for the colorblind

[cumgranosalum]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

at night - in the distance - how do you tell if the one light you see is at the top?

[cumgranosalum]

I fail to see how being colorblind would be a problem? I mean once you have learned that red is on top of a traffic light and learned the road signs, what is the issue?

"I fail to see" - is the main problem.

assuming a strong red/green blindness which is your example - traffic lights.

The position of lights at junctions is of course not always the same - especially in Thailand - s if driving at night all one sees in the distance is a "muddy" light - firstly one has to decide this is a traffic light, then one has to decide what part of the sequence it is and then take an appropriate action - none of this is necessary for a non-colour-blind driver and it could so easily lead to a dangerous situation.

you might also consider the problems with warning lights on dash boards, various other warning lights in traffic, brakes, indicators road works emergency vehicles. In broad daylight this is bad but all of this is especially of concern at night

When driving we don't actually "READ" signs, we react subliminally and roads signals and signs are designed with this in mind - being color-blind takes away several elements of this subliminal thought process and can result in dangerously long reaction times or worse still no reaction at all ........I'm seriously concerned that people like giddyup are still driving around the same roads as myself.

If you had half an inkling as to what colour blindness actually is, your arguments might hold some water. You seem to think that if you are colour blind you see in black and white. You don't. I can distinguish between green and red and yellow, it's only when they are mixed together on the colour chart that it's a problem. I can also read a number plate clearly from a 100m away, so my vision is not affected. I've also been driving for 55 years with only one accident that wasn't my fault. So perhaps you can point out where my colour blindness presents a problem?

You are now obviously running out of argument and making up things you hope might be true in the form of ad hominem blustering - actually i have never said anythin about black and white at all - i actually DO know what colour blindness is as I have members of my family who suffer....they don't drive now.

the color charts have been developed over years of research to represent the kind of color mixtures people have to identify in day to day life - being color blind you may not actually be aware of the full variety of color in daily life and fail to understand the full significance of the tests.

you have of course noticeably failed to address any of the issues I've raised.

" I can also read a number plate clearly from a 100m away, so my vision is not affected - your vision IS affected - You are colourblind!

However it IS comforting to know that when you collide with a car you will be able to read its numberplate.

The most worrying aspect of all this is that whilst it is well established that there are risks to driving when colour-blind, you who actually ARE colourblind are refusing to admit there is a problem - a highly dangerous mix.

[Sabot]

color blindness abnd other vision impairments mean you see less...THIS IS DANGEROUS! - I have a colleague who is color blind, I noticed this as a result of his driving - unable to tell types of road sign and failure to anticipate a traffic light.

After he made these mistakes, i asked if he was "OK" - he casually told me he was color blind so "drove differently" from some people .

i won't go in a vehicle drive by him any more.

Your friend's color blindness wasn't the problem. You friend is just an (DELETED). "Unable to tell the types of road signs."??? (DELETED)

I am alright with the color vision test. What I don't get is why it needs to be repeated. Color blindness is a genetic trait. If you pass the test once, you should be good forever, unfortunately, the Thais don't understand that. Perhaps they believe you can "catch" color blindness from others.

[transam]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

at night - in the distance - how do you tell if the one light you see is at the top?

Fink cos the light inside it illuminates it..............

[chrissables]

Funny this popped up, I was talking to a Thai colleague today who was bemoaning the new colour blindness / peripheral vision test.

He failed, but apparently can go to the hospital to get a certificate of some sort and they will issue a licence, "This guy is blind, please issue a driving licence".

I am blind in one eye. I was failed my renewal licence but was told to go to Bangkok Pattaya International Hospital for an eye test.

They test the "working" eye using a computer controlled gadget. If the eye is up to standard they write a certificate which you can take back to the test center.

This was a tad galling as one, it was a doctor from that hospital who blinded me. Two on my return to the test center they had to take my paperwork out of the waste bin to process, due to this they made me take another eye test! As if they knew better than the doctor.

My next renewal is due later this year and i am not looking forward to it!

[sometimewoodworker]

."They had a traffic light to test colorblindness, a color came at random at the light (it did not stay on the same place all the time). So this would be impossible to cheat if your colorblind."

That is exactly the test (and the only one) I had in Udon Thani a few weeks ago, and they don't understand the word amber so I had to say yellow.

And for those who claim that colour blindness has no effect on driving ability, in most way that's true but not in reaction time specially at night. I can almost always see the signal light colour long before I see the position of the light on the traffic signal. Around town it's often a different case, but outside town it's usually true.

[cumgranosalum]

."They had a traffic light to test colorblindness, a color came at random at the light (it did not stay on the same place all the time). So this would be impossible to cheat if your colorblind."

That is exactly the test (and the only one) I had in Udon Thani a few weeks ago, and they don't understand the word amber so I had to say yellow.

