Tips For Vision And Driving At Night

It’s that time of year again, daylight savings time… I’m not sure why this is actually called “daylight savings” as for many people, they end up getting less hours of daylight, which results in a dark drive home. Driving home in pitch dark paired with winter road conditions can be stressfull and hazardous, even for the best of drivers. Making sure that our commute home is a safe one, should be a top priority. That is why this week’s blog article is all about tips for night vision and driving at night.

Thank goodness we’ve had such a nice fall! The weather has been beautiful with very little snow. But, I’m sure there’s been a time that you can remember being caught in traffic after a snowfall. Combine snow with dark driving conditions and you have a recipe for a white knuckle drive home. This can be made worse if you are over 40 or have a mild uncorrected prescription. We hope that these tips in our article can help ease your stress during your next evening commute.

Tips For Night Vision And Driving At Night

Have Routine Eye Exams

Getting your eye health and vision checked regularly will ensure that you have no underlying eye issues that can compromise your vision. Many eye problems and diseases are progressive. Often, people with some of these diseases aren’t aware that their vision is being affected. This is because the onset of the problem happens slowly. If the eye condition is enabling you from seeing clearly, driving at night might be putting yours and other’s safety at risk.

Make Sure Your Eyeglass Lenses Has A Reflection Free Coating

Reflection free coatings (also known as anti-glare) is a lens treatment that helps to reduce annoying glare from street lights and oncoming traffic lights while driving at night. These coatings also have to be cared for properly. Using the wrong cleaning products can cause the coatings to break down over time, making them harder to see through.

Make Sure Your Eyeglasses Are In Top Notch Shape

Making sure your eyeglasses are in their best shape is another great way to ensure your vision is at it’s best, especially for seeing while driving at night. Over time eyeglasses can start to show the abuse and wear and tare from daily use. Lenses can become scratched and frames can become misaligned. Scratched lenses can cause light to scatter making them hard to see through. A misaligned frame will make it that the lenses may not be aligning properly in front of the eyes. The optical centre of the lens is the optimum point to see through. Your vision may be compromised if you are not looking through this point of the lens,

Help Alleviate Dry Eyes

There are so many reasons why a person might suffer from dry eyes; age, hormones, medication, occupation, environment, eye disease, illness… and the list goes on. One thing is for sure, our dry Calgary climate doesn’t help people who suffer from dry eyes. The extra drying effects of winter can make dry eye problems worse. If you suffer from dry eyes, your optometrist can help by advising dry eye treatments. Often, optometrists may recommend or prescribe lubricating eye drops to help with dry eyes, which in turn helps promote clearer vision!

Help Combat Tired Eyes

Working all day can make for tired eyes. Especially if you do a lot of near work on computers. This type of eye fatigue is referred to as “digital eye strain”. It is not a nice way to end the day by driving when eyes are fatigued after work. That’s why it’s important to try and combat eye strain before it starts. Our past article on “Tools And Tips To Help Reduce Digital Eye Strain & Fatigue” has some great tips on helping with eye strain. The 20-20-20 rule is particularly helpful!

Don’t Rush Home

Don’t rush home! This advice may seem counter intuitive, because why would anyone want to stay at work or sit in traffic longer then they have to? But it really helps to give yourself extra time for your commute. By mentally allowing for more time on the drive home you can actually help to alleviate and ease some of the stress associated with the drive.

Clean Your Car

The last tip of advice may seem like a no brainer. I’ve seen on a number of occasions, someone head down the road in what looks like a giant snowball. With only a tiny clearing of snow on the windshield. It is extremely dangerous if you can’t see what is happening around you because your car is covered in snow! Before taking your car out of park, ensure all mirrors and windows are clear of snow, ice, and frost! Remember if you can’t properly see ALL of the road, you are putting yours and other’s safety at risk!

So, now that the drive home commute has become that much darker, please drive safely! We hope that our tips on night vision and driving at night will help keep yourself safe when driving in future dark conditions.