DRIVERS LICENSE "EYE EXAM"...........Might have a problem.

[Sourdough]

The system that most DMV use to test your eyes is quite different then the eye doctor uses. So I just had an eye exam and they ask, "what distance do you (me) want the new glasses". I said arms length plus 12" (for the computer screen).

In Alaska if you can't pass the eye exam they yank your license on the spot. So, there must be things I need to know about their machine the DMV uses and what distance it assumes your eye glasses are dialed in for. So it would be nice if a person could take the "same" eye test as the DMV requires, but not at the DMV.

What are things to know....?? Like I know it is best to take the eye test very first thing in the morning, but sadly I have a two hour drive to Los'Anchorage, which will contribute to eye fatigue.

 

[Tootsie]

Charts don’t change, I don’t think. Maybe someone who has been in before you an help out. Not a whole lot to memorize….

 

[Swing]

If it's like AL the main DL place has the eye exam for renewing. The satelitte places did not. BUT, now we can renew online. See if you have renew online for where you are. I renewed my Mom's online a couple of years ago for photo id, and she's not driven since about 2009 and has bad macular degeneration.

 

[Sourdough]

They have an electric thing you put your head up against and read the letters. NOT a wall chart.

Charts don’t change, I don’t think. Maybe someone who has been in before you an help out. Not a whole lot to memorize….

 

[Sourdough]

See if you have renew online for where you are.

Alaska after a given age (I think 70 y/o might be 65 y/o) you must renew at DMV and you "MUST" take the eye test. If I know before I go that there is no way in hell I can pass, then I will NOT go.
In Alaska your license renews on your birthday and is good for five years.

 

[Swing]

https://online.dmv.alaska.gov/OnlineGateway/Account/Login
Check that out. And see if anything has changed since your last viewing of the rules.

 

[Sourdough]

I tried to renew driver's license just now on that portal, and it said.

The selected credential is not eligible to be renewed online because Applicant must be under 69 years old to renew Drivers License online. Please visit us at alaska.gov/dmv to make an appointment to visit us in person.

https://online.dmv.alaska.gov/OnlineGateway/Account/Login
Check that out. And see if anything has changed since your last viewing of the rules.

 

[Swing]

Oh darn! I'm sorry Alaska is set that way. Good luck.

 

[Supervisor42]

Alaska after a given age (I think 70 y/o might be 65 y/o) you must renew at DMV and you "MUST" take the eye test. If I know before I go that there is no way in hell I can pass, then I will NOT go.
In Alaska your license renews on your birthday and is good for five years.

It varies greatly by state.
Down in the south, they insist that you 'try' without your glasses first.
I told 'em it was a waste of time.
It is not a 'fail' without them, but is needed before they can put "Restrictions: correction lenses" on your DL.
Last eye exam the nurse told me my right eye (which I am cultivating cataracts in) would not pass the DMV test. I said: "you didn't report me, right?".
She said they don't do that.
With my $754 glasses, I am golden with 20/20 in both!

 

[Caribou]

Alaska after a given age (I think 70 y/o might be 65 y/o) you must renew at DMV and you "MUST" take the eye test. If I know before I go that there is no way in hell I can pass, then I will NOT go.
In Alaska your license renews on your birthday and is good for five years.

You don't have to take the eye exam at DMV. You can get a letter from your optometrist saying that you have adequate vision. DMV staff are not doctors so this opinion out ranks them. For 15 years DMV was pissed at me for embarrassing them and tried to not renew my license, or even to revoke my legally issued license, to get back at me. This is one trick I used repeatedly to get around their attacks on me. It worked every time.

P.S. A simple request to my doctor and they handed me the standard letter.

 

[Sourdough]

I'll purchase another pair of eyeglasses if I could find out what distance their electric eye test machine is set for. Clearly it would not be set for my laptop screen distance. That would be less than the distance from driver to the windshield.

 

[Sourdough]

Thanks..........I had heard that before, so thanks for the conformation. I'll act on that, information.
With that information, and a letter from my doctor, I will get my license renewed this summer. My birthday is in January, and I loathe driving in Alaska winters over the mountain pass.

Strangely about two or three weeks ago a driver was killed in a accident in Anchorage and he was 99 y/o. That is what queued my wondering how he could have a license. When I close on this property sale I want to purchase a new truck. My current 99'Ford F-350 has 37,600 miles on it, one could say I don't drive very much.

You don't have to take the eye exam at DMV. You can get a letter from your optometrist saying that you have adequate vision. DMV staff are not doctors so this opinion out ranks them. For 15 years DMV was pissed at me for embarrassing them and tried to not renew my license, or even to revoke my legally issued license, to get back at me. This is one trick I used repeatedly to get around their attacks on me. It worked every time.

P.S. A simple request to my doctor and they handed me the standard letter.

 

[Neb]

Thanks..........I had heard that before, so thanks for the conformation. I'll act on that, information.
With that information, and a letter from my doctor, I will get my license renewed this summer. My birthday is in January, and I loathe driving in Alaska winters over the mountain pass.

