Driving with Low Vision

Today, I wanted to talk to you about driving with low vision. But first, what is low vision? Low vision is a visual impairment that cannot be corrected by standard eyeglasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery and that interferes with the ability to perform everyday abilities. Having low vision can impair ones ability to drive, but if an individual has mild to moderate central vision impairment and good peripheral vision, they may benefit from bioptic driving.

A bioptic lens system is a combination two-lens optical system with a telescope, or telescopes, attached to the lens of a pair of eyeglasses. The telescope is placed on the eyeglass lens just above one’s normal line of sight. The driver mainly looks out of their main eyeglasses lenses (carrier lens) for general driving purposes.

At our Belle Meade location, we offer a Bioptic driving program.  It consists of a pre-evaluation and six sessions of bioptic training.  For more information, talk to one of our eye doctors at our Belle Meade location.