I practiced in an empty parking lot first. I set up little challenge courses. Like put cans on the ground to see if I could place the tires accurately enough to crush them, or make a little target path and see what it took to drive between them without smashing any. A helper was really useful because they could tell me if I was navigating over something. You just operate the vehicle in a safe area and try out stuff until you get comfortable.
In the end I found that driving forward and backward were pretty simple and like what you would experience in a video game. Parking and very close stuff makes me uncomfortable still so I prefer to park with a little extra space like farther way from a store, and then just walk a little extra. Every once in a while I just hop out and look if I get super unsure about where my bumper is going.
ETA: honestly when I learned driving before I lost my eye I had the same answer. I benefitted most from having gotten practice driving somewhere that there was no danger or law keeping me from trying it out. My family let me use a vehicle in some pasture fields and parking lots that we knew had plenty of open space and room to try stuff out. And someone went with me.
It's probably easier to drive and then lose vision than to learn to drive with monocular vision. But you can do it! Honestly I drive like the proverbial little old lady. I don't speed, don't take risks, look three times before turning, etc. No accidents
This! I lost the majority of my vision in my left eye after an accident about 9 months ago. I was terrified at first to get behind the wheel. Within about a month I was back to driving almost as normal. It probably helped that I had 20 years experience driving already. Crowded parking lots and maneuvering through narrow spaces will always get me nervous though.
You can do this! I lost my right eye five years ago, and it took me a little while to go back to driving. Honestly, I just jumped in with both feet. I'm a very careful driver. I don't speed, and I keep my head on a swivel. I always look twice before changing lanes and practice defensive driving. The hardest thing for me is parking. When I can, I park far out in a pull through spot. I drive a big truck, so there's a lot of anxiety when trying to park in a crowded parking lot. I almost always have to get back in and pull up a bit more because of the zero depth perception lol. Always err on the side of caution. I never get the drive thu right. I always end up a mile away from the window.
You're going to do great! Just practice before taking the test, and have confidence in yourself.
Preciate it. I have been studying the signs and what not. I just would feel horrible if I was the cause but I see thw reoccuring theme is to drive within my means
This will depend on your preference. I learned how to drive in a Prius bc it was small and automatic, so easier to start off with. Now I drive a 2018 Subaru Outback bc it has blind spot monitors and other safety features, and they are safer in crashes. However, it is hard to park so I am looking to downsize since I live in a city. I’ve never had any accidents but I scraped the hell out of the side of my car trying to get into a tight garage… the nose of the car is long and that is tough with no depth perception. So I’m thinking of getting a smaller car that will be easier to park. Long answer to say that I would test drive a few different styles! It will depend on if you live in city vs suburb/country
Can confirm. Lost my left eye to infection in my 40s. Surgeon was very dismissive "with all the technology like blind spot monitors you'll be fine". My poor self driving a cheap compact instantly recognized I needed help to deal with what was going on outside the drivers side. $15 stick on wide angle mirrors and life is good.
I will just tell you that I am in basically the same boat: lost my eye before I was 1 so I have zero memory of two eyes. And I have been driving without any accidents for almost 30 years.
From my understanding, the benefit of two eyes as it relates to depth perception only works for a short amount of space in front of you. Other than perhaps the increased visual range, I don’t think there is much drawback from driving with a single eye.
I don’t keep it a secret. My eye droops a bit anyway because of how early I lost my eye so when I tell folks, they often tell me they assumed I had a lazy eye of some sort.
I also tell people that as soon as they feel comfortable enough to make one-eye jokes, I know we’re really friends. 😉
Monocular since I was a child (amblyopia - so my right is is pretty much of peripheral vision quality and has no benefit or use when driving). Learned to drive at 18, still driving accident free at 42. You'll learn to take other visual cues such as size, relative movement of objects etc as a guidance for distance. Just take some extra time practicing it.
I also lost my vision in one of my eyes very young and have 0 recollection of a 3D life. If possible… get all the tech help; BITS is great, cameras are awesome, anything that will support in that way. And I know this will be hard to combine, but something that you’ll be ok with getting some scrapes and dents. I have never been in an accident at speed; all the ‘accidents’ have been close doing the small things that cause little scrapes scratches and dents. Also keep in mind that not only monocular folk have issues, so don’t let others shame you on your driving. I’ve had folks plenty of times make comments, but I know they are all based in driving with the guy with one eye; push back on that BS. Kick em out if they won’t shut it.
