Do colorblind people get driver's licenses?

Colorblindness and a driver's license - requirements of ophthalmologists in 2019

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To obtain a driver's license, every driver must undergo a medical examination. The list of doctors you should visit must include an ophthalmologist. Depending on the conclusion of this specialist, the verdict will be whether you get a license or not.

But this does not mean at all that if you have some vision problems, then you will not be given a license. The only thing is that those people who have color blindness will not receive the right to drive any vehicles.

So, let's look at which diseases can get a driver's license and which cannot.

Types of color blindness

When registering for driving courses, the first thing you will be required to do is provide a certificate from a doctor, namely an ophthalmologist, about your health and quality of vision. In order to obtain a license, you need to determine your visual acuity. For categories B it should be 0.6-0.2 . But obtaining a driving license for category C is only possible if your visual acuity is at least 0.8 .

Some people cannot distinguish between certain colors. This may be caused by:

• anomaly from birth;
• various eye diseases;
• received injuries.

Colorblindness can also be inherited from mother to child.

Unfortunately, a colorblind person is unlikely to be able to get a license. A healthy retina has pigments of blue, red and yellow, which are the main colors. People see other shades by mixing these three primary colors. If a person has any deviations and disorders, then this is already considered color blindness. If a person has all three pigments, then there are no restrictions on obtaining a driver’s license. If some pigment is missing, then most likely you will always act only as a pedestrian, but not as a driver.

As a rule, people exhibit vision disorders such as: tritanopia , deuteranopia , protanopia .

If you have color vision impairment, your chances of becoming a happy owner of a driver's license are considered minimal. It is worth noting that permission for people with color vision impairment is determined only by an ophthalmologist. Until 2012, drivers with such problems could obtain a license to drive vehicles of categories B and C , but they could only use the vehicle for personal purposes and not work on it. But in 2017, a law was passed stating that colorblind drivers do not have the right to drive a car. Against the backdrop of such a law, disagreements arose between people. Many people consider it dishonest that colorblind people cannot drive a car, but nearsighted people can.

What visual acuity is needed to obtain a driver's license?

According to Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russia No. 302n , there are some vision restrictions for obtaining a driver's license:

medical indications for driving a vehicle with the driver of the vehicle using medical products for vision correction

16. Refractive error that reduces visual acuity below the permitted level, provided that visual acuity in glasses or contact lenses is increased to the permitted level.

Medical restrictions on driving a vehicle of category “ A” or “ M” , subcategory “ A1” or “ B1” with a motorcycle seat or motorcycle-type handlebars

1. Visual acuity is below 0.6 in the best eye and below 0.2 in the worst eye with tolerable correction with 2 eyes open, regardless of the type of correction (spectacles, contact, surgical), the degree and type of ametropia or eye length.
2. Blindness of one eye with visual acuity below 0.8 with tolerable correction in the sighted eye, regardless of the type of correction (spectacles, contact, surgical), the degree and type of ametropia or eye length.
3. Condition after refractive operations on the cornea or after other refractive operations for one month in the absence of complications, regardless of the degree and type of initial ametropia or eye length.
4. Chronic disease of the eye membranes, accompanied by significant impairment of vision function, persistent changes in the eyelids, including their mucous membranes, paresis of the eyelid muscles, preventing vision or limiting the movement of the eyeball.
5. Persistent diplopia due to strabismus of any etiology.
6. Spontaneous nystagmus when the pupils deviate 70 degrees from the average position.
7. Limitation of the field of view by more than 20 degrees in any of the meridians.

People with vision problems could theoretically be given a driver's license. It is worth noting right away that if you have serious vision problems, then most likely you will not receive a certificate to submit to the traffic police .

So, the medical commission will refuse a positive conclusion to people who:

• visual acuity is reduced ;
• There are problems with color perception . Namely, you do not distinguish colors or confuse them;
• there are severe eye diseases .

Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2011 N 302n:

The list of medical contraindications under which a citizen of the Russian Federation employed as a driver is prohibited from driving vehicles is contained in Appendix 2 to Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2011 N 302n .

Category B.
1) Medical contraindications set out in clause 3-25 of this column of subclause 28.1.
2) Decrease in visual acuity below 0.5 in the better eye and below 0.2 in the worse eye (with correction).
3) Lack of vision in one eye with visual acuity below 0.8 (without correction) in the other.
4) For taxi drivers and drivers of emergency services vehicles (ambulance, fire service, police, emergency rescue service, military automobile inspection), - visual acuity with correction below 0.8 in one eye, below 0.4 - in friend. Acceptable correction for myopia and hyperopia is 8.0 D , including contact lenses, astigmatism is 3.0 D (the sum of the sphere and cylinder should not exceed 8.0 D ). difference in lens power between the two eyes should not exceed 3.0 D.

