Does anyone without depth perception have trouble riding a motorcycle?

Question

I love to drive a motorcycle and haven't in 14 years because I lost sight in one eye and I am worried that because of my "lack of sight and depth perception" it would be difficult and dangerous to determine certain road conditions or obsticals. I cannot see anything coming from my right side. Has anyone dealt with this? How?

Answer 1

I don't think that lack of depth perception would be a major liability in riding a MC, I have no depth perception and rode for many years with no problems. Lack of vision in one eye could potentially be dangerous though, you would be subject to a blind spot on one side and severely reduced peripheral vision which is important for a MC driver.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I have a friend that lost an eye and he rides all the time. After 14 years you have probably learned to deal with having one eye pretty well. As far as depth perception goes, it would be very dangerous to ride or drive without it. Any one that thinks otherwise is an accident waiting to happen. Your depth perception is what you use to judge the distance to the vehicle you are following, the vehicle you are getting ready to pull out in front of, the distance to the intersection or stop light coming up, etc, etc.

To safely ride a motorcycle, you must be comfortable with what you are doing. You cannot safely ride if your mind is consciously thinking about your handy cap. That's why I say after 14 years, you could probably try it. After that amount of time it's probably always there, but sub consciously.

Answer 4

Stereoscopic depth perception (seeing in 3 dimensions) is really only relevant inside of about 10-15 feet. Anything beyond that does not require two converging lines of sight to judge distance. Beyond a certain distance, the two images which your eyes sense and convey to your brain have already converged and translate to 2D anyhow. Effectively, viewing a single object from 25 feet away with one eye is the same as viewing it with two.

I think the only situation in which lack of depth perception due to monocular vision would pose a problem while riding a motorcycle is trail riding or motocross. In this case, you are approaching unexpected obstacles like roots, ruts, rocks, etc. at a high rate of speed and are required to judge distance and depth and react accordingly. On the open road, this really wouldn't be the case. Potholes and other obstacle would be apparent--assuming otherwise sharp vision--and could be avoided with adequate reaction time.

Answer 5

MAke sure you wear protective eyewear at all times, you wouldn't want enything to happen to your good eye.