DMV will accept recent eye exam note

A reader asks: I’m having cataract surgery to repair my vision. My license says I require glasses. Once I have the surgery I won’t need the glasses. Do I have go to DMV to take a new eye exam or will a doctor’s note do?

Tom Jacobs, spokesman "for your Department of Motor Vehicles," told me that all motorists, when required to personally renew their driver’s license, must pass an eye exam. Motorists must renew their driver’s license in person once every eight years.

The folks at DMV will accept a doctor’s note that says you passed an eye exam if it happened within 90 days of going to the DMV, Jacobs said.

But the real question is should you update your license earlier to avoid any confusion with law enforcement.

Trooper Kevin Honea of the Nevada Highway Patrol says yes.

If your license says you need to wear corrective lenses, and you’re not wearing any, troopers are taught to ask why not.

Usually the answer is simple, such as the motorist is wearing contact lenses or prescription sunglasses, Honea said.

If you say you’ve had corrective surgery, there’s generally no way to prove it, without an eye exam.

I know of physicians who practice Lasik surgery who give out cards to patients to give to law enforcement officers if they are ever questioned about not wearing glasses.

But the card I’ve seen doesn’t actually say whether you have 20-20, or worse, vision.

This leaves you vulnerable to a citation. (You’d probably be able to work it out on the court side, but is it worth the hassle?)

By the way, Honea said, the cost of a citation for not wearing required corrective lenses is $640.

Greg Violette asks: I understand the purpose of all the white and yellow bumps/reflectors imbedded into roads and highways; those are lane dividers. But what’s the purpose of the blue ones that I see in some residential neighborhoods?

The blue reflectors mark the location of fire hydrants throughout the valley.

Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said the blue reflectors are part of the fire code in the city.

The city of Las Vegas saw its first reflector installed almost 27 years ago on March 21, 1982, Szymanski said. Back then there were about 4,600 fire hydrants in the city.

Today that number is about 20,000, Szymanski said.

Nowadays fire engines have computers in them that identify on maps where each fire hydrant is located.

Still, "it doesn’t hurt having the blue dots on the ground," to help responding firefighters easily identify where the fire hydrants actually are or in case the computer stops working, Szymanski said.

I understand there has been some confusion regarding the overnight closures of I-15 at Craig Road.

The Nevada Department of Transportation announced the closures as the finishing touches are put on the Craig overpass. The closures are in effect from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night through Thursday. It’s part of the ongoing $34 million Craig bridge project.

For southbound I-15 traffic, the vehicles must exit at Craig Road, make a left at the light onto Craig and then a quick right to get back on southbound I-15.

I checked out the situation Monday night and discovered that a couple of southbound vehicles are going straight at the end of the exit, which leads to Donovan Way and not the highway.

I also discovered that traffic backed up quite a bit on southbound I-15 before Craig. It was about a 30 minute wait at 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The northbound I-15 traffic flowed much better. Northbound vehicles must also exit at Craig, but can make a right turn. Those vehicles then turn left on Lamb Boulevard, heading north to the Lamb interchange with I-15.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call Francis McCabe at (702) 387-2904, or send an e-mail to roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number.