Road Safety: Driving and Your Eyes

As winter approaches and the days get shorter, you’ll tend to find yourself driving in the dark more often. Driving in the dark or at night can be a lot more intimidating than driving during the day, especially for inexperienced drivers. Dark roads, poor visibility, and glare caused by artificial lights are just some of the issues. In fact, out of the 34 million drivers in the UK, 17 million struggle to see at night, and the accident fatality rate is reportedly 3x greater than during the day.

So, what are the most significant issues, and how do we combat them to stay safe?

 

Glare From Headlights

One of the main reasons you will likely have trouble seeing at night is due to light and glare from oncoming traffic reflecting into your eyes. This happens because there is a difference in brightness between the lights coming towards you and those behind you.

Manufacturers design headlights, high beams, and fog lights to help drivers see at night, but lights from oncoming cars can sometimes have the opposite effect. Glare can be distracting, irritating, and reduce your reaction times. Experiencing glare in low light conditions/at night can cause our pupils to rapidly constrict to adapt to the light source, which can cause temporary blindness. It may take several seconds to regain full vision after being dazzled by glare.

Glare can also affect your depth perception and make it harder to judge distances or a struggle to determine how far away a potential hazard is. Glare can affect your eyes so severely that you experience double vision.

If you wear glasses, the best solution to glare is to choose a lens solution with an anti-glare or anti-reflective (AR) coating. This lens enhancement can reduce glare from oncoming headlights, street sign reflections, and other distracting lights.

Here at Opticare we also offer Hoya EnRoute anti-glare driving lenses for your glasses. Hoya’s dedicated EnRoute driving lenses use anti-glare technology to give you a wide range of vision and help you drive safely at night. By offering contrast-rich vision in the far distance, of the dashboard, and in mirrors, you can feel comfortable and confident on the road, whatever the light level or time of day.

Reflections

Reflections, whether from metal surfaces or water on the road, can pose an additional risk with standard lenses no matter the season.

Polarised lenses offer additional safety in these situations. Polarisation filters the light, reducing the dangerous reflections wet roads or snow can produce. Additionally, polarised lenses can improve the contrast and perception of colours. This will allow you to see oncoming vehicles earlier and more clearly, regardless of visibility levels.

However, polarised lenses are only suitable for driving during the day time and should not be worn at night.

Presbyopia and Difficulty Seeing Your Dashboard

If you’re struggling to see the smaller details in your car such as the speedometer, GPS, or any other detailed indicators on your dashboard, this could be a sign of presbyopia.

Presbyopia typically affects those over 40. Aging causes presbyopia, a form of long-sightedness that occurs when the eye’s lens loses its flexibility.

This inability to see objects up close can be dangerous when driving as it may prevent you from being able to monitor a safe speed, navigate directions correctly on your GPS, or even miss an important warning on your dashboard.

Myopia, Blurry Road Signs, and Distant Objects 

If you’re struggling reading road signs or spotting debris or pedestrians on the road you may be suffering from myopia.

Myopia, or short-sightedness, is caused by an improperly shaped eyeball or cornea.

Road hazards are harder to spot at night/in reduced visibility conditions, so having myopia on top of this could be extremely dangerous. On top of this, more light reflects off road signs at night making them even more challenging to read.

If you think you might be struggling with myopia, book yourself in for an eye test as soon as possible to learn about your options for correcting it.

 Astigmatism and Blurred Lights

Astigmatism alters the way light is reflected into your eyes causing blurry vision at all distances.  If you find yourself especially struggling with lights when driving at night, such as seeing halos, streaks around lights, or chronic glare, you’re likely to be struggling with astigmatism.

Toric lenses are typically the solution for people with astigmatism as they refocus where the light hits the retina allowing for clearer vision.

Your optician will be able to recommend the best lenses for you.

Nyctalopia and Night Blindness

Nyctalopia refers to poor vision that occurs in dim light or darkness. Due to limiting a person’s visual capabilities significantly, nyctalopia can prove very dangerous when driving.

Various eye conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma, and myopia, can cause night blindness.

 

If you’re struggling with driving at night, it is crucial you book yourself in for a routine eye exam to discover the underlying cause. Once they identify the cause, your optician can recommend the most suitable correction method for you.