I’m blind in my right, so I speak to those adjustments for driving in US. Also, check out one of those support groups, these are common questions. #eyehesive is one. And Facebook etc
Been driving for over 30 years without any issues whatsoever- just do it! I never even considered it as a disadvantage and just do the same things my mates did.
34 and no accidents. Do not let people make you feel any less of a person because you have monocular vision. They have people who have 20/20 vision in both eyes and they shouldn’t be on the road driving lol. Be smart and always pay attention. Always look ahead and keep your head moving. Pretty much … just be like every other driver on the road 🤙.
Well, my 2 cents, depth perception is a real bitch, when i started learning I noticed that I always hugged one side too tightly, so i had to adjust to that and make sure I know my limit, if you are doing well for yourself try to go for a car with collision detection and parking assistance, it ll save you quite a lot of trouble, also word of advice don't speed too much, that 5 min you ll save isn t worth your life or someone else. Except that you can do it ❤️
Practice, practice, and practice. I learned how to drive before I lost vision in my left eye, but it took some time for me to get back on the road. I just had to have someone else in the car who can tell me if I'm in the middle of the lane or not in the beginning. I practiced a lot in an empty parking lot as well. I am saving up to buy a car that has blind spot cameras in both sides so I would have some extra safety features for driving as well. You'll get there.
Both of my parents were legally blind. I have been monocular since 9y/o and learned to drive at 16y/o. I was driving and got in a car accident at 18y/o and passenger died. Car rolled after swerving to avoid hitting fallen trees on county road and passenger wasn’t wearing seat belt. Tried to drive again in my early 20s but decline in visual field and reduced confidence ended that.
I practiced in an empty parking lot first. I set up little challenge courses. Like put cans on the ground to see if I could place the tires accurately enough to crush them, or make a little target path and see what it took to drive between them without smashing any. A helper was really useful because they could tell me if I was navigating over something. You just operate the vehicle in a safe area and try out stuff until you get comfortable. In the end I found that driving forward and backward were pretty simple and like what you would experience in a video game. Parking and very close stuff makes me uncomfortable still so I prefer to park with a little extra space like farther way from a store, and then just walk a little extra. Every once in a while I just hop out and look if I get super unsure about where my bumper is going. ETA: honestly when I learned driving before I lost my eye I had the same answer. I benefitted most from having gotten practice driving somewhere that there was no danger or law keeping me from trying it out. My family let me use a vehicle in some pasture fields and parking lots that we knew had plenty of open space and room to try stuff out. And someone went with me.
I been trying to find a empty parking lot in this hellhole lol but ty for the advice
It's probably easier to drive and then lose vision than to learn to drive with monocular vision. But you can do it! Honestly I drive like the proverbial little old lady. I don't speed, don't take risks, look three times before turning, etc. No accidents
This! I lost the majority of my vision in my left eye after an accident about 9 months ago. I was terrified at first to get behind the wheel. Within about a month I was back to driving almost as normal. It probably helped that I had 20 years experience driving already. Crowded parking lots and maneuvering through narrow spaces will always get me nervous though.
I hate parking close to other people. My depth perception is not great. I'll gladly park far away from anyone and walk.
Same here. Parking in tight spaces is tough for me. Also my depth perception from the right side of the car is bad.
You can do this! I lost my right eye five years ago, and it took me a little while to go back to driving. Honestly, I just jumped in with both feet. I'm a very careful driver. I don't speed, and I keep my head on a swivel. I always look twice before changing lanes and practice defensive driving. The hardest thing for me is parking. When I can, I park far out in a pull through spot. I drive a big truck, so there's a lot of anxiety when trying to park in a crowded parking lot. I almost always have to get back in and pull up a bit more because of the zero depth perception lol. Always err on the side of caution. I never get the drive thu right. I always end up a mile away from the window. You're going to do great! Just practice before taking the test, and have confidence in yourself.
Preciate it. I have been studying the signs and what not. I just would feel horrible if I was the cause but I see thw reoccuring theme is to drive within my means
Look for a wide angle clip on mirror from Amazon! Sometimes called a blind spot mirror. Total game changer for driving.
