Night Driving Glasses Are Helpful: Fact or Fad?

Getting your driving license is such an exciting feeling. I remember when I got my driver’s license I just wanted to keep driving wherever the roads led me.

While I pride myself on my driving skills, the number of road accidents happening in the UK every year are truly heartbreaking. More than 1700 Brits lost their lives to road accidents in 2019, which was an all-time high since 2010.

Accidents happen every day. But if we act carefully and responsibly, we can prevent these fatalities. While drunk driving and reckless behaviour are some of the causes behind road injuries, failing see to properly accounts for over one-third of road accidents in the UK every year.

Being able to look properly is the most basic requirement and it becomes even more crucial when driving at night. Our vision decreases in the dark so it is obvious that night time driving calls for extra precautions. For instance, wearing night driving glasses to aid your vision.

Why can't You See While Driving at Night?

Even if the long nights have ended, you may find yourself driving back home from the office during the late hours. While I’ve said that I am a good driver but driving my way back home from work at night requires extra attention. And I am not the only one who feels this way. There are other British drivers who must find night driving pretty challenging.

One of the reasons our eyes struggle seeing at night is the approaching light from oncoming traffic. Headlights are designed to help the drivers see better at night. But, they seem to be doing the opposite.

The approaching headlights cause glare that disrupts our field of vision and reduces the reaction time. However, this problem can be easily managed with driving glasses for night vision or anti-glare glasses. They won’t let your eyes wear out and optimise your vision field. What does this mean? Better road safety at night for sure.

What are Night Driving Glasses?

Generally speaking, night driving glasses are non-prescription glasses featuring yellow-tinted lenses. They have an anti-reflective coating that blocks glare and helps you see better.

But, while these glasses may make you feel like you are “able to see better”, the yellow lenses diminish the visibility which is more dangerous than helpful at night. This is why, at Specscart, you can find clear driving glasses with an anti-reflective coating and no tint. They effectively block the reflections from headlights without reducing the visibility.

How do Driving Glasses for Night Time Work?

Because your driving vision depends on so many factors, a good pair of driving glasses has a standard anti-reflective coating that cuts down the distracting glare both at night and day.

These driving glasses for the night are loaded with polarised filters to improve contrast so you are able to see the approaching vehicles more clearly.

Driving is a task of focus as much as it is the task of shifting focus. It’s not only the road you have to concentrate on. You have to rapidly shift your focus to see through the side mirrors. This may sound like an easy task for young lads, old people or those who wear prescription glasses are not able to shift the focus so quickly.

Specscart’s driving glasses for night vision are tailored to your needs and optical comfort. We just want everyone on the road to be safe.

Signs that You Need Driving Glasses at Night

Driving at night brings along a unique set of challenges. It is one of those activities that need the help of your eyes. Your colour recognition capability, depth perception, peripheral vision and focus determine your night vision.

The same symptoms that tell you that you have a vision problem can be applied to identify if you need driving glasses at night. These are the symptoms you should look out for:

• Blurry Vision
• Double Vision
• Squinting
• Headaches
• Hazy vision
• Light sensitivity
• Seeing halos around bright lights
• Eyestrain

Depending on the symptoms you have, your optometrist will recommend a number of prescriptive treatments. But, one thing is for sure - driving glasses with an anti-glare coating make for the best driving experience.

Where polarised sunglasses improve your driving experience in the daylight, anti-glare glasses keep you safe by offering clear vision at night.

UK’s Eyesight Rules for Driving

If you wear contacts or glasses, you are obliged to wear them every time you are driving on UK roads. Also, you need to inform the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about any sort of eye disorders you have. If you are shortsighted, farsighted or have night blindness, you don’t need to inform DVLA.

As per the standards of vision for driving in the UK, you need to be able to read a license plate 20 meters away. This is the most basic check that they do. If you aren’t able to tell the correct number, you will fail your test there and then.

For lorry or bus drivers, they must have a minimum visual acuity of 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (even with glasses or contacts). They will also be required to have an adequate horizontal vision zone of at least 160 degrees. Your optician can tell you about these numbers by performing a test.

Are Night Driving Glasses the Same as Blue Light Glasses?

Many people mistake driving glasses for night time as blue light glasses. But, they don’t work the same. Blue light blocking glasses are specifically meant to filter out the blue light and protect our eyes from digital damage.

On the other hand, night driving glasses have both polarised and anti-reflective filters to cut down glare and clear up your visual field on the road after dark. Also, some blue blockers have an amber tint which as we have established reduces visibility.

Therefore, I won’t recommend using blue light glasses for night driving as it isn’t safe. Rather, go for clear lens anti-reflective glasses to avoid the glare from oncoming headlights.

Before We Go

If you are someone over 40, the natural changes in your eyes make it even harder to see things on the road. Make sure you wear these driving glasses for night time for a smooth and safe driving experience.

If you need these glasses today, we could get them to you. Even if you want them in prescription, you will get fast delivery on glasses with a turnaround time of only 24 hours.