2006 Code of Virginia § 46.2-311 - Persons having defective vision; minimum standards of visual acuity and field of vision; tests of v...

46.2-311. Persons having defective vision; minimum standards of visualacuity and field of vision; tests of vision.

A. The Department shall not issue a driver's license or learner's permit (i)to any person unless he demonstrates a visual acuity of at least 20/40 in oneor both eyes with or without corrective lenses or (ii) to any such personunless he demonstrates at least a field of 100 degrees of horizontal visionin one or both eyes. However, a license permitting the driving of motorvehicles during a period beginning one-half hour after sunrise and endingone-half hour before sunset, may be issued to a person who demonstrates avisual acuity of at least 20/70 in one or both eyes without or withcorrective lenses provided he demonstrates at least a field of seventydegrees of horizontal vision, and further provided that if such person hasvision in one eye only, he demonstrates at least a field of forty degreestemporal and thirty degrees nasal horizontal vision.

B. The Department shall not issue a driver's license or learner's permit toany person authorizing the driving of a commercial motor vehicle as definedin the Virginia Commercial Driver's License Act ( 46.2-341.1 et seq.) unlesshe demonstrates a visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye and at least afield of 140 degrees of horizontal vision.

C. Every person applying to renew a driver's license and required to bereexamined as a prerequisite to the renewal of the license, shall:

1. Appear before a license examiner of the Department to demonstrate hisvisual acuity and horizontal field of vision, or

2. Accompany his application with a report of such examination made withinninety days prior thereto by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

D. The test of horizontal visual fields made by license examiners of theDepartment shall be performed at thirty-three and one-third centimeters witha ten millimeter round white test object or may, at the discretion of theCommissioner, be performed with electronic or other devices designed for thepurpose of testing visual acuity and horizontal field of vision. The reportof examination of visual acuity and horizontal field of vision made by anophthalmologist or optometrist shall have precedence over an examination madeby a license examiner of the Department in administrative determination as tothe issuance of a license to drive. Any such report may, in the discretion ofthe Commissioner, be referred to a medical advisory board or to the StateHealth Commissioner for evaluation.

E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this section, any personwho is licensed to drive any motor vehicle may, on special application to theDepartment, be licensed to drive any vehicle, provided the operation of thevehicle would not unduly endanger the public safety, as determined by theCommissioner pursuant to regulations established by the Department.

(1968, c. 642, 46.1-357.2; 1972, c. 502; 1980, c. 118; 1981, c. 194; 1984,c. 780; 1989, cc. 705, 727.)