Published: April 07, 2008 10:11 pm      

DMV: More than 200 may seek bioptic driving privileges

Upward of 200 potential motorists in West Virginia might seek permission to operate a vehicle while using bioptic telescopic lenses to enhance impaired vision, says Motor Vehicle Commissioner Joseph Cicchirillo.

Lawmakers approved the concept in last winter’s regular session, opening the door to allow motorists to drive while using the special lenses in limited conditions.

Cicchirillo said the legislation would impose no burden on the DMV and that at the outset of the program, motorists using such lenses likely will be restricted to driving during daylight hours.

“We don’t think this is going to affect a whole lot of people in West Virginia,” he said. “I think about 200 people probably will apply for the program.”

Before going solo, the commissioner emphasized that enrollees will undergo a mandatory, 90-hour training session.

“It will be 30 hours of sitting there as a passenger, 30 hours of classroom and 30 hours of actually driving with an instructor watching them as to how they use that piece of equipment,” he said Monday.

The idea was supported during last year’s interims workshops and in the regular session by Charles “Chuck” Huss, an academy-certified orientation and mobility specialist with the state Department of Rehabilitation Services.

Huss has 25 years of teaching experience with the visually impaired and recalled his experiences in a pilot program in the 1980s when 32 residents were licensed to drive. About 25 who are still driving were grandfathered in.

“We’re initially going to restrict them to daylight driving,” Cicchirillo said. “They’ll have to be off the road when it gets dark. The reason being is, they’re going to have to provide some kind of proficiency and their history.”

Cicchirillo said the initial class trained two decades ago had an overall commendable safety record.

“A lot of them did some self-restricting,” he said. “They knew their limitations.

“And we hope that these people understand that driving is a privilege. We’re going to afford you the opportunity to drive, but please, make sure you don’t abuse the privilege.”

That bill along with the revised statute on driving under the influence will be part of Gov. Joe Manchin’s bill-signing ceremonies Thursday at the Capitol.

Cicchirillo applauded the new DUI law, promoted primarily by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, as “a pretty good bill” that attracted input from a wide variety of stakeholders.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com