Regarding clause 1 , which contains an indication of subclause 28.1, an explanation must be made. This subclause does not exist in the document itself. The Ministry of Health and Social Development has not issued any official explanations. For this reason, a legal vacuum arose. The list of contraindications for category B is smaller than for category A.

Doctors, in their practice, when conducting medical examinations, proceed from the fact that there is a typo in the document and “ subclause 28.1 ” should be read as subclause 27.1 (list for category A). From a legal point of view, this is not correct. However, this is exactly what is done everywhere. Below is a list of restrictions in subclause 27.1.

If you are not sure that everything is in order with your vision, but you still want to get the cherished rights, see an ophthalmologist yourself and in advance - this will give you a chance to eliminate non-critical health problems .

Quite often, the medical commission refuses to issue a certificate for the traffic police due to the fact that people have incorrectly selected lenses or glasses. All this can be corrected in the office of a competent ophthalmologist, who will be able to correct your vision.

Also, the ophthalmologist will be able to conduct various courses of vision stimulation , and thereby increase your chances of obtaining the coveted driver's license. And also, vision can improve or worsen depending on your overall health. If you had heavy physical activity the day before, heavy alcohol intoxication or psychological stress, then you should not immediately go to the commission , rest for several days until your vision returns to normal.

There are also cases when people try to deceive the commission by first learning the letters and signs in the tables. But this is not a solution. After all, by deceiving the commission, hiding your illnesses and poor eyesight, having received your license, you endanger not only your life, but also the lives of other drivers and pedestrians.

Can a colorblind person get a driver's license?

If you cannot distinguish colors at all, then in 2019 you will definitely not be issued a driver's license if you are color blind. An ophthalmologist will decide this issue after you have undergone a full examination. Previously, people who were color-blind could easily obtain a driver's license. But they were given licenses only with categories A and B.

Now, for people who have problems with color vision impairment, it is virtually impossible to obtain a VA. Therefore, colorblind people are not allowed to drive any vehicle. If previously VA was not given only to people with dichromasia , that is, with the complete loss of one color, now even small deviations in color perception are becoming a big problem for many who want to drive their own car. If you have slight deviations in color differences and you managed to obtain your license before 2012, then you need to obtain a certificate for permission to drive. This is necessary if it’s time for you to change your previously issued driver’s license.

Even in 2019, driver’s licenses are not issued if there is a color anomaly. This happens for the reasons that the disease is associated with the fact that a person does not distinguish between one or more colors. Visual deviations are checked using special Rabkin and Ishihara . If a person does not distinguish colors from each other, then everything in the provided pictures will seem homogeneous to him. And those people who do not have any vision problems will be able to distinguish chains, circles and numbers on the table.

According to the new legislation, it is unlikely that you will be able to obtain a driver’s license if you have color vision impairment in 2019. After all, as Law No. 302n of April 12, 2011 cannot obtain permission to drive a vehicle .

Of course, in each individual case there must be exceptions. But according to this law, colorblind people will not be able to obtain a license. After all, it is written there in black and white that color vision impairment is an important reason for refusal to obtain a driver’s license. According to the law, there are certain professions where people must have perfect vision, for example, sailors, drivers, pilots. People must not only distinguish colors, but also characterize them by:

The newly introduced Order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation dated April 12, 2011 N 302n explains this by the fact that a car is an increased source of danger for other people if it is driven by a driver with poor vision. After all, through his actions, such a driver becomes a potential threat to both pedestrians and other drivers.

If you have a deuterium anomaly, it is possible to obtain a driver's license. After all, deuteroanomaly is blindness predominantly to green color, which is one of the forms of dichromasia.

If you have such an anomaly, then you will be able to obtain a driving license only for yourself personally, that is, without the right to work for hire as a driver.

It is worth noting that color blindness or dichromasia, as well as deuteranopia (impaired perception of green color), most often occur predominantly in men.

All issues with visual impairment are complex. In order to understand them, it is worth visiting an experienced ophthalmologist, having your vision corrected, and you can go through a medical examination to obtain the coveted rights.

