Long drives at night with your partner are always very romantic. But it may turn out quite risky if your night vision isn’t pretty much stable.
Does flashy streetlights or store boards light blurs your vision while driving at night? Then you may try out night driving glasses.
Possibly to pace up with the trend you might have also bought a night driving glass. But are you sure that these will work? Worry not! We will debunk every myth about these glasses for night driving.
What are Night Driving Glasses?
To offer clear vision at night some people use night driving glasses. But the question arises what these are? These are special types of glasses that are equipped with heavily tinted yellow lenses. These are also known as non-prescription glass that comes in various shades from light yellow to amber.
How do these work?
These glasses are specially equipped with an anti-reflective layer to block out reflections. These lenses reduce the glare by scattering out the blue light. The anti-reflective coating eliminates the internal reflection caused by these short-wavelength blue lights, thereby, providing clear night vision. These yellow-tinted glasses were also used in shooter’s glasses, which are now popularly used in night driving glasses as well.
Weak night vision can be pretty bothersome and it might get even worse with growing age. Aging decreases pupil sizes and due to which a 60 year old might need more light at night than a 20-years old youngster.
But, be it grey nomads or Gen-Z hipsters – are these glasses for night driving really effective or is it at all good? Let’s discuss this in the next section!
Are these glasses effective?
These yellow-tinted glasses slowly gained popularity as night driving glasses just a decade ago. But soon after research, it was proved that these are not as effective as they are thought to be.
- These yellow-tinted glasses block high-energy blue light from entering our eyes which causes internal reflection. The only problem that arises while restricting blue light is that these glasses reduce visibility.
- High-energy blue light which causes glare can be restricted by these yellow-tinted glasses. But the effectiveness is much lower than amber- and copper-colored lenses.
So what do you think all blue light glasses have yellow-tint? Check out our blue light guide to clear all your doubts!
- These glasses do not suffice the entire foundation of the night driving glasses. These are supposed to enhance visibility by lessening the effect caused due to the annoying glare.
- Various traffic lights of different colors are implemented to draw the attention of the driver and others for ensuring safety. But wearing yellow-tinted glass can result in missing out on the traffic signals causing serious accidents.
- Last but not the least, accurate vision is vital especially when you are driving at night. Before you fall for high-end glasses for night driving which is practically a non-prescription glass, make sure they are effective for night vision.
According to a study, glasses for night driving slows down visual reflexes for a few seconds which could affect your night vision.
Well, then why not try out sunglasses? Wearing sunglasses at night may sound weird but it could be really beneficial in eliminating glare while driving at night!
Why Can’t You See While Driving at Night?
Driving at night may be more troublesome than driving during the day. Headlight, fog lights, and street lights, those intended to help drivers view roads clearly can sometimes cause distraction, irritate the eye, and reduce your reaction time while driving.
You may start experiencing fuzzy or streaky vision which makes driving difficult at night.
What Signs indicate You Need Glasses for Night Driving?
Understanding the symptoms that say you may need eyeglasses for driving at night.
- Dazzled by glare
- Need to drive slowly
- Difficult to see lane marks or street light
- Vision impairment
- Double vision
- Blur, fuzzy or hazy vision
- Squinting in night light
- Headache
- Eyestrain
- Halo around a light source
Solutions for improving night driving vision
Night blindness is one of the vision flaws that can make driving at night safely way more challenging. Besides, night driving glare makes it quite difficult for some people to drive. Let’s see how we can improve our night vision without using yellow-tinted glasses!
- Frequent eye checkup is highly recommendable. This keeps your eye prescription up to date and improves your night vision.
- You can consult an optometrist to get an anti-reflective coating on your glasses. This would help you while driving at night. Moreover, this would be much more helpful than getting night driving glasses.
- Before driving ensure your glasses are perfectly cleaned. A speck of dust or any kind of dirt can intensify glare, which would result in poor night vision.
- Make sure the windshield of your car is clean and clear from inside as well as outside.
- It is also important to keep your vehicle headlights clean and free from dirt.
- Windshield wipers are well-maintained and functional.
- To avoid straining your eyes while driving, keep your dashboard lights dim.
- Even after taking all the above precautions and steps, if you feel that your vision changes depending upon the light, then do visit a doctor.
Did you know, over 10 million people on the road who are driving are over 70 years of age?
Are Night Driving Glasses the Same as Blue Light Glasses?
Night driving eyeglasses and blue light glasses are different from each other.
Night driving eyeglasses are meant to help you fight night-time glare coming from headlights, street light, and surface reflection and provide visual clarity. By implementing few add-ons like polarized lenses and anti-reflective coating, these glasses can enhance your night vision.
While blue light glasses are used to reduce blue light exposure resulting in digital eye strain.
Best glasses to use while driving at night?
If you think yellow-tinted glasses are the best choice as night driving glasses, then check out the alternatives below.
- Anti-glare glasses are essentially suitable for night driving, as it offers a glare-free driving experience not only at night but also during daytime.
- Visit an eye doctor for a comprehensive eye test to rectify your refractive errors with new glasses, otherwise you can simply avoid using any kind of night driving eyeglasses.
- People with myopia or astigmatism should better opt for prescription glasses with anti-reflective coating to eliminate internal reflection caused due to blue light and achieve improved vision.
Final verdict!
Separate glasses for night driving just with AR (Anti-Reflective Coating) has no visual benefit. Many of us even think of it as a vision scam.
But even if it’s not, investing much on these glasses doesn’t actually make sense. The myth about the night driving glasses are pretty overwhelming and scientists have debunked the idea. So better find yourself quality designer prescription glasses with an anti-reflective coating and other necessary coating at an affordable price to save your money and vision at the same time.
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