Question for the cops

[Alpo]

The thread about renewing your license made me think of this.


You pull somebody over, look at their license, and it says corrective lenses. They are not wearing glasses. You ask about this, and they say they're wearing contacts.


Do you take their word for it or is there some way of checking?

 

[biku324]

Sure - look at their eyes in strong light, either sunlight or flashlight.

 

[Goldstar225]

You know, out of thousands of traffic stops I don't think I ever checked for corrective vision compliance. I was always focused on other things.

 

[326MOD10]

I would agree with Goldstar225.

 

[Eric300]

I had a guy run a solid red light one time. Almost caused an accident. I pulled him over and sure enough 'corrective lens' was checked on his operator's license. I asked him if he was wearing contacts. He said that he wasn't. Hmmmm, maybe he would have seen the red light had he been wearing them. I hope he put them in to read his citation.... Only time in 30 years I've ever written that kind of traffic citation.

 

[biku324]

It happened that the first 8 years of my career were spent just off a huge, dry Indian reservation; we arrested LOTS of drunk drivers. We routinely used horizontal gaze nystagmus test field sobriety testing; you get to be a pretty good observer of eyes with and without contact lenses and can tell the difference pretty quickly.

 

[Golddollar]

I could look in a mirror and see my own contact lenses.

 

[S-W4EVER]

On a routine traffic stop, I took their word for it.

 

[biku324]

Yup. If there is no reason to suspect intoxication or something that suggests the driver is unable to stay within the lines there's just no reason to check. Accidents are different.

 

[ben_g1]

Not to get off subject here, but is old saying still in effect?

Nine your fine, ten your mine.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I once had an officer comment on what a lovely shade of salmon my eyes were.

 

[oink]

Not to get off subject here, but is old saying still in effect?

Nine your fine, ten your mine.

No, as that varies by State, agency and officer. It also varies by specific location. You won't get as much slack in a school zone or in a residential area with lots of kids. But otherwise I usually gave a good 10mph, 15mph or more unless you were being "........" or I already knew you were a ne'er-do-well or worse.
-------------------
As for the OP's question, I agree with others in that I never worried about it. I think I did write a violation of license restrictions for lenses once. But it was more a case of a DH that needed another ticket and it was the only thing I could come up with.

 

[dhallz71]

What about someone that has had corrective surgery and has 20/20 vision now?

 

[lkabug]

I don't remember ever confronting that issue.

 

[jimmyj]

Old Cop Motto:

" The driver's mouth writes the citation, the officer just fills in the boxes"

 

[oink]

It would be up to them to go to the license bureau and get the restriction removed, which wouldn't be a problem. Obviously if they could convince me on the scene that they were "fixed" I'd give them a pass. But the smart thing would be to get the restriction removed.

 

[S-W4EVER]

What about someone that has had corrective surgery and has 20/20 vision now?

^^^What oink said.^^^

 

[Muss Muggins]

Not to get off subject here, but is old saying still in effect?

Nine your fine, ten your mine.

Now you need something that rhymes with seven and eight (for DUI's) . . .

As for speeding, lots of places write tickets for 1-4 miles over . . .

 

[Muss Muggins]

What about someone that has had corrective surgery and has 20/20 vision now?

Speaking from personal experience, you go to the license bureau and get a new license. I couldn't wait to get there . . .

 

[4506517]

The last thing I'm worried about when conducting a traffic stop, is corrective lens compliance.

I'm worried about transacting business and paying enough attention to stay alive.

.......LOL, and that the dashcam is on.