I need an eye test for my driver's liscence.
Surely a super liscence has some similar requirement. {Jericoke - 3 posts ago}
Correct. All international racing licences including the Superlicence are subject to an annual medical by the applicant's doctor and separate annual eye test by a qualified opthalmologist, the latter of which is covered in Article 10.3 of Appendix L of the International Sporting Code. National-level racing licences are subject to the rulings of individual National Sporting Authorities.
For international-level racers, the relevant requirements are:
- complete or near-complete visual acuity in both eyes (the definition of near-complete is several lines long and need not detain us here, except to say that it is permissible to use glasses or contact lenses to pass this element)
- normal colour vision according to the Isichara test, with specific emphasis on perfect ability to distinguish all colours used in marshalling flags
- at least 120 degrees of peripheral vision (identical to the road licence requirement in the UK) with the central 20 degrees free of imperfections (a clause not in the UK road licence requirement)
- completely functional depth perception
- free of eye disease or, if eye disease is present, no deterioration in condition for two years verified by specialised eye tests and, ideally, a test in an actual race car
- ability to move eyes freely, smoothly and without impediment to the extent expected of healthy human eyes
- two functional eyes, or if blind in one eye, to have been that way for at least 5 years and able to pass the other elements of the test, with licence provision possibly subject to the judgement of a committee of experts.
Glasses are permitted provided they have shatter-proof lenses. Contact lenses are only permitted if they've been worn by the applicant for a significant amount of each day for at least one year and the manufacturer of the lenses to be worn has specifically approved them for use in motor sport.
If not correcting vision causes eyestrain but doesn't affect ability to see, then it would be easy to pass the test but still need to have vision correction to be comfortable in certain situations (including driving, for that matter - simply because you're allowed to drive without corrective glasses doesn't mean you can't use them in that situation). So I can see quite easily how it can be the case that Felipe can be wearing glasses for some occasions and not need them to drive.
I think one reason the media might be overexcited about this (apart from it being part of the "miracle recovery" story they've been watching unfold since Hungary last year) is that if Massa is not telling the truth, it will be very obvious. He can't have been wearing contact lenses long enough to be allowed to wear them in a race situation for the early part of this year, so if he needs visual correction to drive, he'll have to wear glasses. It won't stop him driving, but it'll give the press an easy story - whether they're right or Felipe is.
It is very much a storm in a teacup though, given that Felipe's already had a far better recovery than we could reasonably have expected at the time we saw him crash. We'll get to see him race the Ferrari in 2010 and it looks like he's lost none of his speed or feistiness - seeing the press fussing about visual corrective devices is a bit like seeing a friend fuss over some undotted "i"s just after commenting that you've written the book likely to be the best-selling one since the Bible...
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