And for those who claim that colour blindness has no effect on driving ability, in most way that's true but not in reaction time specially at night. I can almost always see the signal light colour long before I see the position of the light on the traffic signal. Around town it's often a different case, but outside town it's usually true.

"but outside town it's usually true." - QED!

[loong]

I avoid driving at night in areas that I do not know because of my colour blindness.

Where there are a lot of sodium street lights, I often cannot make out traffic lights up ahead. All the lights just seem to blend together.

I have no problem when I know where the traffic lights are.

The Canadian test posted earlier, I could see the number 12. So I would pass, but that does not mean that I could be a danger on the road at night. So 1 test doesn't necessarily cover every possibility

[Kerryd]

The problem I have with the colour vision test is that the colours they test you on are not even close to what you see in real life !

A few weeks ago I tried the colour wheel test. Couldn't get the red/green circles to save my life. I did notice at one point (when the woman tester had me stand in front of the wheel so I could see the different colours) that the lighting in that room made it more difficult to distinguish between the colours. Funny too because when I was out behind the testing area, I could read the eye chart almost all the way to the bottom even though I was almost 2 meters behind the "testing" line.

Then a couple days later I went on a bike trip (about 500 km's round-trip). Day time and night time I had no problem seeing the traffic lights and telling the colours from hundreds of meters away. It was quite noticeable how different the actual red, yellow and green lights are compared to the colour wheel. I was wishing I had a Go-Pro on my bike so I could take examples and measure the distance from the time I saw the light to the intersection.

As for the positioning of the lights, they are not always in the "tree" style (up & down) but could be in the "line" style (side-to-side) as well, with the Green light on the far right (as I found on that trip as well).

It's also annoying as I used to have "requires corrective lenses" restriction on my license but 2 years ago I did the laser surgery and then last November I did the eye test (in Canada) so I could get the restriction removed. Passed the test with flying colours (pun intended) ! They use a machine. One of the clerks sets it up, you run through the test and bang ! I think it took less than 2 minutes all told and now I don't have any restrictions on my license. That bluddy colour wheel in the Thai license though drives me up the wall.

Nothing I can do about it though so I've either got to get lucky with my guesses next time I try, or just not bother trying to get a Thai license at all !

[Mrjlh]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

Except where you have a single "flashing" light that is either "RED" or YELLOW". So Mr. I believe its Nonsense...which one is it? Forgot that one didn't you?

[transam]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

Except where you have a single "flashing" light that is either "RED" or YELLOW". So Mr. I believe its Nonsense...which one is it? Forgot that one didn't you?

Those colours I would GOOOOOOOOOOOO.............

[Mrjlh]

For the color blind these might the answer of a life time and a worthy investment. Expensive glasses that correct it! Just came out.

http://enchroma.com/

[yardrunner]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

AND THAT IS A LOAD OF NONSENCE, about half the traffic lights in khon kaen are left to right and not up and down

[transam]

The colour blind thing is a real nonsense........Isn't the light at the top of the TL tree always STOP, isn't the light at the bottom of the TL tree always GO.........

AND THAT IS A LOAD OF NONSENCE, about half the traffic lights in khon kaen are left to right and not up and down

........One just learns the colours, ones perception of the colours..............

[thaibry]

."They had a traffic light to test colorblindness, a color came at random at the light (it did not stay on the same place all the time). So this would be impossible to cheat if your colorblind."

That is exactly the test (and the only one) I had in Udon Thani a few weeks ago, and they don't understand the word amber so I had to say yellow.

And for those who claim that colour blindness has no effect on driving ability, in most way that's true but not in reaction time specially at night. I can almost always see the signal light colour long before I see the position of the light on the traffic signal. Around town it's often a different case, but outside town it's usually true.

Exactly the same traffic light test that I had in Nong Khai two years ago and completely different to tests in Roi Et two weeks ago.

Posted from my phone using predictive text, please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.

[CindyB]

I can't speak for all countries, but there is no colour blindness test in Australia. An eyesight test yes, which makes sense. I've been driving for nigh on 55 years and not once has being colour blind caused me any problems driving.

Color blindness should be no issue since in the international traffic system the top light is always red, the middle always yellow, the bottom always green. With vertical signals, red is to the left, yellow in the middle, green to the right. Colorblind people can tell which light is lit. However, if we start spinning traffic signals here, that may be another issue . . .

[scrabbleking]

In Pattaya there is a colorblind test, using a wall chart, yet NO vision test whatsoever. I am colorblind and have failed a few times, but finally passed by asking someone standing behind me to say the color when the testor pointed to the small colored dots. The first time the guy was saying the colors so loud, that the guy giving the test must have assumed I was naming the colors. LOL!!! Went back a year later for the 5 year license, failed, had to come back a week later, asked for assitence for somebody behind me and passed with "flying colors". What a joke!

