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

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I keep seeing people complaining about this and wondered if they have some kind of undiagnosed eye problems.

I have astigmatism but luckily haven’t had any issues with night driving, despite usually driving a ‘normal’ car. I do wear corrective specs though.

I bought a pair of the yellow tinted ones off ebay for a couple of £, they definitely help!

Short term maybe some sort of shades might help but really this is the problem of the oncoming cars

Modern bulbs are causing this
Its being reviewed but is an issue we all need to keep complaining to our MPs about

There have been accidents because of these lights.
People with modern cars or/and who have had newer bulbs fitted have to get them changed

Yes!!! I found a picture on the internet and it baffled my family and also my optician!!! my husband sees some short lines mine are full length of my vision driving at night and I couldn’t see anything else especially when on an unlit motorway or dual carriageway - the “drive safe” glasses I got with the ZEISS lenses I posted about earlier on this thread have really helped take away that flare from headlights and reduce the glare as well. Highly recommend investing.

I also have this problem. I only wear glasses for reading, at my last eye test (specsavers) I told them it was horrendous driving at night. They gave me the minimum prescription so they could put an anti glare screen on them. Does not work, keep your money.
Was hoping there would be a solution on this thread, op

My neighbour, who lives across a green area - maybe 60 or so metres from our house has such bright lights that when he starts his car in the morning we are blinded - the light goes through our house and lights up our back fence. The kids joke about it being a spaceship - it seems crazy that he drives a car that has such blinding lights. Not safe to be blinding oncoming traffic!

Don't you use the little tilt button which adjusts the angle of the rearview mirror? It significantly reduces glare and is safer than moving the whole mirror.

I’m not sure it’s astigmatism either - I do have it in one eye but had it all my life and never corrected via glasses. Had eye test recently and glasses are fine elsewhere and when driving in daylight - what was telling for me is that my 17yo, who often sits up front has complained about the blinding glare too - he has no vision issues whatsoever. Until then I thought maybe it was an age thing.

I genuinely think the brightness is the issue. I cannot believe that 99% of drivers have their lights raised/incorrectly angled - I have to actively raise my beams to see ahead on dark country roads so I know they are properly dipped in the normal setting (I’ve even asked the garage to check the angle in the past) - yet I get flashed by on coming drivers to indicate they think my lights are too high. I think the issue is instrinsically the LEDs. They are too bright. They need banning or manufacturers need to revise their designs.

Sure, but as I said, great if you don't need varifocals.

I have driving glasses to top-up my contact lens strength and reduce glare (my contacts are slightly undercorrected so I can read in them, I'm in my 50s) and have these special lenses (not sure if it's the exact same ones) but they have a section an the bottom adjusted for close vision so I can see the dashboard, sat-nav etc. Not a full varifocal but a lot cheaper and they work pretty well although there is still some glare. I do need proper varifocals in my full strength glasses but don't like wearing them to drive because of peripheral distortion (I'm -12 / +2)

Headlights are far brighter than they used to be and many drivers struggle with them.

I’m sure a few do but the numbers of people having trouble since super bright LEDs came in surely means that it’s the lights that are the problem rather than everyone’s eyes suddenly getting worse.

Exactly !

The thing I hate most is where cars are taller and come up behind you with their stupid bright headlights, so the lights dazzle you straight in your rear view mirror. I can't see a bloody thing when that happens, I have to duck right down to hide from the reflected blinding light.

It isn't dangerous, I've been doing it for over 40 years. I don't mean look at the kerb right by the front of your vehicle, I mean a lot further ahead than that. You just angle your eyeline away from the oncoming carriageway. It is easy to get mesmerised by oncoming lights and to stare at them - you just need to tell yourself not to do that.

Besides, you would see the silhouette of anything in the carriageway, as it would be fully lit.

Doesn’t the tilt lever on your mirror sort that out? I only have a little car so this happens quite often but it makes all the difference.

Agree, and I only do it when the approaching car gets very close, not all the time.

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel
"I’m sure a few do but the numbers of people having trouble since super bright LEDs came in surely means that it’s the lights that are the problem rather than everyone’s eyes suddenly getting worse."

Exactly. The Government are looking into the horrendous effects of LED headlights. It's been well documented and discussed ad nauseam for ages on TV, in the press etc. They aren't looking into the inexplicable and sudden eye sight failure of countless motorists!

I cannot believe those lights are allowed I really can't. It's impossible to see clearly with the severe glare !

My eyes are recently tested with new glasses. I find these bloody led headlights blinding

So, let me make sure I have this right, you have:

Contacts (under corrected, so not for day to day wear)
Driving glasses for glare, with a bi focal section for the dashboard
Varifocals for other wear but they affect your peripheral vision.

So, you get in the car, take your varifocals off, put in your contact lenses, pop your driving glasses over the top, drive, get where you're going, remove your driving glasses and contacts and put your varifocals back on.

I mean, I'm happy that works for you. But it all sounds a LOT more expensive (and faffy) than just wearing the varifocals. I can't wear contacts anyway. But my varifocals (which don't seem to cause me any peripheral vision problems, though my script isn't that different to yours) cost £600+, and that's NOT because I buy £400 frames, the frames are normally c£50-100.

Anyway. Regardless of that, the problem is the lights and we shouldn't have to shell out loads of money to fix that!

Not when you’re driving down country lanes or roads near me with no street lights

The advice on BBC news in those conditions is NOT to wear sunglasses. It’s dangerous.