Why 20/20 Vision Isn't Enough for Safe Driving

When most people think about vision and driving, they think about the eye chart. You stand six meters away, cover one eye, and read letters of decreasing size. If you can read the 20/20 line, you are told that your vision is "perfect" and you are safe to drive. But this is a dangerous oversimplification. 20/20 vision measures only one aspect of eyesight: visual acuity, or the ability to see fine details at a distance. Safe driving requires a suite of visual skills that the eye chart never tests. Here are the hidden visual skills every driver needs—and why 20/20 vision is not enough.