Use high beams when possible and switch to low beams when following another vehicle or encountering oncoming vehicles. High beams let you see about 350-500 feet ahead but can also blind oncoming drivers. A rule of thumb is to dim lights when you are within 500 feet of oncoming traffic.
When oncoming vehicles shine light directly into your eyes, turn your gaze to the white line on the right side of the road, or to where the pavement meets the shoulder, until the vehicle goes by. All cars have day/night interior mirrors to reduce glare from cars directly behind you.
Light sensitivity
If you have light sensitive eyes you may feel that you're blinded by car headlights and can even struggle with light contrast after dark. These difficulties can be perfectly normal. In fact, everyone's pupils constrict when faced by bright lights, and different people's eyes adapt at different speeds.
Night driving glasses have yellow-tinted lenses and claim to reduce glare and eye strain at night. However, science suggests night driving glasses don't improve night vision. Wearing yellow lenses may make it harder to see in dim conditions. Poor night vision can indicate an underlying problem that needs treatment.
It's true that polarized lenses can reduce the glare of oncoming traffic lights when driving after dark. However, wearing sunglasses of any kind in low-light conditions, especially while driving, is dangerous and definitely not recommended.
The glare from headlights causes accidents, and the problem is getting worse as bulbs get brighter. One way to cut out glare is with a polarising filter that only lets light through that travels in a single direction, cutting out all the other light waves wiggling in random directions.
Anti-Reflective Coated Glasses
Anti-reflective (AR) coating can be added to your prescription glasses to help reduce glare and improve vision in the dark and help with the effects of astigmatism.
The main problem is light scatter. The eye's lens and cornea are not perfectly clear, so when bright light is shone through them, some gets scattered around the inside of the eye, making images blurred or blank.
If you are blinded then slow down and keep your eyes to the left. Once the blinding light has passed it will take a few moments for your eyes to adjust back to normal again, during which time you'll have reduced visibility which might include seeing coloured spots, or having less definition in what you are seeing.
According to a study by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Schepens Eye Research Institute, yellow-tinted glasses didn't improve the visibility of hazards nor mitigate the glare of oncoming headlights. The 22 participants of the study all had normal visual acuity but were of a wide range of ages.
The optimal eyeglasses for night driving have anti-reflective (AR) coating. These glasses can let more light in and also help to reduce glare from oncoming traffic and other light sources.
Your best choice is either clear or yellow lenses. However, we do recommend that you place some serious weight on yellow (or amber) lenses. Even under low-light conditions, yellow lenses can be extremely effective. They increase your depth awareness and enhance contrast when you are driving.
Blue light glasses can help users with night driving since they reduce some of the glare from oncoming headlights, streetlights, etc.
Toothpaste and baking soda can be effective cleansers for cleaning headlights. Both products are abrasive enough to take off the fog without scratching or damaging the headlights. Polishing compounds such as Rain-X might also be effective enough to remedy UV damage.
Night blindness (nyctalopia) leads to trouble seeing in the dark. You might notice it more when you're driving. Eye conditions that lead to night blindness include cataracts, glaucoma, and nearsightedness. People can also develop night blindness as they get older.
At night, headlights limit our view to only 250 to 350 feet of the road ahead. Adjust your rearview mirror to the nighttime setting to dim any headlight glare coming from behind. Focus your eyes on the right edge of the road to avoid being blinded.
Someone with astigmatism has an irregularly shaped cornea instead of a round shape. This football shape prevents light from focusing directly on the retina causing blurry, distorted vision, headaches, and eyestrain. At night you will see starbursts or glare around lights making night driving dangerous.
Once you hit your 50s, aging brings a gradual reduction in the size of the pupil (so less light hits the retina) and a decrease in the number of rods in the retina (the cells that control twilight-and-night vision). Contrast sensitivity is also reduced, which makes it more difficult to discern objects in the dark.
As we age, it takes longer for our eyes to adjust when going from bright to dark conditions. For night driving, this means it is harder to see after being hit with bright headlights. Decreased contrast sensitivity. Contrast sensitivity is our ability to decipher an object from its background.
How is night blindness treated? Treatment for your night blindness depends on the cause. Treatment may be as simple as getting yourself a new eyeglass prescription or switching glaucoma medications, or it may require surgery if the night blindness is caused by cataracts.
Before taking your car to a detailing specialists and paying exorbitant prices, try using WD-40. The water-displacing spray works effectively at kicking cloudy headlights. Here are the steps to follow: Clean off the headlights, preferably with soap and water, before applying any product.
Spray a generous layer of WD-40 over the headlights and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. While you wait, the specially engineered solution will expertly get under the buildup and muck, making your next step easier. Take a soft, clean loofah and scrub the headlights gently.