When you’re living with wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD), you’ll have to make adjustments to your lifestyle to handle the ways your vision is changing. That may include changing how you drive and possibly giving up your keys.

If you have wet AMD and you’re wondering if it’s safe to drive, this article summarizes what you need to know. Always talk to your ophthalmologist for personalized advice about whether or not you should drive.

Wet AMD, Vision Loss, and Driving

Wet AMD is one type of age-related macular degeneration. It’s less common and often more severe than the other type of AMD, called dry AMD. In wet AMD, blood vessels in your eye grow abnormally and damage your macula. This part of your retina controls sharp vision when you’re looking straight ahead.

In wet AMD, you might notice that lines that should be straight look like they’re crooked or wavy. Your low-light vision may be less clear than it was before, and colors might look less bright. You may get a blurry spot in the center of your vision that expands over time.

Vision problems like central vision loss or blurriness can make several aspects of driving more difficult, including:

• Seeing clearly in the dark
• Staying in your lane and changing lanes
• Knowing if traffic lights change color
• Knowing when to stop your car at a light or a stop sign
• Staying a safe distance from cars, people, animals, and other objects

These changes may cause you to feel less confident behind the wheel or they may make it unsafe for you to continue driving. You, your family members, and your eye doctor will need to make decisions together about your driving ability.

How To Continue Driving With Wet AMD

There’s no hard and fast rule about when you need to stop driving with wet AMD. Each person will need to talk to a vision specialist about what’s right for them and follow their state laws. Below are some ways you can keep driving longer.

There’s no hard and fast rule about when you need to stop driving with wet AMD. Each person will need to talk to a vision specialist about what’s right for them and follow their state laws.

Treating Your Wet AMD

Treating wet AMD may help prevent your vision from getting worse, at least for a while. As long as you find treatment before you lose a lot of your vision, you may be able to continue driving. In some cases, your vision may even improve with treatment.

Vision Loss Adaptations

There are driving professionals who work with people experiencing vision loss to help them adapt and keep driving as long as possible. There are driver rehabilitation specialists who can test you, help you make accommodations, and decide when it’s time to stop driving for your safety and the safety of others. There are also occupational therapists who specialize in driving and can provide similar services. You may need to work with these people more than once, as wet AMD can progress and change over the years.

These professionals may be able to help you learn to use some tools that will help you keep driving. For instance, they can teach you to use telescopic lenses that can help you read street signs and see the color of street lights.

Restricted Driving

Deciding when to drive isn’t always simple. There’s a middle ground between driving all the time and not driving at all.

Some people who live with wet AMD put restrictions on themselves. They might decide to only drive:

• During the day
• During the day when it’s bright and not cloudy
• To familiar places
• Short distances
• When it’s not busy

As long as it’s legal for you to drive, you and your low-vision specialist can come up with a list of restrictions that work for you and the specifics of your vision loss. That way, you’ll be able to retain as much of your independence as possible while also doing your part to keep everyone safe.

When To Stop Driving With Wet AMD

There are several situations when you should stop driving with wet AMD. In general, it’s not safe for you to drive anymore if you:

• Have blind spots
• Don’t know how much space is between your car and other cars, or between you and people, structures, and animals
• Can’t see road signs or streetlights clearly

However, it can be hard to evaluate these issues. You may have a very small blind spot in one eye or only struggle with judging distance at twilight. In these situations, it can be hard to figure out whether or not to continue driving. Below are some factors to think through if you’re struggling to make this decision.

Sense of Safety

Stop driving if you don’t feel safe. Even if other people tell you to keep driving or you’re certified as safe, you don’t have to drive if you don’t feel safe doing so.

Stress

Don’t drive if it’s causing you a lot of stress. If your fear that you’ll hit something or cause an accident is so high that it’s making driving difficult, keeping you up at night, or becoming something you can’t stop thinking about, you don’t have to drive. Using alternative transportation might help lower your stress levels and improve your sense of well-being.

State Laws

Driving laws vary depending on where you live. Some states may allow you to drive if you have one good eye, wear certain corrective lenses when driving, or only drive during the day. Your state’s laws may prohibit you from driving if you have a blind spot that is too large. If you don’t qualify to drive under your state’s laws, you will have to stop driving. This can be frustrating, especially if you’ve worked with a specialist to adapt to driving with less vision. However, it’s illegal to drive without a valid driver’s license.

Expert Evaluation

If a driver rehabilitation specialist or other specialist tells you that it’s not safe for you to drive, stop driving. These experts have spent years learning who is and isn’t safe to drive, and they may be able to see signs that you and your loved ones could miss. Trust them if they tell you it’s time to find alternatives to driving.

Alternatives to Driving

Having to quit driving can be hard for people with wet AMD. One myAMDteam member shared, “Failed the vision test for my driver’s license. I have to give up driving and I’m devastated.” Another said, “It scares me to even think about not being able to drive one day because of AMD, but I would never want to be the cause of an accident.”

“It scares me to even think about not being able to drive one day because of AMD, but I would never want to be the cause of an accident.”

—A myAMDteam member

It may help to know that deciding not to drive anymore doesn’t mean you have to stay at home all the time. There are other options for getting around. These include:

• Public transportation, including buses, trains, light rail, and more
• Shuttles that run between specific areas
• Carpooling with family or friends
• Taxis or services like Uber and Lyft
• Walking or biking
• Paratransit services

Paratransit services help people with disabilities that keep them from being able to drive themselves. Different areas have different options available, but your ophthalmology team should be able to connect you with those in your area.

Find Your Team

On myAMDteam, the social network for people with age-related macular degeneration and their loved ones, more than 2,700 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with those who understand life with AMD.

Do you still drive after being diagnosed with wet AMD? At what point would you not feel safe driving anymore? Share your answers in a comment below or on your Activities page.