Colorblindness and driver's license: what laws govern the issue

Color blindness is a persistent violation of color perception, which significantly affects a person’s quality of life. Despite the fact that most patients adapt, even if the disease is acquired, it is still inconvenient to navigate in a world that is tailored for people with normal vision. Because of this, scientists are persistently trying to cure color blindness, and they even have some success. But there is no real medicine yet that would completely restore color vision. The maximum that modern medicine can offer is special colored glasses, through which a person with weak color blindness can see the world approximately as healthy people see it.

Consequently, this is an incurable disease and a big problem that has to be taken into account at the legislative level.

Color blindness can occur due to previous injuries or illnesses, due to abnormalities in intrauterine development, or it can be inherited. Common reasons are:

• Genetic predisposition. Most often, color blindness occurs in men when the gene is passed from a carrier mother to her son. It is attached to chromosome X, and, therefore, the defect in it in men is not compensated for, since they do not have a second such chromosome. That’s why there is such a spread – 8% of men and only 0.8% of women suffer from color blindness.
• Age-related changes - cataracts. In this case, the person’s lens becomes cloudy and he begins to perceive not only light, but also colors worse. Often the disease is accompanied by retinal degradation.
• Taking certain medications - in this case, the effect is on the retina, and it can be either permanent or temporary. For a healthy person, this is an opportunity to see how the world is perceived by a colorblind person.
• Eye injuries are only those that affect the retina or optic nerve. It is the partial atrophy of these parts of the eye that usually becomes the cause of the lack of color perception.
• Any degenerative disease affecting the retina and nerve.

The mechanism of the violation is very simple. A healthy person's eye has color-sensitive cones, and each of them contains three types of pigment, each of which is needed to perceive only its own color: red, green or blue. There are so many combinations that there are about a million colors in total. But if one type of pigment in the cones is damaged, a person's ability to distinguish colors also suffers as a result.

There are four types of color blindness:

• Deuteranopia. In this case, the cones in the person’s eye that are responsible for the green color do not work - instead, he sees either pink, or orange, or a mixed shade. This is a big problem for the driver: if he gets behind the wheel tired or sick, he can easily confuse the colors and drive through a red light, and this is dangerous both for himself and for pedestrians. The world seems to him blue-yellow, devoid of any red tint at all, as well as green.
• Protanopia. In this case, the cones responsible for the red color do not work in the patient’s eye – or work poorly. Instead, he sees either brown or dark green. It is clear that the problem remains the same: due to inattention, absent-mindedness, fatigue or illness, the driver can confuse traffic lights, putting not only himself, but also pedestrians and other road users in a dangerous situation. The world seems to him blue-brown-yellow.
• Dichromasia. In this case, the patient is completely unable to perceive any colors except the two main ones. Some patients do not see the green and red spectrum, another part is not able to see the blue spectrum, and the third does not perceive red. As a result, the world is so distorted that driving is simply dangerous.

Interestingly, patients with dichromasia were never allowed not only to drive vehicles, but also to join most branches of the military.

• Achromatopsia. In this case, the patient is not able to perceive color at all. It distinguishes surrounding objects and shades solely by their brightness. A person without color blindness will see something similar if they turn on an old black and white TV. A patient suffering from this form is, in principle, unable to distinguish a red traffic light from a green one, therefore he cannot drive.

As a rule, color blindness is detected at an early age, fortunately, this is quite easy to do. If the test is on 27 sheets, they are covered with colored circles with numbers inside. And circles and numbers of different colors. By whether the patient sees a difference in color between a circle and a number, and by what specific circles they are, one can accurately determine whether he has color blindness and what type it belongs to. Consequently, by the time a person begins to think about his own car, he has long been aware of his illness, that it is incurable and how it affects his perception.

What vision is required to obtain a license?

To obtain a driver's license, you need to undergo a full-fledged medical commission, which includes an otolaryngologist, surgeon, neurologist, therapist, relevant tests and, of course, an ophthalmologist.

At the same time, visual acuity should be different for different categories of rights:

• if a person wants to drive a passenger car - that is, he needs a category B license - his visual acuity must be at least 0.2 in the worst eye and 0.6 in the best;
• if he wants to drive a truck - that is, wants to get a category C license - then he will need a visual acuity of no less than 0.8.

If one eye is blind, you can get a license - the main thing is that the second eye can see well. In case of severe diseases of the cornea and retina, with severe strabismus, or with a significant limitation of the field of vision, it will most likely be impossible to obtain a license.

Can a colorblind person get a driver's license?

