to feel I'm dicing with death whilst driving at sunrise?

[MilkAndSevenSugars]

I only passed my driving test a few weeks ago. I drive to work (dropping DD off at nursery on the way) every Monday at 7.30am. Every week (but especially this week - sunrise getting later maybe), I honestly feel I'm dicing with death as the visibility is so poor due to the sun blinding me.

I got into work this week actually shaking because the journey was so scary as could barely see anything in front of me. I had the sun visor down and was wearing sunglasses.

I've got a new job and am negotiating the hours, but it seems my boss is pretty keen for an early start. This new journey will involve dual carriageways - for the most part I'll be going up instead of along, but there's still a good 10 minutes of DC driving to the west (or east? the same way as the sunrises anyway).

My colleagues on Monday said it's the same for everyone, and to just drive slower. But I honestly can't believe everyone can barely see! My dad never even wears sunglasses and have never known him to say this was an issue.

Do you have this problem? Do you have any tips to combat it? Is it my car? Is it due to me wearing contact lenses? I'm dreading Monday already but even if I ducked out, changed my DDs nursery hours again and got the bus, my new job is impossible to get to on public transport so I need to sort it out somehow.

www.aceable.com/blog/driving-with-a-sun-glare-tips-you-need-to-know/

TheDowagerCuntess Yes, but being short puts you in the "sun not covered by visor" range that much longer ;) I'm 5'1. At this time of year my sunglasses are glued to my head whenever I get into the car and if I'm a passenger I squeeze into the back seat gratefully. Lunchtime, school pick up time, it feels like I'm constantly under light attack.

My late DH was a lorry driver and he wore a plain baseball cap while driving for this very purpose. I'm short (5'1") and sit on a cushion which helps a bit but the low sun is blinding for all.
You're particularly nervous about this as driving is still new to you but with time and experience it won't worry you quite so much. All the precautions mentioned here are good.

You'll get used to it. With only just passing your confidence will be lacking and then the anxiety can set you off. Get some Ray Bans (if you can afford, can always get second hand ones on ebay) and stay slow.
I lose my shit on the motorway when it's been raining and all the spray from the lorries leaves you with 0% visibility. You still get people doing 100mph though and I just think HOW. I do have an old car so it might be that.
More you do it the more confident you'll become. Try not to stress about it as I find that leads to mistakes. Good luck!

Yeah and a dirty windscreen makes it loads worse. I'm fairly tall and I'm still blinded even with sunglasses and the visor down. It is scary because it's like your blind. Just drive cautiously.

This sounds like your first autumn driving and it will have come as an uncomfortable surprise to you. I’ve been driving for decades and I forget that beautiful autumn days ie not overcast or raining, can have a sting in the tail.

You need to try and adjust your position - either by moving the seat, up or tilting the angle or raising your body on short sections and moving your head, slow down, wear sunglasses if not too high a level of darkening ( which could make it tricky if you then come into shadow ) and just generally be hyper vigilant for the time you are in that head on angle. The car in front will be experiencing the same problem so pay extra attention to what they are doing.

Another vote for polarised sunglasses - they really help. Other than that it's just practice.

Having a shiny dash can make it worse too - the sun reflects up off the dash onto the windscreen. You can get dash cleaner that leaves a matt finish, which helps a bit.
Otherwise, as pp have said, just drive slower. But be aware the drivers behind can't really see either so don't slow excessively to the point you become a hazard yourself.

I invested in a pair of really good quality large sunglasses. They cost a bit but they honestly do help enormously so were completely worth it. That, and have the confidence to slow down a bit (just as you would with any other condition that impacted visibility eg fog or rain).

Wear a cap or a visor. I’ve got a visor that is attached to a hairband so it doesn’t affect my hair style when I take it off. It should do the trick.

I'm short. It's horrendous. I slow down, use sunglasses, hats etc and spend lots of time swearing loudly! I've been driving for 20 odd years and am not dead yet, but it is a nightmare.

This really helped me:

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0007LXTMS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8

Yes a very clean screen, get some windscreen wipes as they alcohol in them so don't smear, visibility seems worse if the inside is not clean as the screen reflects the dash. Once you've been driving for a while, you'll get used to all different, equally awful weather conditions! Torrential rain, ice, thick snow, fog! Just be sensible, drive to the conditions.

And remember, your headlights are not just so you can see but can be seen, annoys me when you see silver/grey cars driving in poor conditions and not a single light on, they're invisible!

I used to live to the west of big town, so I had it in the morning as well as the evening at times. Especially a bit about a mile from home (single file road with passing places) where you'd have the bright sunshine and then a big black hole where everything was obscured by trees. No way to see if someone would be coming at you at all (if they didn't have daytime driving lights on).

I now live to the east of said big town, and don't have this problem anymore. Neither do I have the single file road and the one-lane bridge anymore. Win-win.

Yes, everyone has it, they forget about it (and it's spring and autumn, too), they get better at anticipating the awkward spots. As others have said, keep your windscreen squeaky clean, it certainly helps. Contact lenses can excacerbate it (they used to for me, with other cars' headlights). Good sunglasses, and there are visor extenders (that you can see through) which would also help.

I wouldn't recommend a cushion.

I remember this as a new driver. I was absolutely terrified. It gets easier - I am 5 foot 1 and I sit as high as I can, polarised sunglasses, visor too. It is definitely easier to deal with it now. But it is really frightening, I know. I also find driving through dapple really hard.

Have a look at this from the experts and don't feel it's just you - everyone suffers!

www.derbys-fire.gov.uk/keeping-safe/keeping-safe-road/sun-glare-safety/

It's a part of driving I'm afraid, my parents house is right round a bend where the winter sun blinds drivers. Twice in less than 8 years new drivers have crashed into their cars parked outside because they are blinded and are driving too quickly to react.

If the sun reduces your visibility then slow down, invest in a good pair of sunglasses and I keep window wipes in my car so I can keep the windscreen dust free and clean which helps.

This is one of the reasons I'm glad my workplace is to the west of where I live. Did mention this as a good point of the job to a director on a Friday night after-work pub visit. He was unimpressed.

Flip side is that my wife has always worked to the east of us so get this while driving her to work. It's something you get used to.

I second all the advise given above, its that time of year,

A word of caution to beware though, as the mornings get darker the sun issue will be less but you then get the idiot cyclists cycling in the morning half light with no lights or high vis jackets. (or is that just here)

Cushion is dangerous because in a crash it's not affixed and will render the seatbelt too loose, that's why children's booster seats have "arms". There isn't really a solution for this though as nobody makes adult width boosters. It might be less of an issue in the driver's seat as you have airbags etc, not just a seatbelt.

Actually, this might be safer:

www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/car-seat-covers-cushions/halfords-comfort-cushion

With a cushion to raise you up it means the seatbelt is situated incorrectly so doesn't give correct protection Surely the cushion is just raising you to the height of someone taller than you (like a booster cushion for a child)? So if it's in the wrong position for you on a cushion, then it's in the wrong position for them all the time?

It's nothing to do with being short or the sun visor not coming down low enough. It's a lot to do with being short. You have the problem when the sun is low enough to be coming at you under the visor, ie when the sun is at the horizon to perhaps 5% above, for someone whose face is further down in relation to the visor, the sun doesn't disappear behind the visor until it's risen perhaps 10% - in other words, they're going to be affected for a longer period and for more of the year.

I put one hand out in front of me for a shade.

I can understand why a loose or shifting cushion is a danger, I can't understand why a cushion automatically means the seatbelt is incorrectly situated.