight nearly 6 years ago. Just like the others they said that i wasn't classed as being blind or visually impaired and therefore i wasn't entitled to any help. Can you see why now that i'm a little bit angry with the world?! I'm expected to do things that i just can't do or do as well as i could with both eyes working. What i'm being told is that you have one eye so you'll just have to put up with it. One example of why i'm pissed off! The job centre keeps sending me suggestions for things like building site labourer where i'd have to climb ladders carrying heavy weights and stuff. Oh that'd be good wouldn't it(!) One bloody eye,two hip/leg breaks not to mention the other things yet they think i should be a builder's labourer ffs! They even send me suggestions for driver delivery jobs!