Color blindness is a fairly serious visual impairment. At the same time, if previously a person with this disease could apply for rights, then in 2012 a law was passed according to which any colorblind person cannot obtain them.

Previously, dichromasia and achromatopsia were contraindications to driving. For some time, color blindness in general became a contraindication.

In 2014, the law changed again. Now only achromatopsia is considered a contraindication. The same system operates in Ukraine, Belarus, and the countries of the European Union, and so far it has proven to be quite effective.

Interestingly, for the first time people started talking about the fact that color blindness could be considered a contraindication in 1875, when, due to the fact that the driver did not distinguish the colors of the traffic lights from each other, a large-scale train accident occurred. Before this, there was simply no point in limiting colorblind people in their professional activities.

Responsibility for concealing color vision disorders

Severe colorblindness and a driver's license in 2019 are considered things that do not go together under any circumstances. Consequently, a driver who, knowing that he has this disease, tries to get a license anyway - by deception or for a bribe - is considered by law to be a fraudster.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation clearly states that falsification of the results of a medical examination is punishable by imprisonment for a period of two years. If the patient did not falsify the results of the medical examination, but falsified the driver’s license itself and uses it, he will face a fine of up to eighty thousand rubles. This issue is regulated by Article 327.

However, often a person with color blindness who tries to get behind the wheel of a car ends up in a cemetery earlier than in prison - the markings were initially tailored for people with normal vision, therefore, they often become completely unreadable for him.

At the same time, only a doctor can accurately determine which form you can become a driver with and which you shouldn’t, using special tests. If this happens and the certificate shows a refusal, you should not try to convince him otherwise - this can be dangerous to the health of both the driver and those around him.

Is it possible to get a license if you are color blind in 2019?

Distortion of color perception can become a significant basis for a ban on driving. However, color blindness is a broad concept that unites a large number of subtypes of vision diseases. Therefore, the fate of a particular driver with suspicions of this diagnosis is decided during a medical examination. Let's consider how compatible color blindness and a driver's license are.

What is color blindness

Color blindness refers to a spectrum of pathologies that have a common symptom, which is expressed in a distorted perception of color. It is natural that in severe cases of the disease the driver will not be able to follow traffic lights and will have difficulty understanding road signs due to his vision. However, whether colorblind people can drive may depend on the type of impairment.

Types of color blindness

An examination by an ophthalmologist is a mandatory part of any medical examination, regardless of the desired category of rights. When checking the driver, the ophthalmologist not only monitors visual acuity, but also conducts tests for color blindness.

Special enzymes in the retina are responsible for color vision. Each of them allows you to perceive a different color: yellow, blue and red. They are then mixed, allowing the driver to see a full range of colors. Pathology is insufficient selection or complete absence of at least one of the colors in the driver. This is color blindness. Depending on the type and degree of visual impairment, color blindness is divided into four forms.

1. Deuteranopia is a type of color blindness in which the enzyme responsible for the perception of shades of green in the driver is not produced. Instead, the sick driver sees shades of orange or pink. Due to pathology, red is also poorly perceived, but other colors are read by the remaining enzymes only with slight distortions.
2. Protanopia is a form of color blindness that makes it impossible for a driver to distinguish between red and partial yellow. Due to pathology, the patient sees dark green instead of red. This is very dangerous while driving, because a colorblind person will constantly confuse opposite traffic lights. However, in a number of countries, for example, in Western Europe, driving licenses for protanopia are issued without any restrictions. It is believed that a sick driver can understand a traffic light not by colors, but based on which of the cells is lit at one time or another.
3. Due to tritanopia, the driver's perception of blue is impaired. Also, with this type of color blindness, the spectrum of other colors is distorted. Therefore, such a pathology is definitely a significant limitation on medical examinations.
4. Dichromasia is a complete inability to perceive one of the colors. The disease is a more severe form of vision pathology than the above-mentioned deviations with the general diagnosis of “color blindness”.

Regarding the danger of color blindness, legislators from different countries have almost opposite opinions. Traditionally in Europe, prohibitive measures are not applied to colorblind people, and, for example, in Turkey, all forms of the disease have always been grounds for refusing to issue a driver with a license to drive a vehicle.

In Russia, legal requirements for drivers are constantly changing. Until 2012, for example, deuteranopia and a driver's license were quite compatible for categories A and B. Documents were not issued only for dichromasia or if a person with color blindness wanted to be a truck driver, bus driver or professional chauffeur.

However, according to the current legislation, the requirements for vision have become stricter. Let us consider in more detail what restrictions are imposed on the driver by existing forms of color blindness, and what is the acceptable visual acuity when driving.

