Pros & Cons of Driving with Glasses & Sunglasses
You love to drive. Sometimes you wear glasses while driving and sometimes you don’t. Here is a short article that will explain the pros and cons of driving with either sunglasses or glasses.
SUNGLASSES PROS:
Glare Reduction
This is a huge pro. If you’ve ever been blinded by glare while you’re cruising along a highway, it might have caused a moment of panic. That moment of intense sunshine flowing through your window can cause accidents in a heartbeat, for you as well as for the other drivers on the road. Glare can also happen when sunshine bounces off the surface of a body of water. Do yourself and all of those around you a favor, and wear sunglasses to avoid being totally blinded by the glare.
Less Eye Strain
You’ll experience a lot less eye strain and squinting. Not only does squinting impair your eyesight; it also causes wrinkles earlier in life around your eyes. Sunglasses will give you clearer vision, plus contribute to helping your eyes not feel as tired.
Look Cool
Sunglasses have a “cool” factor. You’ll look and feel more confident as you drive down the road while wearing sunglasses.
SUNGLASSES CONS:
Danger Danger
Wearing polarized sunglasses can sometimes make for dangerous driving. Polarized glasses make LCDs (liquid crystal displays) virtually impossible to decipher from certain angles. Since many dashboards use LCD displays, wearing glasses that are polarized can be potentially dangerous
Uselessness
Plastic sunglasses, no matter what color, aren’t able to filter out infrared rays, and are useless when you’re driving under the hot sun
Not Suitable
Variable tint lenses, also known as photochromic lenses, aren’t suitable for driving if the windscreens of your car filter out UV light – This can cause your lenses to be too light. Lenses that have a light transmission which is less than 75% are unsuitable for evening or night driving. These lenses have to react to UV light as well as to visible light to make sure that they’re safe for driving. It’s best to check with your optometrist about this
GLASSES PROS
Protection
Your eyes will be protected from debris. Professional drivers know that at any moment, insects, or small pebbles can fly through your window, especially if you’re driving off-road or in a jeep or convertible. Accidents can happen in a second. To avoid this type of mishap, it’s a good idea to wear protective goggles or glasses while driving
Helps Dry Eye
Wearing glasses is a fix for dry eye syndrome. If it’s windy or dusty outside, wearing glasses can block some of the dust or wind from getting into your eyes.
Helps Night Drivers
Glasses with clear lenses and an AR (anti-reflective) coating have been found to be beneficial for night driving. They reduce halo problems, and also increase light transmission through your lenses to your eyes
GLASSES CONS
Hazardous
If you’re wearing yellow tinted glasses at night, then you could experience some hazardous effects. Contrary to popular belief, special amber ‘night driving’ lenses give no benefit at all at night, and are considered hazardous, because they give drivers the false sensation of being able to see better. Studies have proven that these glasses actually retard glare recovery and impair vision. Almost as hazardous as driving with these glasses, is driving without insurance. Be sure you have proper car insurance as well as the lowest rates by taking a defensive driving course.
Extremely Hazardous
Using photochromic, polarized, or tinted lenses to drive at dusk or at night can be extremely hazardous. Check all glasses out with an optician to be sure they are safe.