Night driving glasses

annieobrien8

Sorry if this is the wrong forum but I saw an old thread relating to this topic in here.

Recently started driving and I have some issues with night driving. The glare from the lights obscures my vision a bit more than I'd say is normal. Does anyone know of any prescription glasses that really work? Vision 2 Opticians in Limerick have some new thing where the lenses have some sort of netting in them! They've barely used them though so they don't know whether to recommend them or not! Any advice?

Matt Simis

Do you wear contacts or had Lasek done?

Blitzkrieger

I've been kinda watching these for a while. Tag Heuer make sunglasses for night driving. They're yellow in colour and are meant to filter out parts of the blue/green spectrum to make it easier to see in poor light. The polarization is also supposed to make it easier to deal with other cars headlights and reduce eye fatigue. They are meant to be pretty effective, but cost 300EUR. I wouldn't dream of buying them unless I was regularly driving for hours at night.

Matt Simis

Blitzkrieger wrote: »

I've been kinda watching these for a while. Tag Heuer make sunglasses for night driving. They're yellow in colour and are meant to filter out parts of the blue/green spectrum to make it easier to see in poor light. The polarization is also supposed to make it easier to deal with other cars headlights and reduce eye fatigue. They are meant to be pretty effective, but cost 300EUR. I wouldn't dream of buying them unless I was regularly driving for hours at night.

Thats the Tag Heuer price, the mere mortal price for regular versions is much lower. You are paying for TH with them, not the lens.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=night+driving+glasses&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Indian is a well known brand name too, £10.99 (dont know if genuine, but still have a look at ebay).


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Genuine "Indian Motorcycles" brand sunglasses
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Item number IN-138
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Sports style sunglasses
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Yellow night/low light driving lens
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Light weight frame
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UV400 protection
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Protective case, lens cloth & documents included
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Condition - brand new with tags
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Suitable for most adults
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Ebay power seller since 2005!
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Over 15,000 happy customers!
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Genuine "Indian Motorcycles" sunglasses distributor
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Cheapest on ebay!

woody33

I saw recently that the specsaver website has a night-driving lens on offer, says it filters out blue. I think a good anti-reflect coating helps too.

ha-ya-said-what

I have that problem where by it dazzles me altogether & gives me head aches, the anti-glare on my glasses sorts it I can't drive without the glasses for more than 5 mins at night or my eyes are killing me.

hoodie6029

I've seen 'Night Drive' glasses in the 321 shop on Moore street. I've been meaning to buy them to see if they are any good. They've been around for years, i remember seeing them in markets as a kid.

You might try these OP before you shell out for the TAG ones.

-Corkie-

Jazus matt they will all think your bono with those glasses:D:D. Seriously i could do with a pair of these.

annieobrien8

I'm short sighted and don't wear contacts and I doubt I'll be getting lasek! So I need prescription night driving glasses so all the nice cheap ebay ones are out of the question

I have the Specsavers anti-glare coating on one pair of my glasses and I don't find it very effective. My mother recently got the night drive coating from there and doesn't find it very good either. Unfortunately her eyesight is worse than mine so I can't wear her glasses for a while to try them out!

Matt Simis

annieobrien8 wrote: »

I'm short sighted and don't wear contacts and I doubt I'll be getting lasek! So I need prescription night driving glasses so all the nice cheap ebay ones are out of the question

Could you try some disposable contacts and the cheaper Glasses to test out the difference?

SARASON wrote: »

Jazus matt they will all think your bono with those glasses:D:D

Lol true!

annieobrien8

I doubt I'd ever manage to put the contacts in! I got eyedrops last week because my eyes were a bit sore and I've tried to put them in but I keep blinking or closing my eyes! I just can't go near my eyes!

MagicMarker

You need to buy non cheap lenses tbh.

I wear glasses and have never experienced this problem.

Vertakill

annieobrien8 wrote: »

I doubt I'd ever manage to put the contacts in! I got eyedrops last week because my eyes were a bit sore and I've tried to put them in but I keep blinking or closing my eyes! I just can't go near my eyes!

When I bought my contacts in Vision Express, they've a mandatory thing where they bring you into a room and teach you how to put them in.

It'll become second nature to you. I find it easier to put contacts in than to put drops in my eyes. Mind you, I could put contacts in in the dark at this stage.

They can customise the contacts so that they've anti-glare on them too for very little extra cost. All it is is an extra coating they're glazed with that does that. I've never heard of any netting. Again, Vision Express asked me what purposes I'd use contacts for and they would add the anti-glare if you were driving or for TV/PC usage. Same goes for glasses as well.