What visual acuity is required to obtain a license?

Medical requirements for visual acuity for drivers are reflected in Order No. 302 of the Russian Ministry of Health (dated April 12, 2011). This extensive document regulates the list of hazardous activities, establishes a list of medical requirements and the procedure for medical examination of a driver who drives a vehicle professionally. The legal act establishes what vision must be in order to obtain a driver's license. According to the document, a driver with visual acuity below acceptable limits will not pass the medical examination:

• less than 0.5 on the eye that sees better, and less than 0.2 on the worse-seeing organ of vision, taking into account the use of glasses or contact lenses;
• in case of blindness in one eye, the second organ of vision of the driver must see no worse than 0.8 without the use of corrective means;
• professional drivers working behind the wheel must have vision of at least 0.8 and 0.4 with correction;
• The permissible correction value with glasses and lenses is 8 diopters, and the difference between the driver’s left and right lenses should not exceed 3 units.

In general, these requirements are considered quite gentle, however, many drivers who wear glasses do not take care of their vision, getting used to myopia. During a medical examination, glasses that are not strong enough may result in refusal to issue a certificate.

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To avoid such problems, it is recommended to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist before the medical examination. The specialist will adjust the prescription of glasses or contact lenses and give recommendations on exercises that have the effect of short-term improvement of vision. When undergoing a medical examination, it is imperative to warn the doctor about vision problems, and the driver should bring his own glasses or contact lenses to the examination.

Now let’s look at what requirements the legislation imposes on the driver’s ability to perceive colors. At the same time, it is important to understand why colorblind people should not drive a car. First of all, in a stressful driving environment, a person with color blindness can confuse traffic light modes and, due to a visual defect, provoke an accident. Therefore, color blindness is no less a significant basis for prohibiting driving than the driver’s myopia.

How and where can you take a color blindness test?

According to the current legislation regulating medical requirements for vision, the main normative act of which is the already mentioned Order No. 302-, any deviations in vision due to color blindness are grounds for refusal to issue a driver’s license. A medical certificate for drivers with color blindness is only issued if they change a license that was obtained before 2012.

To determine color perception disorders, 27-card color blindness tests are performed during an examination by an ophthalmologist. Each of them features circles painted in different colors. By highlighting them in different shades, a separate number or some symbol is depicted. A driver who does not have problems with color perception can easily name the numbers indicated on the card, and for a colorblind person, on some or all options (depending on the form of colorblindness), the circles will appear the same.

Consequently, the driver will not see the required number. When performing the described vision test, strict regulations must be followed. The health care provider must provide the following conditions for testing for color blindness:

• the driver must sit strictly with his back to the window;
• It is prohibited to carry out testing under artificial lighting;
• each card must be shown for at least 6 seconds, held one meter away from the driver;
• the image should be positioned at eye level of the driver being tested;
• the test results can be distorted by temperature and other health problems, so the driver, if he is unwell or feels unwell, is obliged to reschedule the visit to an ophthalmologist for another day.

Since a driver’s license will not be issued in 2019 in case of serious impairment of visual acuity and color anomalies, the driver undergoing a medical examination should treat the problems he has extremely carefully. You should carefully prepare for your vision test. It is also necessary to follow the procedure for medical examination. For any deviation from the regulations made by doctors, a driver with color blindness has the opportunity to appeal the results and a chance to have a second attempt to pass the commission.

Cost of passage

An examination by an ophthalmologist for color blindness is included in the list of mandatory stages of a driver’s medical examination. Therefore, all procedures are included in the cost of the medical certificate, which is subsequently issued to the driver. As of 2019, it is 1,500-2,000 rubles, excluding certificates from a narcologist and psychiatrist from dispensaries.

For those who doubt their health, there is the opportunity to undergo a color blindness test at any medical institution before the medical examination. According to your insurance policy, this can be done for free at any public clinic. Turning to paid medicine will allow the driver to reduce the waiting period in queues. The procedure for examination by a specialist is practically no different from similar services in a free clinic. The cost of a paid analysis for color blindness varies from 800 to 2000 rubles.

If the study does not show significant deviations in the driver’s perception of colors, a certificate obtained from a doctor can be presented at the driver’s medical examination. Sometimes, on this basis, the doctor refuses to test for color blindness as part of the medical examination or does not show all the cards, reducing the test to a formality. However, the ophthalmologist has the right not to take into account the presence of a certificate of absence of color blindness issued by a third-party medical institution.

