A year after the central government issued orders in favour of people with monocular vision ( single-eyed ) getting behind the wheel, those with the condition are still denied licences by Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) across the state.While Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry implemented the Centre’s order soon after it was issued in November 2017, the state transport department, despite amending rules to accommodate monocular visioned drivers, is yet to put them to use.Initially, though people with monocular vision were denied driving licences across the world thinking they could endanger lives, developed countries like the United States of America and Australia, lifted the ban. People with monocular vision were accepted to have sufficient sight in the better or other eye to drive cars and two-wheelers. In India, campaigns to declare monocular visioned people eligible to drive vehicles began eight years ago. After a prolonged struggle, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) agreed to look into the demand and sought help from AIIMS to study the possibility of letting them drive.Doctors from the institute’s department of ophthalmic sciences studied the case and suggested that people with monocular vision can be considered for driving cars and motorbikes on three conditions — 1) They have a horizontal visual field of 120 or more 2) Visual acuity in the other or better eye is 6/12 or better 3) They have had sufficient time (six months or more) to adapt to the loss of vision.Based on this, the ministry last year wrote to all states and union territories to amend rules and issue DLs to those with monocular vision. Tamil Nadu , however, acted on it only recently, when state transport commissioner Samayamoorthy instructed all RTOs to consider applications from monocular visioned people under Section 8(4) of the Motor vehicle Act,1988.While the change remains on paper, K Rajagopalan, a disabled people rights activist, said, “RTOs across the state reject applications of such people.” “We are ready to issue DLs to those who bring medical certificates as mandated by the Section 8(4).But many monocular visioned people who approach us don’t bring the certificate,” a senior transport official said. Most hospitals however, aren’t ready to issue certificates, say applicants. “Medical boards in government hospitals, including the Institute of Ophthalmology and Government Ophthalmic Hospital, Chennai, are not ready to issue medical certificates to us,” said P Balakrishnan of Chennai. He who lost vision in one of his eyes aged six. “I have wanted to drive independently for a long time now. It continues to be a dream.”M Radhakrishnan, former director of the government ophthalmology hospital, said the only disadvantage for people with monocular vision is that their field of vision will be slightly less. “They get adjusted to it soon. People like Moshe Dayan, late Israeli minister, had monocular vision and have emerged as expert pilots and shooters. So there is nothing wrong is allowing them to drive on roads,” he added.

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