[giddyup]

In Pattaya there is a colorblind test, using a wall chart, yet NO vision test whatsoever. I am colorblind and have failed a few times, but finally passed by asking someone standing behind me to say the color when the testor pointed to the small colored dots. The first time the guy was saying the colors so loud, that the guy giving the test must have assumed I was naming the colors. LOL!!! Went back a year later for the 5 year license, failed, had to come back a week later, asked for assitence for somebody behind me and passed with "flying colors". What a joke!

I did exactly the same thing, TWICE! First the 1 year then the 5 year.

[senor123]

color blindness abnd other vision impairments mean you see less...THIS IS DANGEROUS! - I have a colleague who is color blind, I noticed this as a result of his driving - unable to tell types of road sign and failure to anticipate a traffic light.

After he made these mistakes, i asked if he was "OK" - he casually told me he was color blind so "drove differently" from some people .

i won't go in a vehicle drive by him any more.

It is not dangerous in a nanny state such as the one I live in. All traffic lights work from top to bottom, red, amber, green with a delay on the amber to allow red light runners to make it without killing anyone (most of the time). Also the road signs have little picture thingies to let you know what they mean. So you can be colour blind, illiterate and physically impaired to drive quite safely on the roads. The one thing we do have is that nearly all of the drivers are licenced, respect other road users and are not Thai.

As an aside, my Thai missus was astounded the first time she visited when cars stopped at pedestrian crossings to let pedestrians (including young children and old people) to cross the road.

[Mr Freeze]

Most Thai drivers , drive as if their blind , or completely " legless " at the best of times !

[Mr Freeze]

How does a Thai electrician get to work ?

They are all colour blind .

[maxcorrigan]

Well, i went to the office that covers Pattaya on Monday the 9 march, as you can imagine not the best day, it was banged out. i went prepared with my international driving permit and passport etc. plus the duplicates and doctors certicate, this was my first application for a Thai license,we all stood in a row in front of the eyesight booth, and as we entered one at a time the tester stood in front of of a board with various different size circles of red green and yellow, he was about 10 feet away he pointed to different circles and you shouted out the colour in Thai or English probably 4 or 5 times, the circles were quite easy to see even with my 76 year old eyes, after that we all entered the booth, until the rows were three deep one side and one deep the other side, after that with everyone crammed in we sat in a chair for the brake test again pretty easy, one women failed and was sent to the back of the queue for another attempt.

And that folks, was all we did, there was no reading letters on the sight board, peripheral test, or lining up two sticks etc.

We then sat down again (if you could find a vacant chair) got photos took when called, and about five minutes later picked up the license.

All in all it 1 3/4 hours, and 100.10 bht,

As others have pointed out if you cannot differentiate between red green and yellow it might be problem,plus i think being so many people there, maybe they skirted round the other tests, to fit everyone in, i don't know, i did'nt bother with the m/c license although my UK license covers both

Max.......

[ICECOOL]

color blindness abnd other vision impairments mean you see less...THIS IS DANGEROUS! - I have a colleague who is color blind, I noticed this as a result of his driving - unable to tell types of road sign and failure to anticipate a traffic light.

After he made these mistakes, i asked if he was "OK" - he casually told me he was color blind so "drove differently" from some people .

i won't go in a vehicle drive by him any more.

40 years ago I was tested at university and found I had both types of colour blindness. I have had a gold drivers licence with a couple of accidents, none my fault and had a taxi and racing licence at times. I duly failed the colour blind test given at the hospital here (I don't know what they put on the certificate but I think money speaks he correct language - they know you can go elsewhere) I had no trouble passing the colour test at the motor traffic office. Its not a colour blind test.

I think your friend has other sight issues

[cumgranosalum]

Here are some sites dealing with the problems of colourblindness and in particular how it affects drivers.......

Some sites that will help others understand the various colour blindnesses.

"People conclude that if you are colour blind you know, red is on top, green at the bottom and that’s the way colorblind people find their way through the traffic jungle. But that’s wrong.

Why is it wrong?

• The association between top and stop, bottom and go is to weak.

• The connection for deciding what to do is not fast enough.

The thought needs to many steps. Light – top – stop is one step to much.........

......By the way, there are many traffic lights not only from top (red) to bottom (green) but from left (red) to right (green). If you would just remember the sides, you definitely would mix them up all the time."

http://www.color-blindness.com/2007/02/06/colorblind-at-the-traffic-light/

********

"There is a dangerous and widespread assumption that colour-blind drivers drive as safely as drivers with normal vision. Colour-blind drivers have difficulties recognizing traffic and vehicle signals. However, simple and practical solutions such as changes to the design, colour and shape of signals will aid these drivers.