Responsibility for falsifying medical examination results

According to current legislation, color blindness in all its forms does not allow a driver to obtain a license and drive a car. Therefore, the diagnosis, which is a death sentence during a medical examination, is often attempted to be hidden through fraud. Citizens considering such a decision should understand that medical examination of vehicle drivers is a procedure protected by law.

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Any fraud with a certificate of color blindness is subject to criminal prosecution under Article 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Not only for issuing a fake certificate, but also for purchasing it from criminals, the driver may face:

• 2 years of compulsory work;
• imprisonment lasting the same length of time;
• fine 80 thousand rubles.

Despite the fact that the legislation contains a disappointing answer to the question of whether colorblind people are given rights, it is not worth committing a crime. Forged documents are detected when checking the driver at the traffic police, so if you have vision problems, this option will still be a dead end.

To summarize, it should be stated that according to Russian laws in 2019, a colorblind person, regardless of the form of the deviation, can obtain rights only if he changes them after the expiration of the statute of limitations for documents issued before 2012. For everyone else, there is only one option - passing your license in the state closest to Russia, which is a member of the Vienna Convention and does not impose medical restrictions on the driver due to color blindness. Countries that have signed the document allow foreigners to travel using their national license.

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Color blindness and driver's license

Features of the disease

The main feature of the disease is the inability of the eye to distinguish one or more colors. The retina of this organ is designed in such a way that in its center there are special cones that contain pigments of red, blue and yellow colors. They are the main ones. And a person sees all other colors and shades when mixing these colors.

If one of the pigments is missing or is present in insufficient quantities, a disturbance in the perception of a particular color is observed. The most common deficiency is red pigment.

There can be several causes of the disease:

• congenital anomaly;
• injury received;
• other eye diseases.

Most often, the disease is transmitted to the child from the mother, who herself may remain completely healthy.

Forms of the disease

A medical certificate for a driver's license with a disease such as color blindness can permanently classify a person as a pedestrian. From a medical point of view, a trichromatic vision of the world is considered normal perception, when a person has all three pigments in sufficient quantities. If this balance is disturbed, one of the forms of this disease may occur:

• Protanopia – deficiency of red matter. In this case, a person may confuse this color with dark green and brown;
• deuteranopia - a person does not distinguish the color green, he confuses it with pink and orange;
• tritanopia - the blue-violet spectrum is not highlighted, instead a person sees red and green.

The most common are the first two varieties.

Colorblindness in drivers

An ophthalmologist will decide how realistic it is to get a driver’s license if you have color vision impairment in 2019. Until 2012, drivers with such violations could only obtain permission to drive vehicles of categories A and B. At the same time, the document contained an entry that stated that such a driver could not work for hire, that is, he could use a car or motorcycle only for personal reasons. purposes.

The attitude of different countries to this issue is fundamentally different. For example, in Europe such restrictions have never been imposed. It is believed that the main reason for the ban is based on the inability to distinguish the colors of traffic lights, but drivers have already learned to remember them by location.

In 2015, our country passed a law that prohibited all drivers with such visual impairment from driving vehicles. As for drivers who received their license before the law was adopted, if the document is reissued, they will still be able to obtain a medical certificate for further driving.

Opinions on this issue among the public are very divided. Some consider such a sanction to be discrimination, since, as is known, in some cases it is much more difficult to drive a car with myopia, but, nevertheless, drivers with such an illness still receive a license.

Eye test for color blindness

The color vision test for a driver's license is carried out using special polychromatic tables. Experts typically use two types:

• Rabkin tables;
• Ishihara tables.

One such image is a symbiosis of numbers, figures or chains, which are made up of many small colored circles, endowed with the same brightness. The main set usually contains 27 tables.

The system works like this: if a person does not distinguish colors, everything in the picture seems homogeneous to him. People who are not susceptible to color blindness can quite clearly distinguish numbers, circles and chains.

To ensure accurate results, the following conditions must be met:

• natural light in the room, the patient should sit with his back to the window;
• relaxed and calm state of the subject;
• the picture should be shown at a distance of 1 meter from eye level for 5-7 seconds.

Today, it is possible to determine the presence of such a disease in a child in the womb.

>Replacing a driver's license: Video

World practice of driving with color blindness

Color blindness is a common generalized term for a range of color vision disorders. In the current International Classification of Diseases they are listed under the general code H53.5 (“Color vision anomalies”). Each of these impairments, shown in the table below, affects a person's ability to drive to varying degrees.

