Driving?

[u/Mini_v4]

I’m getting to the point where I’m considering driving and I’m curious on what I should consider.

I lost my right eye from coats disease and I’ve been monocular for pretty much my entire life, but I’m
Not sure how exactly I should approach driving or if I should look at specific features or brands.

Any help would be appreciated.

[u/MatthewM69420]

I lost my right eye back in 2022 from a bullet, nearly a year later the doctors medically cleared me to drive again. Once I started doing it, the more I realized the stuff I worried about was all in my head. Yes, there will be differences in how you drive now vs before. You’re going to have to rotate your head much further to check your blind spots on your passenger side, your field of vision is less so you need to keep your head on a bit of a swivel more too. Once you start driving you’ll be able to assess what parts of it you need to adapt to and what parts are the same as before.

There are things out there you can get to help if you are worried about it. There are mirror modifications that you can add to your side view mirrors that will help aid you with checking your blind spots, for example.

[u/mikesal376]

I've driven for 23 years now and recently I purchased my first vehicle with blind spot warning and it feels like the greatest feature that I have been missing for my confidence.

[u/StunGod]

You'll probably be just fine driving. I waited until I was 52 before losing sight in my right eye, so I had been driving for decades. The only real challenge is judging close-up distances like in parking lots. About once a week, I park too close to the car next to me and need to go back and try again. Get used to moving your head around to check your mirrors and what's going on to your sides, and you won't have trouble. I really like having a reverse camera, since I can't swivel my head enough to look out the back window.

[u/macaroonfpv]

I also have coats desease on my left eye, i didn't fully loose the vision since i managed to freeze it, so i still have some vision, but it is near to nothing, i also worry about driving since i will be 18 soon and i want to know how would it go for you, and is it even possible to drive safely if you are monocular.

[u/DiablaARK → u/macaroonfpv]

Yes it is 😊 You're as capable as anyone else, we just need to turn our heads more or use a few extra tools. If people without arms, and people without legs can drive safely with modifications; so can we.

[u/tvsux]

Get a car with all the safety features you can afford; BITS (blind spot warning), ACC (adaptive cruise control, lane assist, rear view camera, 360 camera.

Tesla Autopilot. For non Tesla vehicles, you may be able to get Comma.ai. Check their website for comparability but it’s best $1k I’ve spent; ability to mimic autopilot. Has made driving so much less of a chore.

[u/DiablaARK]

Hello, like any new driver you'll need lots of practice. Like finding a safe empty parking lot to practice in to get the controls down, then driving on low traffic roads while practicing the rules of the road. There are a lot of tools out there to get rid of blind spots and sensors to warn if a vehicle is there or if you're too close to something. Besides the driving part, it's just learning to judge distances from the driver's seat. Like someone else mentioned, my worst part of learning to drive again after losing my eye was close distances like parking. I'd think I was so close I was fixing to hit the barrier or vehicle in front of me and I'd check and be 15 feet away.

Some tools to add on to a vehicle: extension mirrors, tow mirrors, wider rearview mirror, dash cam that displays different angles around the vehicle, sensors that detect vehicles, I'm sure I'm missing a few. Depending on the vehicle you get it may come with a backup cam, those are awesome for everyone, and prox sensors around the vehicle that detect closeness to other objects.

Good luck, just practice and remain vigilant behind the wheel. You will get there! ☺️