Apparently in England, a good way of testing your eyesight to see if it is acute enough for driving purposes is to drive yourself and some family members some 50 miles round trip.
I am wondering whether AAA has thought to update the terms of its International Drivers Permit to accommodate such testing.
It is not AAA job to determine if you are able to drive, only to provide a proper translation on your existing driver license in the form of the IDP. It is the job of the issuing agency for the actual driver license to make that determination. And if you don't have an actual valid unexpired driver license, there will be no IDP issued.
EDIT: If this was in reference to something in the news, I think you can see most of us missed it!
To acquire a drivers licence in Canada one is given an eyesight test first .
And I believe that was over 500 miles (260 miles each way), not 50.
Pat, everyone in the U.S. must pass an eyesight test to acquire or renew their license.
Well, the Governor of Georgia in the US decided that kids waiting to take a road test's which were on hold due to Covid restrictions could just have their parents sign a form saying the kid was a good enough driver.
Guess I overthought the process and made my son take driving lessons . Such a helicopter mom
Hmmm - performing that driving demonstration seems backwards. If someone’s vision wasn’t adequate for driving, having them prove it by operating a car for 50 or 500 miles, or even 50 feet, would be reckless! Have your vision confirmed and then see how well you can drive with it!
But during this travel-restricted time, AAA could start selling “driving glasses,” like discount stores have a stand with reading glasses. Maybe that could raise some revenue, although driving excellence couldn’t be guaranteed.
"Pat, everyone in the U.S. must pass an eyesight test to acquire or renew their license."
Not true. In Pennsylvania I have renewed my drivers license multiple times and have never had to take an eyesight test.
You may not have to have an actual eyesight test at the time you renew your license, but in the states I am familiar with you must sign a form stating you have been to an eye doctor within the last 12 months and have not been told your vision is too bad to drive. I forget what the fine is if you lie, but it is significant and you lose your license.
Lived in PA for years and never had to take eye test except on initial test. My son had to take just the eye test when he was transferring license back to PA from Texas but that is all. We just renew license by mail. I thought the original post was perhaps reference to Boris Johnson's aide who said he drove many miles to eye doctor to test his eyes???
In AZ, we have to renew our licenses and have an eye exam every five years, depending on the driver’s age.
Wow, this is the first I've heard of an eye exam not being requisite for license renewal (every 4 years for us in MN.) Guess I stand corrected but wow, that's sort of scary!?
My mom was refused license renewal in Iowa when she flunked the vision test. We were very relieved as there was no way she should have been driving but we couldn't get her to give it up.
My mom got her driver license renewed last year in January when she turned 90. After age 80 in Texas, you have to have it renewed every 2 years now with a full vision test (no more mail in renewals!). She had started developing cataracts before her previous renewal and was told she probably would not get another renewal as she almost didn't pass the visions test. She had cataract surgery a year before this last renewal and the DL people were surprised that she passed with 20/05 vision! And she has not even attempted to drive since. She knows she is too old and it is safer for her to stay out of the drivers seat (even in case of an extreme emergency). Next year it will be an ID card instead of a DL.
@Suki Doesn’t that apply only after a particular age? My friend in Arizona just got a license valid until 2053, he’s 31 or so and wears glasses.
Ha Ha Kim. Here's a link to the story: UK minister caught driving
You have to read down into the article to see the reference to testing his eyes.
This particular British political story was not in the mainstream US media and so most missed the satire. This obviously is not how your vision is tested. Getting and keeping a British driver's license is no different than getting and keeping a US license in terms of vision requirements. This story is related to politics and COVID-19.
Margaret
Well done Stan, I've just read this post and wondered when someone would catch on. BTW there is a difference between a US "license" and a UK "licence". :-)
I follow too many British people on Twitter (or maybe not enough?). I got where you were going. Thanks for the laugh.
I’m not sure if this is still true, but at one time my English cousin said that when you get a drivers license in England you get it for either a manual car or automatic.
I've read that earning your driver's license in Germany is one of the Labors of Hercules (only if Hercules was German and owned a car). Something like 25% of applicants fail outright and even if you do pass, you're then obligated to cough up some 1,200 euros for the actual license.
I kind of wish they'd do that in the US where driver's licenses are distributed in Cracker-Jack boxes next to the press-on tattoos. It'd certainly winnow out a lot of the Cleti that pollute our roadways now.
-- Mike Beebe
when you get a drivers license in England you get it for either a manual car or automatic.
Nearly.
A licence to drive an automatic does not allow a driver to drive a standard transmission car.
A licence to drive a standard transmission car allows the driver to drive any (legal) car, including automatic transmission.
What I don't know is if a driver with an automatic transmission restriction is allowed to drive an electric car. I presume so since there is not a normal transmission. Dunno.
So this was travel that resulted in an MP resigning. Maybe his aide’s vision is OK, but there was a lack of foresight.
i wonder if a non-manual-licensed driver who’s caught driving a stick-shift could claim they were just testing their reflexes, or doing physiotherapy for their left (clutch pedal) foot?
Nigel, thanks for the information regarding driver’s license.
"So this was travel that resulted in an MP resigning. Maybe his aide’s vision is OK, but there was a lack of foresight."
Dominic Cummings hasn't resigned......Yet:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/28/boris-johnson-brushes-off-tory-revolt-over-dominic-cummings
Yes the only person who resigned was the Tories’ Minister for Scotland who of course had nothing to do with Cummings’s “eye test”!