Table - Ophthalmological disease and its clinical manifestations

According to the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Medical Terms. In 3 volumes/ Ch. ed. B.V. Petrovsky. - M.: Sov. encycl., 1982-1984

When driving a car, only achromatopsia can be a serious problem. But this anomaly is extremely rare - less than 0.0001% of the world's population. Other color perception disorders do not cause any particular inconvenience to drivers. Most colorblind people normally adapt to distinguish between traffic lights, side lights, road signs, etc. That is why in Canada, the USA and Western European countries, people with color vision impairment are allowed to drive cars.

Obtaining a driver's license for colorblind people in the Russian Federation

On April 12, 2011, the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation approved Order No. 302n, regulating the rules of medical examination. It included a list of diseases that are grounds for refusal to issue a driver’s license. According to this document, a medical examination by an ophthalmologist includes 5 types of examinations for drivers:

• Determination of visual acuity;
• Study of color perception;
• Visual field examination (perimetry);
• Biomicroscopy of ocular media;
• Fundus ophthalmoscopy.

If the examination reveals any violations of color perception, then, according to the contraindications set out in paragraph 27.1, the person cannot obtain a driver’s license. Order No. 302n does not distinguish between forms of color blindness, denoting them with a general formulation - “Impaired color perception.” The release of this document provoked a wide resonance. In fact, even people with slight deviations in color perception were deprived of their right to drive. Public opinion considered this formulation of the issue unfounded and discriminatory. The situation was aggravated by an increase in the level of corruption among doctors of medical commissions. Many candidates for a driver's license with minor color vision anomalies began to simply buy certificates. As a result, in 2014 there was talk of revising the standards and excluding color blindness from the list of contraindications.

On December 29, 2014, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1604 was issued, correcting the list of restrictions and contraindications for operating land transport. According to this document, only colorblind people suffering from complete color blindness - achromatopsia (code H53.51) receive an absolute ban on driving. Other forms of color blindness - deuteranopia, tritanopia, protanopia - are not specified in this Resolution.

Has the law changed in 2018?

In practice, in 2018, colorblind people continue to be denied driver’s licenses. The Government Decree of 2014 did not change anything, and doctors still refer to the Order of their own Ministry. This document has not been canceled by anyone and today is the main provision regulating the issuance of certificates to future drivers.

Order No. 302n underwent minor changes in 2014, but the mention of color vision impairment was not excluded from it. The new edition of the document also retains an old typo: a generalized mention in the list of contraindications of clause 28.1, which does not exist in the Order. Doctors themselves read it as “clause 27.1”, which is why they refuse to issue certificates to colorblind people for all categories of driver’s licenses. These legislative inconsistencies leave the possibility of challenging the decision of the medical commission in court. But such precedents have not been recorded so far. Law-abiding colorblind people, including those with deuteranopia, protanopia and tritanopia, remain pedestrians in 2018.

According to the list of contraindications to driving, only one color vision disorder - achromatopsia - is an obstacle to obtaining a driver's license. In practice, any person in the Russian Federation with any form of color blindness receives a medical exemption from a commission and cannot drive a vehicle.

We recommend reading: Acceptable vision for obtaining a driver's license 5/5 (1 votes)

What is the current situation

Much has changed since the legislative decision regarding colorblindness. It has been in force since September 2012, and prohibits persons with color vision impairment from driving a car. Thus, all motorists who are unable to distinguish colors are disqualified.

If a person undergoes a medical examination and is diagnosed with color blindness, he cannot have a driver’s license. The new order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development No. 302 has perplexed a lot of people, because it looks like discrimination. Since, previously, persons with a slight deviation in color perception were issued licenses without problems, the restrictions applied only to patients with dichromasia (complete loss of one color). Now, even with a slight violation of color discrimination, licenses are not issued. Even people without problems with perceiving the order of traffic lights cannot get behind the wheel.

When a person has a mild illness and has a previously issued license, he has the right to a certificate permitting driving. This applies to cases of replacing a driver's license. Other states do not apply any restrictions for colorblind people. In developed countries, they plan to solve the problems of colorblind people through a special form of traffic light, which will make confusion with the signals impossible.

At the same time, in Germany special lenses are produced for colorblind people that correct color perception. For our country, such innovations are not yet relevant. Restrictions for colorblind people continue to apply, causing outrage among motorists.

In practice, a medical examination in some companies is a common formality, which is often simply purchased or tested through third parties. However, the answers to the test with color tables can be learned by heart.

