§ 46.2-311. Persons having defective vision; minimum standards of visual acuity and field of vision; tests of v...
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 one or both eyes with or without corrective lenses or (ii) to any such person unless he demonstrates at least a field of 100 degrees of horizontal vision in one or both eyes. However, a license permitting the driving of motor vehicles during a period beginning one-half hour after sunrise and ending one-half hour before sunset, may be issued to a person who demonstrates a visual acuity of at least 20/70 in one or both eyes without or with corrective lenses provided he demonstrates at least a field of seventy degrees of horizontal vision, and further provided that if such person has vision in one eye only, he demonstrates at least a field of forty degrees temporal and thirty degrees nasal horizontal vision.
B. The Department shall not issue a driver's license or learner's permit to any person authorizing the driving of a commercial motor vehicle as defined in the Virginia Commercial Driver's License Act (§ 46.2-341.1 et seq.) unless he demonstrates a visual acuity of at least 20/40 in each eye and at least a field of 140 degrees of horizontal vision.
C. Every person applying to renew a driver's license and required to be reexamined as a prerequisite to the renewal of the license, shall:
1. Appear before a license examiner of the Department to demonstrate his visual acuity and horizontal field of vision, or
2. Accompany his application with a report of such examination made within ninety days prior thereto by an ophthalmologist or optometrist.
D. The test of horizontal visual fields made by license examiners of the Department shall be performed at thirty-three and one-third centimeters with a ten millimeter round white test object or may, at the discretion of the Commissioner, be performed with electronic or other devices designed for the purpose of testing visual acuity and horizontal field of vision. The report of examination of visual acuity and horizontal field of vision made by an ophthalmologist or optometrist shall have precedence over an examination made by a license examiner of the Department in administrative determination as to the issuance of a license to drive. Any such report may, in the discretion of the Commissioner, be referred to a medical advisory board or to the State Health Commissioner for evaluation.
E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection B of this section, any person who is licensed to drive any motor vehicle may, on special application to the Department, be licensed to drive any vehicle, provided the operation of the vehicle would not unduly endanger the public safety, as determined by the Commissioner 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.)
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