Studies have shown that colour-blind subjects
take longer to recognize signal colours than subjects
with normal vision and make twice as many errors in doing The available stopping distance for red-blind drivers facing a red light may be dangerously reduced, by as much as 39% to 100% and most markedly in strong sunlight."

********

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1875309/

Site about colour blindness....

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/living-with-colour-vision-deficiency/

Examples....

traffic lights

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/wp-content/themes/outreach/images/slider/living/traffic-light_p.jpg

traffic

http://www.colourblindawareness.org/wp-content/themes/outreach/images/slider/living/workplace/traffic-jam_d.jpg

and sideways lights.....

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Colourblind_traffic_signal.JPG/190px-Colourblind_traffic_signal.JPG

*********

“Traffic-light colors are confusing to some dichromats as there is insufficient apparent difference between the red/amber traffic lights, and that of sodium street lamps; also the green can be confused with a grubby white lamp. This is a risk factor on high-speed undulating roads where angular cues cannot be used”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_blindness

********

“#32 Red-green color blindness doesn’t mean that you are only mixing up red and green colors, but the whole color spectrum can cause you problems."

http://www.color-blindness.com/2009/01/06/50-facts-about-color-blindness/

Edited March 10, 2015 by cumgranosalum

[cumgranosalum]

color blindness abnd other vision impairments mean you see less...THIS IS DANGEROUS! - I have a colleague who is color blind, I noticed this as a result of his driving - unable to tell types of road sign and failure to anticipate a traffic light.

After he made these mistakes, i asked if he was "OK" - he casually told me he was color blind so "drove differently" from some people .

i won't go in a vehicle drive by him any more.

40 years ago I was tested at university and found I had both types of colour blindness. I have had a gold drivers licence with a couple of accidents, none my fault and had a taxi and racing licence at times. I duly failed the colour blind test given at the hospital here (I don't know what they put on the certificate but I think money speaks he correct language - they know you can go elsewhere) I had no trouble passing the colour test at the motor traffic office. Its not a colour blind test.

I think your friend has other sight issues

I think you are making assumptions to justify an untenable position....

the problem here is that most/many people who have color blindness have had it for their entire driving lives. They learned to drive like this, which means they have no idea how their driving skills fall short of those with full color vision - they think they are driving "normally".

Edited March 10, 2015 by cumgranosalum

[cumgranosalum]

Well, i went to the office that covers Pattaya on Monday the 9 march, as you can imagine not the best day, it was banged out. i went prepared with my international driving permit and passport etc. plus the duplicates and doctors certicate, this was my first application for a Thai license,we all stood in a row in front of the eyesight booth, and as we entered one at a time the tester stood in front of of a board with various different size circles of red green and yellow, he was about 10 feet away he pointed to different circles and you shouted out the colour in Thai or English probably 4 or 5 times, the circles were quite easy to see even with my 76 year old eyes, after that we all entered the booth, until the rows were three deep one side and one deep the other side, after that with everyone crammed in we sat in a chair for the brake test again pretty easy, one women failed and was sent to the back of the queue for another attempt.

And that folks, was all we did, there was no reading letters on the sight board, peripheral test, or lining up two sticks etc.

We then sat down again (if you could find a vacant chair) got photos took when called, and about five minutes later picked up the license.

All in all it 1 3/4 hours, and 100.10 bht,

As others have pointed out if you cannot differentiate between red green and yellow it might be problem,plus i think being so many people there, maybe they skirted round the other tests, to fit everyone in, i don't know, i did'nt bother with the m/c license although my UK license covers both

Max.......

you UK licence is only valid for a few months in Thailand - after that you need a Thai licence.

"Although International Driving Licences are valid for up to one year after arrival in Thailand, after three months many comprehensive insurance policies are made void if still driving on a foreign licence." http://thailand.angloinfo.com/transport/driving-licences/

Edited March 10, 2015 by cumgranosalum

[mrfaroukh]

I really hope they never give a license to a color blind person. Just imagine when it is red you see green and drive, it will dangerous both for yourself and others.

[Colonel Klink]

I am alright with the color vision test. What I don't get is why it needs to be repeated. Color blindness is a genetic trait. If you pass the test once, you should be good forever, unfortunately, the Thais don't understand that. Perhaps they believe you can "catch" color blindness from others.

Unfortunately color vision can change over time due to certain illnesses or old age, hence the retesting.

[poweratradio]

Funny this popped up, I was talking to a Thai colleague today who was bemoaning the new colour blindness / peripheral vision test.

He failed, but apparently can go to the hospital to get a certificate of some sort and they will issue a licence, "This guy is blind, please issue a driving licence".

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't being color blind a fail anywhere in the world.????

[BKKSnowBird]

I really hope they never give a license to a color blind person. Just imagine when it is red you see green and drive, it will dangerous both for yourself and others.

How do you expect all these people to get to work?

There are ways around this. Just need to learn to do things a different way.