Author of the article: specialist of the Moscow Eye Clinic Mironova Irina Sergeevna

Published: September 29, 2015

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Color blindness and driver's license

Driver health eligibility issues are very important when considering whether to obtain a driver's license. The proposed material discusses the features of issuing a driver’s license in 2019, if the candidate has color blindness, and the impact of this physical disability on the possibility of obtaining permission to drive a car.

Colorblindness and its features

Color blindness is a pathology that causes incorrect perception of color shades. If the disease manifests itself in a severe form, the driver will have difficulty perceiving traffic lights and road signs.

The ability to distinguish colors is explained by the structure of the human eye, individual segments of which record certain tones, when combined, forming a full-fledged image.

Colorblindness test for driver's license

When checking the vision of driver candidates for a driver's license, the medical commission, in addition to excluding myopia and farsightedness, necessarily requires passing tests for color blindness. You can only obtain a license if you have successful test results. Colorblind people will not be able to obtain a license if the specified disease is present in a pronounced form.

Colorblind categories

Depending on the characteristics, the following manifestations of these pathologies are distinguished:

1. deuteranopia - when green tones are replaced by orange or pink. Shades of red also cause difficulties in perception; other colors are recognized without significant deviations;
2. protanopia - instead of red (in some cases, together with yellow), the patient sees dark green. The most dangerous type, since opposite traffic signals are perceived in the opposite way;
3. tritanopia – problems with the perception of blue color and distortion of other shades. One of the most serious reasons for a medical commission to refuse to issue a driver’s license;
4. dichromasia is the most severe type of color blindness, expressed in a complete inability to perceive one of the shades.

The requirements of different states differ in assessing the possibility of issuing a driver's license for color blindness. Russian legislation notes a significant tightening of the conditions for granting driver's licenses to those suffering from inadequate perception of color shades.

Until 2012, a certificate for the right to drive motorcycles and passenger vehicles was issued if deviations in the perception of colors were detected. But now permission to drive a car is possible only if the disease is mild and does not progress. It is also possible to issue a replacement driver's license if the license was obtained before the adoption of more stringent legal requirements for colorblindness.

Note! Colorblind people are not allowed to drive unless the disease is mild.

Testing for color blindness is carried out using twenty-seven images with letters and numbers made in multi-colored circles on an appropriate background. Most often, this disease is typical for the male half of the population.

The person being tested must answer what is shown in the pictures.

Testing is characterized by clear regulations, on compliance with which the correctness of the results obtained depends:

• the window should be located behind the person being checked;
• tests are carried out in natural light;
• the minimum duration of identification of each image is from six seconds, at a distance of one meter;
• the picture should not shift down or up relative to the test person’s eye level mark.

The driver must be in good physical shape at the time of the examination. If fever or other health problems are present, it is recommended to reschedule the test until recovery.

If you have problems seeing certain colors, you may have difficulty passing tests. But if the testing was carried out incorrectly, the driver has the right to reasonably challenge its results.

Note! The driver has the right to challenge the results of an incorrect vision test.

Cost of passage

Vision tests, including color perception tests, do not require a separate fee. The specified control is included in the amount of the general medical examination certificate, excluding drug and psychiatric examinations.

To undergo a medical examination you will have to pay from one and a half to two thousand rubles.

If, before obtaining a driver’s license, the applicant has doubts about the adequate perception of colors, he can be tested at a government medical institution. If you have insurance, this is done free of charge.

When visiting a private clinic, the cost of an examination by an ophthalmologist ranges from eight hundred to two thousand rubles, but this will save time by avoiding queues.

Responsibility for concealing the disease

If an applicant for a driver's license resorts to fraud in an attempt to hide problems with color perception, this entails the application of the following measures to him within the framework of the requirements of Art. 327 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

• assignment of two years of forced labor;
• imprisonment for a similar period;
• a fine of up to eighty thousand rubles.

This is explained by the fact that the driver, by deliberately hiding difficulties with the perception of colors, deliberately contributes to the creation of a possible emergency situation, endangering not only himself, but also the lives of people around him.

As can be seen from the presented material, the tightening of domestic legislation poses a big problem in obtaining a driver’s license for those suffering from color blindness. Therefore, the issuance of a color-blind license is possible only in case of a mild form of the disease or in the case of an extension of the issued rights before the adoption of stricter requirements after 2012. An alternative option is to take advantage of the differences in vision requirements between applicants and obtain a driver's license in another country.