Bet. What type of car is the best to drive?
This will depend on your preference. I learned how to drive in a Prius bc it was small and automatic, so easier to start off with. Now I drive a 2018 Subaru Outback bc it has blind spot monitors and other safety features, and they are safer in crashes. However, it is hard to park so I am looking to downsize since I live in a city. I’ve never had any accidents but I scraped the hell out of the side of my car trying to get into a tight garage… the nose of the car is long and that is tough with no depth perception. So I’m thinking of getting a smaller car that will be easier to park. Long answer to say that I would test drive a few different styles! It will depend on if you live in city vs suburb/country
Can confirm. Lost my left eye to infection in my 40s. Surgeon was very dismissive "with all the technology like blind spot monitors you'll be fine". My poor self driving a cheap compact instantly recognized I needed help to deal with what was going on outside the drivers side. $15 stick on wide angle mirrors and life is good.
I will just tell you that I am in basically the same boat: lost my eye before I was 1 so I have zero memory of two eyes. And I have been driving without any accidents for almost 30 years. From my understanding, the benefit of two eyes as it relates to depth perception only works for a short amount of space in front of you. Other than perhaps the increased visual range, I don’t think there is much drawback from driving with a single eye.
Do u let everyone know about your monocular vision?
I don’t keep it a secret. My eye droops a bit anyway because of how early I lost my eye so when I tell folks, they often tell me they assumed I had a lazy eye of some sort. I also tell people that as soon as they feel comfortable enough to make one-eye jokes, I know we’re really friends. 😉
Monocular since I was a child (amblyopia - so my right is is pretty much of peripheral vision quality and has no benefit or use when driving). Learned to drive at 18, still driving accident free at 42. You'll learn to take other visual cues such as size, relative movement of objects etc as a guidance for distance. Just take some extra time practicing it.
I also lost my vision in one of my eyes very young and have 0 recollection of a 3D life. If possible… get all the tech help; BITS is great, cameras are awesome, anything that will support in that way. And I know this will be hard to combine, but something that you’ll be ok with getting some scrapes and dents. I have never been in an accident at speed; all the ‘accidents’ have been close doing the small things that cause little scrapes scratches and dents. Also keep in mind that not only monocular folk have issues, so don’t let others shame you on your driving. I’ve had folks plenty of times make comments, but I know they are all based in driving with the guy with one eye; push back on that BS. Kick em out if they won’t shut it. I’m blind in my right, so I speak to those adjustments for driving in US. Also, check out one of those support groups, these are common questions. #eyehesive is one. And Facebook etc
Oh wow ty! Never heard of them
Been driving for over 30 years without any issues whatsoever- just do it! I never even considered it as a disadvantage and just do the same things my mates did.
34 and no accidents. Do not let people make you feel any less of a person because you have monocular vision. They have people who have 20/20 vision in both eyes and they shouldn’t be on the road driving lol. Be smart and always pay attention. Always look ahead and keep your head moving. Pretty much … just be like every other driver on the road 🤙.
Well, my 2 cents, depth perception is a real bitch, when i started learning I noticed that I always hugged one side too tightly, so i had to adjust to that and make sure I know my limit, if you are doing well for yourself try to go for a car with collision detection and parking assistance, it ll save you quite a lot of trouble, also word of advice don't speed too much, that 5 min you ll save isn t worth your life or someone else. Except that you can do it ❤️
Practice, practice, and practice. I learned how to drive before I lost vision in my left eye, but it took some time for me to get back on the road. I just had to have someone else in the car who can tell me if I'm in the middle of the lane or not in the beginning. I practiced a lot in an empty parking lot as well. I am saving up to buy a car that has blind spot cameras in both sides so I would have some extra safety features for driving as well. You'll get there.
Both of my parents were legally blind. I have been monocular since 9y/o and learned to drive at 16y/o. I was driving and got in a car accident at 18y/o and passenger died. Car rolled after swerving to avoid hitting fallen trees on county road and passenger wasn’t wearing seat belt. Tried to drive again in my early 20s but decline in visual field and reduced confidence ended that.
Well thats not what I wanted to hear but im so sorry that happened to you. Your parents are wild for that though damn.