Driving with vision impairment
Image of a lady (Belinda) wearing a bioptic telescope. She has red filter lenses on her glasses and is standing beside a white car, which is parked in a parking space, in a carpark.
A few weeks back I had the pleasure of meeting Belinda O’Connor. Belinda drives using a bioptic telescope. She was awarded a Churchill scholarship to travel overseas to learn about bioptic driving programs in other countries, and earlier this year, travelled around the USA and Canada, learning about how people are assessed for, and trained in the use of, bioptic telescopes for driving.
What is a bioptic telescope?
A bioptic telescope is a small telescopic device, which is mounted on a pair of glasses - we call these ‘carrier lenses’ - as such, the device can be used hands-free. Generally, the bioptic telescope is positioned at the top of the glasses, and the user will dip their chin down, and look up to view through the telescope when required. When looking straight ahead, they will be looking through the spectacle/carrier lens.
Image of Belinda wearing her bioptic telescope. Belinda has red filter lenses over her spectacles, and her pink bioptic telescope sits at the top of the spectacle frame.
What is bioptic driving?
A bioptic driver uses a spectacle mounted bioptic telescope to ensure they can see detail while driving. Most of the time, the person will look through the spectacle lens, which is where they have access to their full field of view - this is the full area that can be seen at any one time; you can find a fuller explanation of visual field in the first part of my previous blog post: Understanding field of vision: Why does my child climb up the slide, but then refuse to go down it? When the person tilts their chin down and looks through the bioptic telescope, they can see part of their visual field, magnified, and this allows them to discern smaller details than they can without the telescope.
Who benefits from bioptic telescopes?
Bioptics are helpful for people who have reduced visual acuity, or central vision loss, because they magnify things, and when things are magnified, they become easier to distinguish. Using a bioptic telescope will improve the best visual acuity that a person with vision impairment can attain. For a fuller explanation of visual acuity, you can read my previous blog post: What is visual acuity?
Bioptic telescopes can be used for any task where better visual acuity is required, and are particularly useful for distance tasks. Since they are mounted into a spectacle lens, they can be used when performing tasks where both hands are needed.
When considering driving, some people whose vision is not sufficient to allow them to meet the driving requirements can read the required line on the letter chart using a bioptic telescope. It is important to understand that to be eligible to drive, other aspects of vision, such as visual fields and contrast sensitivity also need to be considered. In addition, it is necessary to consider how a person uses their vision, because as low vision specialists, we know that two people with similar vision profiles may function quite differently from each other. Other aspects of a person’s general health must also be taken into consideration when determining fitness to drive.
Is bioptic driving safe?
In other parts of the world, individuals have been driving using bioptics for over 40 years. Research has shown that bioptic drivers’ performance is at least comparable to other groups of drivers considered at higher risk of collision (who are still legally allowed to drive), and at best, comparable to the general public.
It is also interesting to note that when we consider overseas experience, authorities that have commissioned research into bioptic driving have subsequently permitted it, and no jurisdiction that has implemented bioptic driving has revoked these privileges.
What did I learn?
It was a privilege to meet with Belinda and to hear about all she had learned during her Fellowship overseas trip. While there is little, if any research comparing different approaches to assessing and training people with vision impairment to drive using bioptic telescopes, experts in this field recognise the importance of carefully assessing multiple aspects of a person’s vision, not just their visual acuity, and considering how they use their vision overall, when determining who would be a good candidate for bioptic driving.
Belinda showed me the various adjustments that she has made to her vehicle to further improve her safety as a driver. She initially added a blindspot mirror to her car, which she found particularly helpful when learning to drive, and she has a digital display speedometer, so that she can check her speed easily. Belinda explained to me how, prior to a car journey, she will plan her route and carefully look over it, to identify any areas which might be challenging to navigate. As is so often the case with disability adjustment, I thought how very sensible; we would likely all be better drivers for following her example.
To finish up, Belinda took me for a short drive and explained her processes, regarding what she was observing and checking whilst driving. I learned a lot from Belinda and am so grateful to her for taking time out of her holiday up in Queensland to meet with me.
If you would like to learn more about bioptic driving, you can visit their website at: https://www.biopticdriversaus.com. They also have a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/czkEFCfjsHQf8jpF/.