Are Polarized Sunglasses Good For Driving?

It's critical to have eyeglasses on hand if you're a motorist. Without using these handy items, the brightness of the sunlight can be dazzling. This situation will put you in danger of an accident. Still, not all glasses are equally created. So the pair you have currently may not be optimal for driving. 

Most eye specialists advocate wearing sunglasses all day to shield your eyes. Yet you may be unsure which type to choose. You want to try polarized ones. And you still wonder, “are polarized sunglasses good for driving?” Polarized lenses provide many advantages over non-polarized spectacles. Thus, you should take it into account while making a choice. 

What Are Night Vision Glasses?

Night-driving spectacles are a common pick. For those desiring more contrast and visibility on the route, it’s recommended. But their efficiency does not really live up to the expectations.

In 2019, the Schepens Eye Research Institute, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, published a study to see how useful night driving eyewear is.

The researchers recruited 22 people from various demographics. Then let them drive in four different nighttime driving scenarios. Participants wore either the transparent lens or yellow-tinted night driving glasses in the simulations. They were exposed to a variety of settings. Along with these is a machine that imitated the impact of oncoming traffic lights.

Participants' response times for noticing a pedestrian on the roadside were recorded.

The analysis revealed that using night vision eyeglasses had no effect on drivers. In particular, it didn’t affect their ability to recognize pedestrians. This is the most important task for drivers. 

Furthermore, researchers found that a small quantity of statistical evidence indicated that utilizing these spectacles resulted in slightly inferior effectiveness than riding without them.

Generally, the findings of the study refute the notion that eye doctors should tell clients to use night-driving spectacles.

Do Polarized Lenses Help With Night Driving?

A specific chemical is used to polarize an optical lens during the process of manufacturing. Light is reorganized by laminating the chemical in a vertical pattern. This pattern functions similarly to a window cover. It’s because they reduce horizontal light to prevent glare.

Polarized lenses block light rays that might ordinarily reach your vision after reflecting off surfaces. After going through a polarizing filter, the beam hits your eye and is filtered. This enables you to see in a different way.

Polarized lenses can assist reduce brightness from approaching vehicles. Yet, they aren't always helpful when driving at night and may actually worsen the situation.

Yet, have you ever been driving and found yourself having to squint because the sun was so bright? Polarized lenses will help reduce this discomfort. They have a filter that blocks certain light from reaching the eye, resulting in a darker view when worn. Far more than the dazzle of traffic lights, filtering more light from the already low-light situation can impair your vision. 

There are options to use polarized spectacles to maintain good eyesight when commuting if driving at night is particularly difficult.

Annually, glare causes or contributes to hundreds of automobile accidents worldwide. You've encountered the disturbing and disorienting impact of glare. It may interrupt your sight when commuting on the early morning shift, cruising across snow-covered plains, or taking a long road trip.

4 Reasons Why Polarized Lenses Can Help With Night Driving

Glasses make you look good, and prescription eyeglasses can also protect your eyes from harm. This advantage is highly beneficial for health. The best glasses, according to specialists, are those with polarized lenses. Yet, what are the advantages of using polarized eyewear?

1. Improve Safety By Reducing Glare

Glare is created by the sun reflecting off glossy surfaces such as water, ice, or other automobiles. This phenomenon results in an overabundance of horizontally circular polarization. 

It appears like a flash of light to the naked eye, concealing surrounding features. Polarized glasses are meant to block damaging UV rays while nearly eliminating glare. 

Driving glasses with polarized lenses can reduce glare. They also maintain your vision clear while operating a bicycle, vehicle, or watercraft in low-light settings. 

The greatest polarized glasses for driving ought to be comfortable to wear. Besides, they also have a broad enough coverage area. This area will protect your field of vision from light.

On a bright day, you may observe that distant things appear foggy. Or adjacent automobiles reflect light in an almost blinding manner. By eliminating reflections, a polarized lens reduces the impact of glare. 

This greatly enhances eye pleasure and reduces squinting. As mentioned above, glare is caused by roads and water supplies. It can be dangerous for drivers who already have vision problems. 

Glare may be an extremely bothersome eye health concern for sensitive eyes. Also, it can even trigger migraines in people who are susceptible to them.

2. Enhances Your Vision

Have you ever looked through a pair of polarized glasses? Thought that your world had just been transformed? You can see colors more correctly and consistently if you use these glasses. Our eyes are more comfortable concentrating even on the worst days. So the sights are unlike anything you've seen before.  

This is also why polarization is beneficial when participating in outdoor activities. They are a must-have for any outdoor enthusiast, even when downhill sailing, snowboarding, skiing, or participating in any other outdoor exercise. The glasses would help you see things clearly. They provide protection from glare and much better clarity than regular glasses. This makes it easier to see in bright weather conditions.

3. End Eye Strain 

Eyestrain is another negative impact of glare. And this effect can be alleviated by wearing polarized lenses. Squinting to view detailed images strains the eyes. Moreover, it causes redness, discomfort, weariness, and headaches, among other problems. Polarized lenses eliminate this problem, making eyes feel more at ease and relaxed.

4. Superior To Tinted Lenses

Tinted lenses are useful for lowering the quantity of light that enters your eyes through your eyeglasses. On a regular bright day, these items might be useful. However, they do not remove glare at nighttime the way polarized lenses do. 

Note that tinted glasses are not always equally great in improved protection from the sun's damaging UV rays, compared to polarized models. The best thing you can do is look at the lenses' degree of assurance. Every pair of glasses you buy should always provide 100 percent UV protection.

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve reached helpful information related to the topic - Are polarized sunglasses good for driving? 

If the challenges of nighttime commuting impact how often and how you drive, you should arrange an optical check and speak with an optometrist about your issues. They can recommend polarized glasses to assist in reducing the amount of brightness you feel while driving.

You don’t need a prescription? That's fine as well! Non-prescription glasses with the same protective layer are helpful to reduce the annoyance of headlights and streetlight reflections.

It's not compulsory for everyone to abandon commuting due to common low-light or nighttime glare. So contact your eye specialist to improve your vision on every night trip.