Visually Impaired Drivers Who Use Bioptic Telescopes: Self-Assessed Driving Skills and Agreement With On-Road Driving Evaluation (2014)

Cynthia Owsley, Gerald McGwin, Jr, Jennifer Elgin and Joanne M. Wood

This article compares self-assessed driving habits and skills of licensed drivers with central visual loss who use bioptic telescopes to those of age-matched normally sighted drivers, and to examine the association between bioptic drivers' impressions of the quality of their driving and ratings by a “backseat” evaluator. Conclusions revealed that bioptic drivers show insight into the overall quality of their driving and areas in which they experience driving difficulty. They report using the bioptic telescope while driving, contrary to previous claims that it is primarily used to pass the vision screening test at licensure.

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