Night driving glasses - anti-glare

[cowtown_eric]

I used to work in ophthalmic photography taking pictures of the ocular fundus (back of eye)

I was told I had early cataracts which clouded the interior of the lens.

Night driving became a chore, so back to optometrists.

Tech used autorefractor, and tried to ship me off to the waiting m, but I said hang on.

As my complaint was about driving at night, I pointed out to her that she had all the lights on (ie pupil restricted, all light trying to focus through the cataract)

Turn off the lights, and let's get a refraction in the dark....(ie pupils dilated)

Which she did

One eye had a full diopter difference between the two autorefractions,, confirmed by optometrist, and lnight driving became ever so much easier

but you've had cataract extractions, and presumably have implants.. (which can have little complications), but I'll point out that the other important optical component of the eye is the cornea which has a shape!

daylight, pupil constricted, optics using only central area of cornea...

Nighttime, pupil dilated much wider, more cornea optics involved, and it has been disturbed by cataract extraction

There are many other nuances in the equation, but it may be worth a conversation with your ophthalmologist or optometrist

 

[newbiegirl]

Having just returned from trip to Scotland which by necessity involved driving at night, (something I now do infrequently), I found I was troubled with the glare of oncoming LED type headlamps.

Advertisements for tinted night driving glasses seem to offer miraculous results at relatively modest cost.

Does anyone have any opinions based on personal experience they are willing to offer?

Hi yes I have some and find them invaluable, you can also wear your normal glasses at same time (if you have them) I have 2 pairs, a pair in my car and a pair in hubbys car which I drive sometimes. Have found them very helpful
Good luck

 

[DrPhill]

Having just returned from trip to Scotland which by necessity involved driving at night, (something I now do infrequently), I found I was troubled with the glare of oncoming LED type headlamps.

Advertisements for tinted night driving glasses seem to offer miraculous results at relatively modest cost.

Does anyone have any opinions based on personal experience they are willing to offer?

Yes - I had some clip-on tints which helped a lot.
I have since got prescription tints from a well known high street optician. The help more than the clip on ones. They don’t solve the problem completely, but the do help.

I think the theory is that modern bright headlights emit a lot of blue light. The yellow filter cuts down the blue light reducing the headlights to bearable levels.

 

[BC'er]

I've used yellow shooting glasses for years when driving at night. They do a great job of cutting down the glare and improving one's ability to see against it. With more and more vehicles using ridiculously bright headlights and often leaving them on high beam, it's really a safety issue.

 

[Chubber]

A update on the above, I bought an inexpensive pair advertised in a newspaper supplement and found them helpful especially when the road surface is wet.

It's not world changing, but the starry halo around the headlights of oncoming vehicles is considerably reduced. I am pleased I bought them and haven't noticed any diminution of the other salient road features.

 

[Sachakins]

Changed to anti reflective lenes years back for my prescription and that reduced headlight glare a lot.
For sunnier driving I changed from dark lenses and photo chromatic lenses to polarised prescription sunglasses, that made driving in bright sun so much easier,no glare or reflections off the dash either.

 

[Bingy man]

Years ago while travelling to and from West Sussex and the south coast I always had problems with bright oncoming headlights , this well before led,s - street lamps could also give me problems- unusually the unlit sections of m. Way were bliss , I do my best to avoid night driving where possible especially on motorways. Large suv,s with led lamps are not nice whether on coming on a m .way or behind you on a single track country lane .

 

[Phill05]

After reading this post early January I picked up a pair of yellow tint clip-on's for night time driving and I find them great even day time driving I tend to put them on they help.

So thanks for the tips on this post.

 

[Sideways]

Changed to anti reflective lenes years back for my prescription and that reduced headlight glare a lot.
For sunnier driving I changed from dark lenses and photo chromatic lenses to polarised prescription sunglasses, that made driving in bright sun so much easier,no glare or reflections off the dash either.

It used to be that polarised sunglasses which are great for general use, especially around water or reflective surfaces, weren't recommended for driving. The polarisation showed up the funky stress patterns in the windscreen from the toughening process. I guess with progress most all cars have laminated windscreens these days and these don't have polarisation patterns to distract.

 

[Sachakins]

It used to be that polarised sunglasses which are great for general use, especially around water or reflective surfaces, weren't recommended for driving. The polarisation showed up the funky stress patterns in the windscreen from the toughening process. I guess with progress most all cars have laminated windscreens these days and these don't have polarisation patterns to distract.

Very rare nowadays, but rear windows still can still have stress patterns on some cars.

 

[Filament]

Just a note of caution that both TheAA and Which? advise against using tinted glasses at night due to exactly the reasons mentioned via people on the thread earlier (reduced visibility).

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/safety/driving-in-sunglasses

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/are-night-driving-glasses-safe-to-wear-a20Q17g8xnyD

 

[Chubber]

Just a note of caution that both TheAA and Which? advise against using tinted glasses at night due to exactly the reasons mentioned via people on the thread earlier (reduced visibility).

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/safety/driving-in-sunglasses

https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/are-night-driving-glasses-safe-to-wear-a20Q17g8xnyD

I feel the dangers involved in being temporarily unable to see the nearside kerb or cats' eyes illuminated by one's own headlights or, indeed, traffic Islands far outweigh the prognostications of somebody who is being paid to pronounce on matters in a fashion calculated to absolve their employers of any possible liability.

I am NOT advocating the wearing of sunglasses during hours of darkness.

 

[Agent_zed]

Something that you should also check is the windscreen itself. I see that cleaning has been mentioned earlier but another factor is how scratched the screen is.

My other half has an 18yr old polo (still going strong) but something we've noticed is that at night the windscreen is so scratched with micro scratches that it catches the light of headlights and is producing glare on the windscreen itself. I think it is from years of being ice-scraped and is the reason I won't scrape my car windscreen.

I've tried polishing it but there are just too many scratches and they don't polish out. I'm going to buy a new windscreen.