One of the most common questions people ask about color blindness is: can a colorblind person drive? or how do colorblind people see the traffic light?
As a colorblind person, I have never had any problems driving or recognizing traffic lights.
I know sometimes some people can confuse yellow and green lights on traffic lights since green lights can be seen as white or similar to yellow, but it all depends on the quality of the lights. But I never thought or guessed that this could be one of the main problems for colorblind people.
The way I found out about it was through one of my surveys on Instagram. I asked our followers and 55% of them voted "YES." They do have a problem with traffic lights.
Personally, like many other colorblind people, I used to memorize the colors of things around me, such as my clothes, fruits, flowers, animals, and, of course, the order of how the lights are placed on the traffic light.
The top is red, and the button is green! On horizontal traffic lights, the red light is on the left, and the green light is on the right side.
Many colorblind people believe that colorblindness limits them and prevents them from achieving some of their other goals and dreams. On the other hand, I always try to encourage people to change these beliefs and understand that there are always advantages, and the only thing that limits them is themselves.
To answer questions related to driving and how colorblind people see the traffic lights, let's watch my interview with a young colorblind car racer, Zach Makos.
Zach received a special exemption at 14 years old to race in the Senior division because of his size. The Senior division has the most experienced, and competitive drivers. Typically, a driver enters this division at 16 years old.
Overall, many individuals with a color vision impairment experience little, if any, challenges. Most daily activities, including driving, are possible for them.
People with color blindness can still drive, but there are certain considerations and restrictions that need to be taken into account. Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is a condition in which individuals have difficulty distinguishing between certain colors, most commonly red and green. This can affect their ability to perceive traffic lights, road signs, and other important visual cues while driving.
To compensate for their color vision deficiency, colorblind drivers often rely on other visual cues, such as the position of traffic lights (top for red, middle for yellow, and bottom for green) or the shape and location of road signs. Many countries have also implemented universal design standards to make traffic signals and signs more discernible for colorblind individuals, such as using distinct shapes or symbols in addition to colors.
It depends where you are!
If you are in the US, you can drive anywhere in the country if you are colorblind. There is no law prohibiting it in any state that I know of.
The reason it is legal is that you don’t need to see the colors. You just need to know the order of the lights. We know red is on top, yellow is in the middle, and green is on the bottom.
If you are referring to traffic lights, colorblind people memorize the position. Red on top, yellow in middle, and green on the bottom. And for signs such as stop signs drivers need to understand their meaning and not the color.
Color blindness would have to be very severe in order to impact licensure in any way. The vision test they'll administer has to do with distance more than interpretation of color. In some states, including Oklahoma, there will be a portion of the vision test which involves color interpretation, but you will be allowed to consider the questions in that test in a way that respects your color blindness and still get along in the process. If anything, this will involve a simple medical exemption, and then only in the most extreme cases.
In other words, you can probably fake it. The importance of being able to operate a motor vehicle in the United States is such that licensure is rarely limited or restricted. Pretty much anybody can show up and get a license.
I have never heard of anyone being denied a driver's license in the US because of color blindness. Now, it is true that the separate states of the Union issue their own driver's licenses with separate guidelines, but these are sufficiently uniform such that I can confidently assert you will face no problems because of mere color blindness.
Colour blindness is not a disqualifier in the UK. I know several people who are color blind to some degree and hold a driving license.
In the United Kingdom, individuals with color blindness can still obtain a driving license, provided they meet certain requirements. Color blindness, also known as color vision deficiency, is a condition that affects a person's ability to distinguish between different colors. While this condition can present challenges in certain situations, it does not automatically disqualify someone from driving.
To obtain a driving license in the UK, all applicants must pass a standard vision test, which includes a check for color vision deficiency. However, the specific requirements may vary depending on the severity and type of color blindness.
The most common form of color blindness is red-green color blindness, which can make it difficult to distinguish between shades of red and green. In such cases, additional tests may be administered to assess an individual's ability to recognize traffic lights and other color-coded signals.
People with red-green color blindness can obtain a motorbike or vehicle license. They can also get a commercial driver's license.
In Australia, colorblind people can obtain a driving license under certain conditions. The country's driving regulations primarily focus on a driver's ability to perceive and respond to road conditions safely, rather than on specific medical conditions like color blindness. However, color vision deficiency can affect a person's ability to distinguish between certain colors, potentially impacting their driving performance.
To determine an individual's eligibility, the Australian driver licensing authorities typically require colorblind applicants to undergo a comprehensive vision test. This examination evaluates various visual aspects, including visual acuity, depth perception, and color vision. While color vision deficiency alone may not disqualify someone from obtaining a license, individuals must demonstrate an acceptable level of visual ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.
A Singapore driving license applicant must pass the Ishihara Test for color perception. The Ishihara Test will be difficult for colorblind candidates to pass. They will be directed to an eye doctor who might do a quick test asking the candidate to identify the red, green, and amber colors in random order. After passing this test successfully, the candidate may be granted medical authorization to drive in Singapore.
To get a Malaysian driving license, candidates are tested for any possible color blindness and vision deficiency problems. Passing a color blindness test is a prerequisite to attempting the computer-based traffic signs and rules test and practical driving test.
To test Deuteranomaly, Protanomaly, Protanopia, and Deuteranopia (Red-Green color blindness types), you will be asked to indicate correct numbers, letters, and/or shapes, surrounded by a colored dot pattern, on a multiple choice response format (Ishihara test).
In addition to the Red-Green test, candidates will also be asked to correctly identify sample car registration numbers and basic colors in order to test their reading and color detection abilities. The duration of this test is 15 minutes only.
By 2020 mild to medium color blind people can obtain a driving license.