How Can Colorblind Individuals Pass the Driver's License Physical Examination?
2 Answers
Green area clear and bright indicates overcorrection for myopia and undercorrection for hyperopia, while red area clear and bright indicates undercorrection for myopia and overcorrection for hyperopia. Among red-green colorblind individuals, those with protanopia can only find the purple line, those with deuteranopia can only find the red line, while those with red-green weakness or normal vision can find both lines.
I have a friend who is mildly red-green colorblind, and he successfully passed the driver's license medical exam last year. He told me the key is preparation: practice recognizing traffic light positions more, since at intersections the red light is on top and the green light is at the bottom, and their shapes are also different—don’t rely solely on color. During the medical exam, be honest with the doctor about your condition; some hospitals allow using number- or shape-based color vision tests instead. Safe driving is the priority—don’t try to cheat with color-filtering glasses, as the consequences of an accident would be severe. If you’re really worried, you can first visit a proper ophthalmologist for a color vision test and bring the report to the exam site. He also mentioned that after passing, he uses navigation apps to alert him to signal changes while driving, and with practice, it becomes second nature.
