If you're having trouble seeing at night even though your prescription is up to date, you'll want to read this breakdown of the features you need to have in your glasses.
Prescription Features
If you haven't gotten an eye exam in the last year or two, that should be your first step. An optometrist will give you a full exam to check for changes in your prescription as well as any possible eye conditions. For example, if you're seeing "halos" around lights at night, that could be an indication of cataracts. Be sure to mention any specific difficulties you're experiencing to your doctor.
Otherwise, you may just not have the right features in your glasses. For the best nighttime driving vision, we recommend clear lenses with an AR coating.
Clear Lenses
Clear lenses have a VLT (Visible Light Transmission) of 100%. This means the most amount of light possible passes through the lens, which helps you see best at night.
You might look at yellow lenses, but their benefits are disputable. While they do reduce light, they make it harder to see darker parts of the road. This is because a light tint is still a tint, and yellow lenses have a VLT of about 85-75%. They do help for hazy or foggy days, but for night it's best to have a clear lens.
AR Coating
If you have a prescription, you absolutely need an anti-reflective coating for your eyewear! An anti-reflective (AR) coating is usually something already included in prescription lenses, but it's a good idea to double-check to make sure you have it. This coating makes your regular eyeglasses look almost invisible in the daytime and has the added bonus of blocking glare from lights at night. AR works by reducing internal and surface reflections in the lenses, thus making headlights less blinding.
The Catch
Clear lenses and AR coatings are only recommended for prescription-wearers. If you don't normally wear a prescription, wearing glasses to drive at night isn't going to improve your vision and may make it harder to see. By placing another lens in front of your eye, you actually increase the amount of glare. So non-Rx wearers, ditch the nighttime driving glasses.
Like we said before, if you're experiencing difficulty seeing at night, visit your optometrist first. If you've taken care of that, it's time to browse some new glasses. Be sure to select clear lenses with AR to improve your nighttime vision, and stay safe on the road!
