Wearing glasses whether you are driving in the day or night is as important for road safety as wearing a seat belt.
There are so many drivers on the road and not all of them have 20/20 vision. And even when you have perfect visual acuity, glare from the sun and headlights can hamper your visual performance making it unsafe for you and fellow drivers on the road.
If you are one from the smart lot and use glasses when driving, we’ve got some tips to make your experience even safer and more comfortable.
Meet the standard eyesight requirements?
It’s not something that you may do, it’s something that you should do. Eye prescription for driving may differ from your regular prescription.
If you had your driving test wearing your glasses, then you can continue using your regular specs when driving. If your eyesight doesn’t meet the driving requirements, you will have to pay a penalty or your driving license can be suspended.
If you are in your 40s, you most probably have presbyopia (loss of near vision). In this case, you will need to wear reading glasses that will enlarge your field of vision and make nearby things clearly visible to your eyes.
Mind the frame
Yes, what frame you use for driving determines how well you’ll be able to see on the road. If you choose to go for chunky glasses, they may block your vision field due to the broad frame.
Moreover, these thick frames will exert too much weight on your nose and make the frame slip off your face. Go for thin metal rims or rimless glasses that would sit comfortably on your face and won’t impede your risk perception.
Know the best type of glasses
You are going to need intermediate vision to see your dashboard or rearview mirror and distant vision for anything to see anything that’s on the road.
Did you know that computer glasses can also correct your intermediate vision?
Always choose glasses that support these two crucial vision zones. They can have single or multifocal lenses based on your vision condition.
Glasses to avoid when driving
If you are driving at night, do not use glasses with tinted lenses. The tint will reduce the amount of light penetrating your eye thereby reducing visibility on the road.
The stronger or darker the tint is, the less light it will allow to pass through the lenses. As a result, your eyes won’t have enough visible light and it will become difficult for you to see your surroundings.
When you are buying prescription glasses online, make sure you use the latest prescription so you get the best vision on the road.
Even when driving during the day, you should not use sunglasses when it’s overcast as shades also have dark lenses.
Use an anti-reflective coating
One thing that you’ll be bothered by when driving is glare. Having an anti-reflective coating on the lenses is the best way to ensure that your eyes are not bothered by glare.
Even if you don’t wear glasses, looking at glowing headlights will make your vision blurry for a few seconds. Anti-glare glasses will resolve this problem.
The AR coating on these glasses will block any horizontal light and only let the good light pass through the optical lenses. You can buy these glasses even when you don’t need an eye prescription. You may also add this filter to your prescription, blue light or gaming glasses.
Use polarised sunglasses
If you were to use sunglasses as the harsh sunlight can be too much to handle when you are at the wheel, then they better be polarised.
Polarised lenses reduce glare and improve contrast. They help in colour perception so you can see the objects approaching you in their original colours.
Unlike regular sunglasses, polarised sunglasses can cut down glare and give you a clear vision on the road.
Do you wear varifocals?
Varifocals are an all rounder. They correct vision at near, far and intermediate distances. This type of lens is the most useful in driving as you need to use all these vision zones if you want to drive safely.
But, if you are new to wearing varifocals, the learning or adjusting curve is going to be huge. So, do not drive until you have learned how to see through varifocal lenses.
Author: I’m Jaylin: Guest post service planner of Leelija and full time blogger. Favorite things include my camera, traveling, caring my fitness, food and my fashion. Email id: [email protected]