If you are driving in sunny conditions in your 1969 Chevy Camaro, it makes good sense to wear an appropriate pair of sunglasses. On long journeys, sunglasses ensure that you don’t have to squint and so your eyes won’t get nearly as tired.
Sunglasses also protect your eyes from harmful UV rays, up to 50% of which pass right through your windshield and side windows. Sun glare isn’t just a summer hazard, wet roads and snowy landscapes can be just as much of a problem as concrete or desert.
It’s worth giving some thought to the sunglasses that you use for driving because the wrong type could impair your vision rather than improve it. Large lenses and wrap around frames are best, micro frames or thick temples will obscure your all-important peripheral vision. The level of tint also needs taking into consideration: a 70%-80% tint will work well in strong sun but would dangerously limit your vision for night driving. Headlight glare can be very tiring at night, but anything more than a 10% tint is considered dangerous.
Be aware that some colored lenses will reduce the range of colors that you can see, for example, pink, blue and green lenses can make red light indistinguishable, clearly not a good choice for driving. Gray and brown tints are color neutral and don’t alter how colors appear and yellow and amber enhance contrast and definition. Finally, there’s the choice of lens coating to consider. Polarized lenses are a popular choice for driving because they dramatically reduce glare. Photochromatic lenses adjust to light levels but because your windshield blocks half or more of the UV rays, photochromatic lenses will not respond as they would outdoors which may mean they are too dark for safe driving. Graduated lenses will enable you to see the dashboard without difficulty but will offer no protection from a dangerous low sun.
Brands like Ray Ban enable you to fully customize your sunglasses so that you can choose style, tint, lens coating and you can even get your prescription lenses fitted. Maui Jim Peahi sunglasses, which get their name from a legendary surf break on Maui’s north shore, are a great favourite with fishermen but they also make tremendous driving glasses. Their polarised wide lenses sit close to the face and wrap around to give unobscured vision. They provide 100% UV protection, are lightweight, durable and give crystal clear vision.
Protecting your vision when driving is important so be sure and choose a reputable brand of sunglasses.
