Night Driving Glasses

This might be one of those questions that if you ask 10 drivers, you get 10 different answers, but I am going to ask it anyway.

As with almost all drivers, I have an issue at twilight. Glare is the usual problem, lack of light in shadows, etc. Night and morning both. My eye doctor says it is normal. Almost everyone has the same or similar issues. I asked him about night driving glasses and he had never used them and could not give me an opinion. So I ask TT.

Does anyone use night driving glasses (the amber ones)? If so, what do you think of them? If not, any suggestions on how to help with problems at twilight? Any "tricks of the trade".

It is more of an annoyance than a problem. But it does become a pain if you are driving west in the evening or east in the mornings.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

I used to used those ambervision glasses at night and I loved em! It was amazing how much easier it was on the eyes.

The other thing a lot of drivers do, and I used to do this also, it put a red light somewhere inside the truck. I used to have one under the driver's seat and one above my head in the overhead light. Running with soft red lights inside the truck cuts down on that harsh contrast between the deep black inside of the truck and the bright headlights coming at you.

The last thing I used to do is keep my dashboard lights just bright enough to see the gauges. Any brighter than that and the contrast gets tiring.

Since we're talking about fatigue here, I'll add this. Running with the CB radio and tunes playing is also exhausting. There are times it's nice to listen to the radio - especially if you have satellite radio - lots of good shows and music to choose from. But it's exhausting. Generally I liked to drive with the cb just loud enough to barely hear it and usually my satellite radio was off.

The more input your mind is processing the more tiring it is. If you can keep a quiet, relaxed environment you'll be able to go a lot longer without getting tired.

Glare from headlights is normal also and could be helped with an anti glare that you can get from a eyeglass store. The glare from the sun in the mornings and evenings can be a problem but that is easily addressed with sunglasses.

Lack of light in the shadows? Hmm I thought that was why they called it a shadow. Something blocking the light and keeping it from shining. Yeah I find it hard to see if I am standing in light and I am looking into shadows. Example....If I was outside in the sun and trying to look into a darkened doorway....that is normal....or backing my truck from a sunny yard into a darkened receivers in door dock....that is normal.

If you see complete blackness in shadows under normal circumstances then that will be an issue. According to WebMD.....

Night blindness (also called nyctalopia) is the inability to see well at night or in poor light. It is not a disease, but rather a symptom of an underlying disorder or problem, especially untreated nearsightedness.

See the part about not seeing well at night or in poor light? Seems that is exactly what you were saying about lack of light in the shadows or at dawn or dusk. You should not have any problem seeing in shadows under normal circumstances. There will be times you WILL have to drive during dusk or dawn. No doubt about it and if you can't see very well during these times then that is a major safety issue.

Trust me when I say that you maybe used to this but think about it if someone else had the same issue and was driving near or around your friends and family and you suddenly get the call say "Mr JoeS. I have bad news. This guy made a left turn and said that he did not see your family car when he turned due to low light making it hard to see".

See where I am going with this? That is an extreme example but more than likely it would only be you hitting a building or pole or maybe backing into another truck during these low light conditions.

Who knows. Maybe you just worded your problem the wrong way and maybe my whole post was for not.

Thanks again guyjax for the laugh about the shadows and no light.

But what I was meaning is just what you said. About driving into a dark dock out of the bright sunlight. Or driving into a tunnel out of bright sunlight. It takes a few seconds to adjust your site.

I don't have night blindness. That I have been tested for.

Thanks Brett for the input. I will look into getting a pair. And I love the idea of a red light. When I flew, airplanes had those at night. It was great for night vision. Something I will have to look into. Don't remember seeing anything like that at the stops I have visited. I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks again.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

Thanks again guyjax for the laugh about the shadows and no light.

But what I was meaning is just what you said. About driving into a dark dock out of the bright sunlight. Or driving into a tunnel out of bright sunlight. It takes a few seconds to adjust your site.

I don't have night blindness. That I have been tested for.

Thanks Brett for the input. I will look into getting a pair. And I love the idea of a red light. When I flew, airplanes had those at night. It was great for night vision. Something I will have to look into. Don't remember seeing anything like that at the stops I have visited. I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks again.

Keep it safe out there. Joe S

Ok so that clears that up. Yeah driving into or out of tunnels will be something you will have to get use to. Nothing really you can do about that. Most times its not really that big of an issue. Once you get into the your vision adjust pretty fast and the only thing you can really do to combat those few seconds it takes to adjust is to slow down and give yourself plenty of space so you don't run into something bad right as you enter the tunnel.

I owe a pair of those amber night glasses. I don't use them though. But if the glare bothers you they work very well. The make high beams tolerable. And 4 wheelers always forget to turn off their high beams. I don't use them because I prefer not to, I'm just not as comfortable with them.

They aren't expensive and to be honest if I were you I'd buy one and go drive on the interstste for like 30 minutes and see how you like them. Try to drive away from the city so you can experience some lack of light in the shadows.