A 3-minute lesson from the Kentucky course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Every first-time applicant takes a vision screening, then a written test on driving rules, regulations, procedures and highway signs. Kentucky State Police give both, by appointment only. For the operator test, everything you need is in this manual.
20/40
Minimum visual acuity (corrected or uncorrected) to move on to the written test
Don't meet the standard? You're referred to a vision specialist. Afterward, applicants with 20/60 or better may test for a permit or license, restricted to corrective lenses if the specialist prescribed them.
Applicants below that may qualify for the Kentucky Bioptic Driving Program (Office of Vocational Rehabilitation), which trains them to drive with a bioptic telescopic device restriction.
The test can be given orally if you can't read English, but you must answer the signs portion from your own knowledge. Every office has tablets that read the test aloud in English and several other languages—no special appointment needed. An oral test or interpreter does need one.
Your vision screening shows 20/50 without glasses. That misses 20/40, so you're referred to a vision specialist. If the specialist's exam shows 20/60 or better, you can test—and if glasses were prescribed, your license will require them.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
What minimum visual acuity is required (corrected or uncorrected) before an applicant may move on to the written test?
20/20
20/60
20/100
20/40
Answer: 20/40
A minimum visual acuity of 20/40, corrected or uncorrected, is required to proceed to the written test.