2015 Code of Virginia
Title 46.2 - Motor Vehicles
§ 46.2-312. Persons using bioptic telescopic lenses

A. Persons using bioptic telescopic lenses shall be eligible for driver's licenses if they:

1. Demonstrate a visual acuity of at least 20/200 in one or both eyes and a field of seventy degrees horizontal vision without or with corrective carrier lenses or a comparable measurement that demonstrates a visual field within this range, or if these persons have vision in one eye only, they demonstrate a field of at least forty degrees temporal and thirty degrees nasal horizontal vision or a comparable measurement that demonstrates a visual field within this range;

2. Demonstrate a visual acuity of at least 20/70 in one or both eyes with the bioptic telescopic lenses and without the use of field expanders;

3. Meet all other criteria for licensure;

4. Accompany the license application with a report of examination by an ophthalmologist or optometrist on a form prescribed by the Department for evaluation by the Medical Advisory Board.

B. Persons using bioptic telescopic lenses shall be eligible for learner's permits issued under § 46.2-335 provided they first meet the requirements of subsection A of this section, except for that part of the examination requiring the applicant to drive a motor vehicle.

C. Persons using bioptic telescopic lenses shall be subject to the following restrictions:

1. They shall not be eligible for any of the driver's license endorsements provided for in § 46.2-328;

2. Their driver's licenses shall permit the operation of motor vehicles only during the period beginning one-half hour after sunrise and ending one-half hour before sunset.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision C 2 of this section, persons using bioptic telescopic lenses may be licensed to drive motor vehicles between one-half hour before sunset and one-half hour after sunrise if they:

1. Demonstrate a visual acuity of at least 20/40 in one or both eyes with the bioptic telescopic lenses and without the use of field expanders;

2. Have been licensed under subsection C of this section for at least one year; and

3. Pass a skills test taken at night.

1986, c. 115, § 46.1-357.3; 1989, cc. 147, 727; 2010, c. 18.