When I worked in traffic law enforcement, it was standard procedure for me to scan the rear of every driver’s licence that I examined.
Often I would find the restriction 21 (corrective lenses required) printed there.
If the person was not wearing glasses, I would look carefully at their eyes to see if I could see contact lenses. If they were there, I could see them most of the time.
When I could not see either glasses or contact lenses, it was time to ask, and there was usually one of two responses.
The first was that they had undergone laser eye surgery and didn’t need them anymore or something along the lines of “I’ve forgotten them.”
The onus was now on me — what to do? Is this driver able to see well enough to continue or did I need to intervene?
The restriction would not have been placed on the licence if there wasn’t a good reason for it.
If you have had corrective eye surgery, it is up to you to go to a driver service centre and take the necessary steps to have the restriction removed from your licence. Failing to do that means that you are leaving your fate at the roadside in the hands of the enforcement officer.
You do the same thing having decided to leave your driveway without taking needed glasses or contact lenses with you.
The protests were generally quite strong when I ordered the driver off the road until a qualified driver or the necessary lenses arrived. My duty was to protect you from yourself and other drivers from you. Failing to do so would put me in a position of both failure in my duty and of legal liability.
The police are not qualified to verify your eyesight at roadside, so please take the corrective lenses restriction seriously.
For more information on this topic, visit www.drivesmartbc.ca. Questions or comments are welcome by e-mail to comments@drivesmartbc.ca.
Tim Schewe is a retired RCMP constable with many years of traffic law enforcement experience. His column appears Friday.
