Van driver knocks bike over with child in bike seat, and drives over the bike.

[Time Waster]

6 weeks after passing my driving test in the first attempt I went on a RoSPA driving safety course for no other reason than it seemed a good idea, my dad paid for it and I got to drive my parents car for a bit longer before they knocked me off the insurance. Added bonus was that the course insured us to drive other people's cars with their permission so I got to drive a large engined rover (was a while ago).

My biggest take from that course was that despite passing my test with flying colours and being described as a good driver I really didn't observe that many of the potential hazards I encountered driving. The driving test and lessons leading to them did not adequately teach hazard awareness. I believe this is part of the current test but how many are driving who passed before it was brought in?

IMHO a one eyed driver is likely to compensate for the loss of one eye by using his / her good eye more efficiently. By that I mean learn to become more observant. If you can't observe a hazard you are putting yourself or others at risk. It's likely to be the observation not the physical sight of it that determines safety.

To put it into a cycling framework. I own a recumbent and before I got it ppl on cycling forums who used similar bikes / trikes all said it's likely to be safer riding them than uprights because drivers notice you because you're an unusual object on the road. The opposite of this argument is that there will be accidents where drivers saw uprights but didn't acknowledge it. As in observation failure.

I don't know if this is true but I'd love to see research on observation of hazards and the differences between two samples of fully sighted and single eyed drivers. It could be a very simple test on a simulator. Get a big enough sample set you could get good results / research out of it.

 

[simon.r]

[QUOTE 5175827, member: 45"]As long as a driver has informed the DVLA (DVSA?) of their impairment, and had confirmation from them that they are permitted to drive, and have also informed their insurance company who have accepted the risk, then that's fine. If they've not done any of these things then they are knowingly driving illegally and are uninsured and shouldn't be on the road.[/QUOTE]

No need to inform DVLA if you have monocular vision (for car / motorbike licences).

https://www.gov.uk/monocular-vision-and-driving

Edit - assuming you meet the required standards of vision.

 

[Profpointy]

perhaps it should do - can one safely judge distance without stereoscopic vision ?

my understanding, as explained to me by a PhD physicist whose speciality was 3d imaging, is that binocular vision helps judge distances for close up things - picking things up, or watch repairing, and the like, not relatively far away things like when you're driving.

 

[Time Waster]

At least you don't have to shut one eye to take aim!

 

[Drago]

[QUOTE 5176145, member: 259"]I have (pretty much) monocular vision and it helps to explain why I'm rubbish at snooker and pool. But I can still drive a car without problems, as well as doing intricate close-up work, and I'm not a bad shot with a rifle either![/QUOTE]
I left eye lead, which was always a ball ache being right handed when using long barreled weapons. The Chris Kyle 'both eyes open' is the one that works best for me.3

 

[RoubaixCube]

Partially sighted or not to not stop at the scene of the incident/accident is a crime and he should of received a much harsher sentence. This is nothing but a slap on the wrist. Not to mention the fact that I read somewhere (either here or on Road.cc) that didnt turn up to court or police station when summoned so many times the police had to file a warrant for his arrest and take him in while cuffed.

Do these actions sound like the come from someone who is apologetic??

Car-centric and all that guff aside our justice system is a joke. Who remembers the story about a university student who stabbed her boyfriend with a fork? The judge let her off the hook because she was under the influence of drugs at the time though she denies being a regular drug user. Ontop of that she was female and studying some PHD or degree course in some medical profession and 'Had a promising future' (I cant seem to remember if she was a part time model as well...)

there are loads of incidents like these where people who have committed crimes where one person was either almost killed or had their lives completely changed by the injuries they received from said incident only for them to almost walk out of court scott free.

It begs the question.... What is the value of life to these people? To the judges, to the jurys as well as to those who commit these acts of crime?

We hear stories of OAPs getting stabbed to death for the £5 they had in their pockets. Yet when the perpetrators get caught and arrested nothing meaningful comes out of it. They'll probably spend a year or two in jail and they'll be out again looking for their next victim.

 

[classic33]

Partially sighted or not to not stop at the scene of the incident/accident is a crime and he should of received a much harsher sentence. This is nothing but a slap on the wrist. Not to mention the fact that I read somewhere (either here or on Road.cc) that didnt turn up to court or police station when summoned so many times the police had to file a warrant for his arrest and take him in while cuffed.

Do these actions sound like the come from someone who is apologetic??

Car-centric and all that guff aside our justice system is a joke. Who remembers the story about a university student who stabbed her boyfriend with a fork? The judge let her off the hook because she was under the influence of drugs at the time though she denies being a regular drug user. Ontop of that she was female and studying some PHD or degree course in some medical profession and 'Had a promising future' (I cant seem to remember if she was a part time model as well...)

there are loads of incidents like these where people who have committed crimes where one person was either almost killed or had their lives completely changed by the injuries they received from said incident only for them to almost walk out of court scott free.

It begs the question.... What is the value of life to these people? To the judges, to the jurys as well as to those who commit these acts of crime?

We hear stories of OAPs getting stabbed to death for the £5 they had in their pockets. Yet when the perpetrators get caught and arrested nothing meaningful comes out of it. They'll probably spend a year or two in jail and they'll be out again looking for their next victim.

Equaliser?

 

[Milkfloat]

I left eye lead, which was always a ball ache being right handed when using long barreled weapons. The Chris Kyle 'both eyes open' is the one that works best for me.3

I am left eye dominant, so I taught myself to shoot left handed. Fine with my shotguns, but not so good with an SA-80.

 

[mjr]

Equaliser?

I thought it was one of the Grimm Brothers tales.

 

[Drago]

I am left eye dominant, so I taught myself to shoot left handed. Fine with my shotguns, but not so good with an SA-80.

Aye, hot brass in your face from the ejector port is a trifle unpleasant.

 

[Milkfloat]

Aye, hot brass in your face from the ejector port is a trifle unpleasant.

Not to mention a cocking handle rearranging your teeth.

 

[chriscross1966]

I have had very poor sight in one eye since birth and have been told by opticians that I may have difficulty judging distances.

I don’t believe this is the case as I am used to judging distances with, in effect, one eye. I suspect that if someone suddenly lost vision in one eye it would take them some time to adjust and that in the adjustment period they may have difficulty.

A while ago a medical condition saw me have about 20 procedures spread over 10 operations on my eyes, generally one side at a time. Each time it would leave me effectively blind in one eye for a week and seriously impaired on side for a further week or two after that.... I learned fairly quickly that any route I knew well was fine with only one eye, you know where everything is and you are looking far enough down the road that binocular vision doesn't really count for much (a bit, but you get used to it, especially on routes you know well)... the thing that pretty much kept me from driving during those periods was just how much of a ball-ache parking was, if I was driving my van my only real option was a double-length space i could drive through... so pretty much very late-night trips to the supermarket if absolutely necessary and that was about it, the other thing I could do was drive to work, the layout of the carpark was conducive to me getting in there easily enough and the positioning of the kerbs and fences/hedge meant I could reverse until the wheels found the kerb...I'd just park somewhere wher I had three spaces together and go forwards and back until I was lined up square on the markings..... Usefully at the time I had a completely not-on-the-road cycle route to get me to the bus stop (still do if I chose to use it, trying to do a bit more cycling is seeing me take the longer road route mostly now) and my normal method of commuting is Brompton+bus anyway.... Thankfully my immune system seems to have stopped trying to eat my eyelids.

 

[DCBassman]

After 8 various eye ops, I can entirely understand this. Can be amazingly frightening and frustrating.