Driving licence and glasses

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gerryh
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Driving licence and glasses

Postby gerryh » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:38 pm

My wife's Spanish deriving licence had to be renewed in September.
The vision test, for the medical, confirmed she needs to wear the glasses for driving.
This was noted on the driving licence.
in November she had a cataract operation and the surgeon has said she no longer needs to wear glasses for driving, her glasses are now the wrong prescription.
So if she gets stopped by the police for a document check and they see she isn't wearing any glasses will they believe her that she doesn't now need them?
I asked the surgeon about this and he said he recently did a cataract operation on a Gardia Civil officer who didn't need to wear his glasses after the operation.
The officer said he would carry his old glasses in the car and tell the officer who checks his licence that he now wears contact lenses. :think: :think:
Anybody on here encountered, and solved, this problem?

Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

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Re: Driving licence and glasses

Postby Beachcomber » Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:16 pm

If a driving licence shows that you must wear glasses when driving then they must be worn.

If someone's eyesight has been restored by an operation on their eyes they must undergo an examination and obtain a certificate to the effect that their eyesight is sufficient that glasses no longer need be worn for driving. This must be presented to DGT and a new licence obtained with the eyesight code removed.

I don't know the logistics of going through this procedure but I am sure it is detailed somewhere on the DGT web site.

This may help:

http://www.renovarcarnet.com/respuestas ... o-conducir

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gerryh
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Re: Driving licence and glasses

Postby gerryh » Tue Dec 12, 2017 6:54 pm

Thanks for the information and link.
I thought that might be the case.
Now that evidence of car insurance and ITV test are online it is many years since either of us have been asked for our documents.
Might be worth risking it, particularly as the document specifies 6 months after the operation before the requirement for glasses can be removed and then the licence will only be valid for 1 year.
At the moment her eyesight is better without her old glasses than with them.
I suppose she could get glasses with plain glass in them. :think: :think:
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

ajtg1952
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Re: Driving licence and glasses

Postby ajtg1952 » Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:17 pm

This won't really help you Gerry, but when I sat my motorbike test when I was 50, I needed glasses for the eyesight test. I really don't need them for driving and despite what it said on my UK licence, I never wore them. When I moved here 10 years ago I changed my licence to a Spanish one and had to have a medical which included the eyesight test. Unfortunately the nurse didn't speak any English, and although I think I got the letters right, I can't be sure. Needless to say my Spanish licence does not require me to wear glasses.

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Wicksey
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Re: Driving licence and glasses

Postby Wicksey » Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:13 pm

I wear contact lenses, although sometimes do wear glasses instead so how does that work? If I do the sight test for the licence wearing my contact lenses and don't tell them, then they'll think I have good eyesight and presumably they will not know that I am blind as a bat without them.

El Cid
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Re: Driving licence and glasses

Postby El Cid » Fri Dec 15, 2017 8:54 pm

The law applies to “corrective” lenses and I think contacts come into that category. Intra ocular lenses (what you end up with after a cataract op) are specifically excluded.

Next time you have a medical just tell them, it won’t make any difference to your eligibility to drive, but it would be noted on your licence.

Sid


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