Roy Orbison did have poor eyesight.
Roy Orbison did indeed have to wear glasses but his eyesight was not so poor that he couldn't drive. All of the bunk about his eyesight and rumors about being blind go back to when he forgot the glasses he normally wore performing on a plane and had to wear his tinted prescription glasses....which quickly became a trademark.
Let me ad that Orbison himself is supposed to have said
So, if he wasn’t blind, what was the real story behind Orbison’s trademark sunglasses-clad look? Well, according to Orbison himself, the reason behind his on-stage appearance was that he didn’t have a manager or stylist, so he just went out there wearing whatever he felt comfortable in. He simply put the shades on one day, felt good performing in them, and never looked back. 
It's a little late to ask the man which story is true.
