I am blinded by headlights when I drive after 4pm. Help

[Greedybilly]

I know it's really common these days to hate night driving/be blinded by headlights.
My question is has anyone tried those anti glare sunglasses and did they help?? Thanks

Have you had your eyes tested recently? Astigmatism does that for me.

No I am long over due an eye test.

Is there anything that helps for astigmatism?

Sun glasses doesn't sound like a good idea at night. I don't particularly like night driving either. Try directing your gaze to the white line on your passenger side.

You need to get your eyes checked ASAP. This can be caused by conditions which need urgent treatment to preserve your vision. Go somewhere like Specsavers that do a general eye health check as well as an eye test.

If you’re a driver then it’s really irresponsible not to have regular eye tests. So that should be the first stop - you possibly need glasses / new glasses.

@HoodlumboodlumI don't mean normal sunglasses obviously. There's anti- glare ones I've seen advertised. That's what I'm asking about.

I also get this due to astigmatism. I just had an eye test and got a fresh pair of glasses with a fresh anti glare coating and it’s made such a difference. Go and get your eyes tested!

@LighthouseLEDwell I've been pretty much housebound/bed bound this year until recently but thanks for the snide telling off. Helpful

Cheapo anti-glare glasses just turn everything yellow. I've tried several, even the expensive clear ones with the anti-glare coating from the optician were ineffective. I just try to keep my eyes on the edge of the road on my side when a car approaches. I drive a saloon but plan on a high suv for my next car. If you can't beat them .....

You're not the only one, OP.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn971jlpvvro

This section gives advice, including not wearing night sunglasses.

"What to do in the face of brighter headlamps:

Ensure your windscreen is clean

Wear glasses and keep them clean

Avoid looking straight ahead, instead focus on the edge of the road

Do not wear night sunglasses sold for night-driving, as they reduce overall light and won't reduce glare.

Source: College of Optometrists"

As @Chersfrozenface has pointed out, it is not just you, these new lights are horrendous.

Ignore the teller-offers - fgs it was a normal question to ask

it is a bad time of year, not long til 21st december, is what i tell myself, then the days gradually get longer

I have astigmatism and honestly spend most of the dark nights on public transport because I really can’t see with the new led headlights blinding me . I have got a pair of the yellow anti glare glasses but I don’t find them much help as they darken the road too . Very difficult if there’s no street lighting. I really hate the bright lights and resent not being able to drive in the dark . I do obviously have regular eye tests and have discussed the over bright lights with my optician only to find she too struggled with them .

My optician recommended wearing a baseball cap when driving. I haven’t quite got round to it yet but need to try it.

eye tests don’t test how well you can see at night, so although you probably do need one, it’s unlikely to make a difference.

i am blinded by headlights, still perfectly legal for me to drive.

maybe the ‘irresponsible ones’ are the ones who manufacture and drive cars with such ridiculous headlights.

I have the same problem. To make things worse my car seat is quite low so all those SUVs bright lights are right at my eye level.

The yellow tinted glasses do nothing for me.

Definitely get an eye test. And yes the anti glare glasses do work, especially the ugly ones that cover the sides too. I will probably have inherited glaucoma in older age, and already hate glare so have to deal with it practically.

I'm the same as you, @Greedybilly.I have astigmatism. I tried night vision glasses and hated them - I found they just made everything darker. I've got a friend who has some though and she loves them. I think you've just got to try them out. I did read something about people with blue eyes getting on with them and people with brown eyes not, but that could be a load of rubbish.

You don't drive if you are long overdue an eye test. Regardless of why you haven't done it.

The RAC / government are looking into the problem of too bright car lights. Whether they sort it is another question.

All optometrists have to check the health of the eyes at the time they check your vision.

Non prescription glasses will NOT help. You will be adding another reflective surface between your eye and the light source which will actually create more glare. ‘Anti-glare’ (actually anti-reflection) is to stop reflections on the lens surface which can cause ghost images/glare. So if there is no lens, it is not required.

An eye test, proper specs, cleaning the inside as well as the outside of the windscreen will all help. But not drastically, sadly. The lights really are just too bright, and a lot of people don’t have them angled correctly either.

I also have an astigmatism so this is a problem.

New glasses have definitely helped me - it turned out the anti glare coating had all but rubbed off my old ones.

@Greedybilly honestly, how long is it since you have had your eyes tested? I would get that sorted as a matter of urgency and see if a change of specs might help. Fingers crossed it does as it’s a quick fix.

I have bad astigmatism, enough that the optician leaves me with a bit of a blur in my distance vision, as it helps my brain reassemble the multiple images if things that I see.

I find it very difficult to not get dazzled by the lights, but also find that the LED ones split. I literally see the different colours they use to make up the white light.

Not driving at night isn't an option. I just have to go slower as oncoming traffic goes past. The visibility drop isn't worse than driving in fog...

I do use coated lenses for driving, and they do help a bit.

It's madness that we are advised to focus on the edge of the road to avoid the glare rather than, you know, fixing the problem of glare. We should be able to look at the road ahead so that we can drive safely.

Yes, wearing glasses (or contact lenses). Astigmatism just means that you're slightly more short sighted in one bit of the eye, that the other bit. It's quite normal, but it can make glare worse.