Strangely about two or three weeks ago a driver was killed in a accident in Anchorage and he was 99 y/o. That is what queued my wondering how he could have a license. When I close on this property sale I want to purchase a new truck. My current 99'Ford F-350 has 37,600 miles on it, one could say I don't drive very much.

Understandable.

When you live in Paradise, why would go anywhere else ?

Ben

 

[Wingnut]

I believe Caribou is right, a doctor's signature on a standardized form should trump any exam results at the DMV office. When I had Lasik done on both eyes, the doctor pulled a form from his desk and proceeded to fill it out... I took that form to the DMV in Arizona (it's called the MVD in that state), and the form was accepted without question. I did voluntarily take the eye exam in the office anyway, as I was all jacked about my new 20/15 vision, but I don't recall being FORCED to take the test. You might pursue that line of investigation, maybe there's a way for you to take the exam at your doctor's office and save yourself a trip to the Big City. Especially after all the Covid BS, aye?

 

[Supervisor42]

I'll purchase another pair of eyeglasses if I could find out what distance their electric eye test machine is set for. Clearly it would not be set for my laptop screen distance. That would be less than the distance from driver to the windshield.

DOA.Alaska.gov:

The standards are as follows: 1. To qualify you must have, in each eye or with both eyes together, at least 20/40 vision. 2. If you need corrective lenses in order to qualify, you must wear them while driving.

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/alaska-driving-laws-seniors-older-drivers.html

• requires drivers age 69 and older to renew their licenses in person
• requires a vision test for drivers age 69 and older renewing in person,

Vision test: Required at in-person renewal, unless you can produce a certified statement from a licensed physician or optometrist stating that your vision meets or exceeds the department's standards of 20/40 vision in each eye or with both eyes together.

 

[Sourdough]

When you live in Paradise, why would go anywhere else ?

Exactly how I feel about where I live. Sadly, I must move off this beautiful mountain or die on it.

 

[Magus]

The night before you go to be tested, smoke a big, fat reefer, it aids vision by 10% for about a week.

 

[Weedygarden]

Exactly how I feel about where I live. Sadly, I must move off this beautiful mountain or die on it.

And if you die there, who will take care of the business of selling it and clearing it out?

 

[Lenny]

I'm pretty sure the machine they use for distance at the DBV is to measure your eyesight at a distance.

Have you had cataract surgery? I had cataract surgery about 3 years ago and I have 2020 distance vision. I renewed my license earlier this year and I'm good for several years. I'm 75 years old.

 

[Cabin Fever]

Do what one of my uncles did to get into the Army during WW2. Uncle Jack had very poor eyesight. Normally, a person with his vision issue would have gotten a 4F classification. He stood in line and listened to the guy ahead of him read the chart. Uncle Jack quickly memorized the letters were and then repeated them when it was his turn. He passed the vision test!

Of course, he failed marksmanship. The range master was suspicious and talked to his drill sergeant. His sergeant had him repeat the eye exam. Uncle Jack was given an honorable discharge in the middle of boot camp..

 

[Peanut]

I had a problem with the little eye test machine a few years ago. I had my first cataract surgery (by civilians but through the VA). The next morning I had a followup eye test at the VA, they dilated my eyes.

I then drove 70 miles to the driver license place my sister used to run (she was in charge of 7 counties, dmv regional office). A couple of the ladies remembered me (sis passed away).

So I stick my head in the little machine and I couldn’t see crap!!! My glasses were useless because of the eye surgery. One eye was perfect, couldn’t see carp out of the other and both eyes were dilated. I failed the test badly.

But! I passed the test when reading the wall chart at the dmv! Because I’d already failed the machine… I failed, period.

The dmv required a letter from my VA doc. I had to get the VA eye clinic to write a letter saying I could see since I passed their wall test that very morning. (and at the dmv) It stated my eyes were fine for driving w/corrective lenses because of the bad eye.

So, I had to get 2 government bureaucracies to coordinate with each other getting the proper forms filled out. Fun times!

Then, when it was all said and done, I went to a remote dmv office in the little town (courthouse). The only dmv employee there happened to be my sister’s best friend from highschool… had a job with the dmv because my sister hired her.

Best part, the little office wasn’t equipped with the electronic eye test machine. She could only give the wall test.

I had all my proper paperwork from the VA, my eyes weren’t dilated and it was a regular old eye test…. I passed.

But there is always a catch when dealing with 2 government bureaucracies, of course there is… My VA doctor wrote a note of her report. I might need cataract surgery on the other eye in a couple years. Ooops! So I continued to get threatening letters from the DMV, They required follow up letters because I might need surgery on the 2nd eye. I had to respond with phone calls for the next two years until I finally had surgery on the second eye.

My recommendation… don’t have eye surgery, get both eyes dilated then take an eye test with the little machine. I couldn’t see carp in that thing.

(Oh, I don't recommend involving a second government agency either. )