Visual requirements for driving in India and elsewhere

Few months have passed since an Indian immigrant in Canada walked into my clinic. He had been denied a driving license by the Canadian authorities.

"... The guy didn't cooperate!", he said, shrugging his shoulders and looking at me furiously, as if I was the one who denied him his driving license.

"... And he didn't cite any reason either!", he continued.

I examined him thoroughly, and realized he had a normal vision but was a "Primary Open angle Glaucoma Suspect".

I explained him, "See, you need to undergo a test called automated perimetry, that will help us decide if you have a normal field of vision or not. With a normal result, you get a license, without it driving may be hazardous, and in your own self interest, you may avoid driving".

I am not sure if he was indeed seen as a glaucoma suspect in Canada, but in all probabilities they seem to be carrying out a good evaluation.

I don't know what happened to the guy, but he called me this morning and asked me if I could e mail him his glasses' diopteric power. I complied with his request and mentioned his visual status on the specified date.

That was this Canadian chap!

Another girl came to me today and told me that the local office had refused a driving license to her brother. The report suggested a best corrected visual acuity of 6/12 in one eye and 6/6 in the other eye. The visual acuity of 6/12 did not match with my record of 6/9.

Apparently, the license authority had gone by his perception about myopia; the boy had moderate myopia but could read well with his glasses. No other evaluation was carried out.

So, this is a contrasting situation: Two countries, two norms. Worst, the Indian authority in the second case didn't seem to know the realistic guidelines for determining the eligibility for getting a driving license.

There are more differences in the Vision Requirements for Driving Safety in different countries:

In Canada, the visual field requirement in Quebec may be different from other provinces. While the visual acuity requirements in India is 6/18, Canada allows a license with a visual acuity of 20/50 (equal to 6/15 in Indian proportion). But unlike Canada, India doesn't have visual field restrictions! In some countries such as U.K., visual acuity is tested if the driver declares an eye disease. Venezuelan authorites resort to routine evaluation of visual field by "confrontation" method where a person with a normal field would compare his field grossly with that of the applicant.

The requirements in the USA differ from state to state and strangely, In Indiana and in Michigan a monocular patient could be allowed with a vision of 20/50 (0.4, 6/15) whereas the requirement for binocular drivers is 20/40 (0.5, 6/12). In the USA, bi optic telescopes are allowed in some states.

So if you are in India, you would need to educate yourself and then can appeal against any odds that you might face due to the ignorance of the "system", while if you happen to be an immigrant in a country that tests the visual field, understand that safety of you as well as others depends on more factors than mere driving skills .

I sincerely hope, that the Indian authorities would soon define a criterion for visual field as well.

Happy driving!

Success

Success amidst adversities.


Suniti was around 14 years old when she came to with an unusual request. She wanted me to help her seek admission to the Science stream of her school. She had been a 'better than average' performer at her school who would secure a first division. Her rank in her small town school was reasonably good. However, the school authorities were skeptical about her future in the Science stream. How would she complete her course, and how would she go through the practical classes? These were some of the concerns they had in mind.


Suniti's academic performance was not a real measure of her inherent potential. She had a history of cataract surgery in both eyes while she was a very young child - three or four year old. However the surgery was not contemplated early enough and the crucial years when visual functions develop had passed away. Following the surgery she needed rehabilitation with glasses, but this aspect was not looked into timely.


The surgeries therefore did not turn out to be very useful. She had to manage with a 3/60 vision - which means she could barely see objects at a distance of three meters while a normal person would be able to read the same letters from a distance of 60 meters.

Her eyes exhibited continuous sideways movement technically called "nystagmus". This meant that eyes had a wondering gaze.

Suniti's problem is an example of a condition called "amblyopia" - a lazy eye that did not realize its true potential due to "lack of proper opportunities."

The eyes had not attained their visual potential. How and why should that translate to lack of opportunities for her! I thought.

"Is it true, I can not pursue a course in Science?” She asked me.

"My view is, you can. It only depends on whether you have an inclination, aptitude and temperament to apply Science to your life. It depends on whether you have a rational approach to life". I said.

"There are people who have little education but go on to become great innovators. There are others who carry a "tag" of Science graduate, and have nothing Scientific about them." I told her sister who accompanied her. Science is not the domain only for those who can see. I once read about a NASA space scientist who was blind but had a galaxy discovered!

"So what can we do? The Principal would probably pay heed to any comment you might write!" The sister pleaded.

I gave them a detailed letter addressed to the Principal citing what were essentially my views on the right to education and the status of education in India.

Few years elapsed. I did not know what happened to the girl or if she actually pursued any kind of education thereafter.

It was now that the girl came back again! This time with her younger sister. She wanted to share a positive development in her life: She was about to graduate as a physiotherapist in few months and had had her training at a leading hospital in Bombay.

It has been one year since that last meeting. I have been told she has opted for a placement in the metropolitan itself. Her parents are happy for her achievements.

Until recently there were very few opportunities for visually challenged persons in India: While we were residents at Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal affiliated to the Gandhi Medical College, one Mr. Thakur used to run a telephone booth. Few years later the booth was dismantled, I do not know where did the guy shift or what did he do to earn a living thereafter; in any case a telephone booth has ceased to be a career option for such people as almost everyone has a mobile these days. Balakdas who had unsuccessful corneal transplantation was luckier. He worked as a ward attendant at the same eye department where he had his surgeries.

Coming back to Suniti, Someone whose mother worried day and night about what would happen to her after she passes away was now helping sighted people conquer their pain through her physiotherapy!

All this had been possible only because at a crucial juncture of her life a kind school Principal relented and allowed her to pick up a subject of her choice. The system which is otherwise known for its absurd liking to "go by the rule book" had only few years ago nearly jeopardized the career of a medical graduate at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi but for the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission. This chap had turned blind during his medical graduation due to a disease called "Eales' disease" and the Medical Council of India had been adamant to truncate his career on the grounds of his inability to take the clinical part of his examination. Thanks to the directions of the NHRC, he would have a chance to pursue a medical specialty such as Psychiatry.

The girl and the medical student are on their way to professional rehabilitation. I am sure they will make better professionals than others with normal sight.

If you come across someone whose right to education is being challenged due to physical or visual challenges, make an effort to propagate a positive message.

Thanks a lot.

Goodbye!