Even the shortsighted can drive

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Paul Hyde • Even the shortsighted can drive (03/18/04) • Welcome, Dems, to an uneasy state (01/28/04) • 'Cold Mountain' adds to South's long debate (01/14/04) • Education is not the priority for delegation (10/22/03) • Lawmakers must listen to victims of violence (09/18/03)

At best, Sanford's loosening of the vision-test requirement won't make driving any safer in our state.

Until last year, South Carolina drivers had to go to the DMV every five years and get their eyes checked when renewing their driver's license.

Now, however, South Carolinians are able to renew their driver's license online. Thousands are jumping at the opportunity — and they don't have to get their vision checked.

Those drivers, if they're under 65, won't have to take a vision test for 10 years. That gives South Carolina one of the most lenient vision-test standards in the nation.

Is that cause for concern?

Certainly traffic safety groups don't like it. The vision test is not merely a burdensome nuisance created by a overbearing nanny state. It's a "key part" of proving that a driver has the ability to handle a vehicle, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

The AAMVA — the mother of all DMVs — recommends that all drivers have a vision test at least once every four years. Not 10 years, but every four.

That makes sense. Eyesight can change considerably in just four years — especially for those who gaze at a computer all day. If a guy can't pass an eye test, we probably don't want him on the road until he gets glasses — or stronger glasses.

Most states require an eye test every four or five years.

AAA Carolinas not only supports a frequent eye test but also advocates a regular exam to test a driver's knowledge of basic traffic law.

That's certainly reasonable: A driver's license is not a mere identity card. It's a document intended to prove that the holder has the ability and knowledge to handle a vehicle on South Carolina roads.

Shouldn't South Carolina, with the third-highest rate of fatalities per mile driven, tighten — rather than loosen — restrictions for motorists? Apparently, lawmakers don't think so.

Sanford's reforms were designed to reduce the notoriously long lines at the DMV. Sanford did some smart things, like opening some DMV offices on Saturday. He also put greeters in offices, making the DMV more efficient and customer-friendly.

But allowing license renewals online may not have been a good idea. Since June of last year, almost 250,000 drivers have used the Internet to renew driver's licenses or perform other transactions that once required a visit to the DMV.

At the DMV, the results have been akin to a miracle: Long lines that averaged more than an hour in September 2002 were down to 15 minutes a year later.

That was a vast improvement for a state department that had been a pain in the neck for South Carolinians and a high-profile example of a government agency that didn't work.

Visiting the DMV has become far more convenient. But have we traded safety for convenience?

Yes, say the traffic safety groups.

In 2008, the DMV may begin to require a vision check every five years for South Carolinians who renew online. But DMV officials haven't figured out how to enforce that requirement.

Likewise, motorists currently renewing a license in person at the DMV may obtain a 10-year license. Those licenses are supposed to require a vision test every five years, but the DMV hasn't figured out how to enforce that rule either.

In the rush to shorten DMV lines, it seems Sanford and the state didn't give much thought to making sure drivers could see very well.

South Carolina is not only No. 3 in fatalities on the road but also No. 1 in the nation in the rate of drunken-driving deaths. The main reason is that lawmakers keep the state Highway Patrol sorely understaffed: The state has too few troopers to deter speeders and reckless and drunken drivers.

Thanks to the loosening of the vision-test requirement, South Carolinians now have to worry about drivers who're not only crazy but possibly foggy-eyed as well.

Write to Paul Hyde, editorial page associate editor, at phyde@greenvillenews.com.