I'm surprised that this issue didn't arise when you were having your eyes tested for your driving test? As far as I know, they test your eye for this exact issue in the eye exam.
It's, of course, possible that your eyes have worsened over the years.

annieobrien8

I've heard they teach you how to put in contacts but I still don't see it happening! Like most of my drives would be under an hour and I don't need glasses/contacts for anything else so I'd be putting in and taking out contacts way too often!

The only test my doctor did was the chart test. I went to Specsavers too because I wanted prescription sunglasses. €180! I nearly died! But they're brilliant! I told them about my night time driving issues but they just recommended the anti-glare coating that I already have!

Vertakill

They recommended sunglasses with anti-glare for night-time driving?! :eek:

Well, if you're only going to be using them for a very short period of time... I'd go and get your eyes tested and get a new pair of glasses (find a cheap frame) with the anti-glare coating on the lens.

Lens' are the cheapest part of the glasses (usually about 50-60 euro I think, with the anti-scratch + anti-glare coating) and then the remainder is the frame. So just find a cheapy frame and leave the glasses in your car for whenever you need them.

annieobrien8

No! The sunglasses are totally seperate to the night driving issue! When I said they just recommended the anti-glare coating that I already have, I meant that I already have on my normal glasses, not the sunglasses! But the anti-glare coating doesn't really help me

Damien360

I am suprised that there is any recommendation of night time glasses. When you wear darkened glasses your pupils dilate to take in more light and the glare will still be there. Ever notice a crap pair of really dark non polaroid glasses don't work. They can also damage your eye due to overly dilated pupil therefore less natural protection from the sun.

I use contacts for sports etc but cannot use them for night driving as they dilate my pupils to the point that I have been accued of being stoned. Everyones eye shape is different. The shape will change depending on the lighting. I find that contact lenses fall out of my eyes in very dark places like poorly lit pubs. You can get a set on trial from most opticians and they are cheap. They will not suit everyone.

Avoid places like specsavers etc as their customer policy is based on mass production, get them in and get them out quick. You need to find a good optician with a small customer base that will treat you like gold. They know their stuff. I could recommend a great one in Newbridge. I know a former manager of specsavers in south Dublin and he told me that the staff have no training and rely on their machines to diagnose everything. They have a policy of not taking anyone over 40's on a Saturday as they take too much time. There is always one genuine optician on site acting as the manager but they never have time to get to everyone. It is back to staff who read a manual.

You would'nt ask for medical advise on boards....and you should'nt look for advise on your sight here either. Go to a good optician.

I am expecting a rant that the OP is only looking for advise on night time glasses but she uses presciption glasses now and must get a presciption set of sunglasses/night time glasses.

Damien360

annieobrien8 wrote: »

No! The sunglasses are totally seperate to the night driving issue! When I said they just recommended the anti-glare coating that I already have, I meant that I already have on my normal glasses, not the sunglasses! But the anti-glare coating doesn't really help me

Anti glare coating is to stop the glare off your glasses hitting anyone else and tries to subdue the fact that you wear glasses. It also comes in the guise of anti scratch coat which is crap.

Vertakill

Damien360 wrote: »

Anti glare coating is to stop the glare off your glasses hitting anyone else and tries to subdue the fact that you wear glasses. It also comes in the guise of anti scratch coat which is crap.

That's not entirely true.

Anti-scratch is exactly what it sounds like. It's a coating that reduces the ability to scratch/scrape your glasses, much like anti-smudge.

Anti-reflective, or anti-glare, is used to reduce the reflectiveness of your lens.... whether that is reflecting the light toward other people (as you've mentioned) or toward your own eyes. Basically, both ways.
This is what reduces glare and things like halos/lens flare.

One of it's primary functions is to aid people with issues with night time driving.

So OP, I know the most common thing is the coating that can be put onto your glasses for anti-reflective/glare but they can also embed it into the lens and I've been told the embedded one is better in the long term. But tbh, if you got your glasses with the AR coating on them and they didn't have an instant impact, I'm not sure what else you can do as far as anti-reflective stuff is concerned if you need prescription glasses to drive.

Might be worth getting another eye-test and specifically mention your difficulties with glare at night.

Owen

OP, have you tried cleaning the inside of your windscreen too? If you've got residue on there, it can enhance the glare of oncoming cars.

annieobrien8

I won't give a rant considering you expected it Damien! But yes, I only asked for advise on where to go to get prescription night driving glasses. It's like asking for the name of a good dentist!

Yep, the windscreen is fully clean. But even when it hasn't been cleaned for a while it doesn't make much difference.

I am considering another eye test at another opticians but I don't know where to go. I was hoping someone on here could recommend a particular optician around Limerick. I'm really curious about the netting thing in Vision 2 but it's a lot of money on something that they don't even know whether to recommend yet!