Dealing with modern headlights at night is starting to feel like staring directly into a supernova. Between the blinding LEDs of newer SUVs and the blue-white glare that leaves "ghost spots" on your vision, night driving can be genuinely hazardous. In response, a lot of drivers have started reaching for "night driving glasses," those yellow-tinted lenses that claim to neutralize the piercing glare and sharpen your focus in low-light settings.
On their own, night driving glasses are not for correcting medical vision issues. Regular checkups with an eye doctor who can assess your vision are integral to anticipating and treating any eye health issues that could occur. And keep in mind that as we age, or if we already have vision issues, these regular checkups often need to become more frequent.
What are night driving glasses?
Night driving glasses are generally yellow or amber in tint and reduce the glare of bright lights, which not only reduces strain on the eyes but may also sharpen the contrast of objects, hopefully making it easier to distinguish what you see at night. These glasses often have a reflective coating to help further reduce glare. The overall purpose of such glasses is to make driving in low-light settings more comfortable and less dangerous. Night driving glasses are not a replacement for prescription glasses or regular checkups with your eye doctor.
There are a few ways night driving glasses aim to fulfill their purpose. First, the yellow or amber tint on them is intended to filter out some of the glare of blue light, as seen in many modern headlights. Filtering out this blue light is meant to improve the contrast of the driver's vision, making it easier to see what they're doing in semi-dark settings. An antireflective, or AR coating, often applied to the lens of these glasses, may help to reduce glare from bright lights and, therefore, help mitigate eyestrain. Finally, some night glasses are polarized, which may help reduce the glare from reflective surfaces in low-light settings. In short, this type of eyewear is designed to reduce eye strain, improve visual contrast and reduce glare while driving at night.
Do night driving glasses work?
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The efficacy of night driving glasses is a matter of some debate. Research from 2019 indicates that yellow-tinted glasses reduce a driver's ability to see pedestrians. Likewise, while yellow glasses can minimize exposure to blue light -- which can have health benefits -- it may result in a driver's eyes simply receiving less light overall, as referenced in a 2018 article published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Moreover, in 1997, the Federal Trade Commission sued a marketer of night driving glasses over the company's claims that using their product improved safety when night driving.
Still, while some research indicates that these glasses may not work as intended, many drivers and organizations continue to see merit in them. For instance, drivesafeonline.org, an organization that is state-licensed to administer driving safety courses, acknowledges the mixed results of research while promoting night driving glasses to those who feel they benefit from them.
There seems little doubt that night driving glasses may reduce glare and help prevent eyestrain, but the research points to some concern that this benefit may be at the cost of better night vision instead of in tandem with it. Drivers should carefully assess the impact of night driving glasses on themselves and discuss using such lenses with a doctor who has evaluated their eye health before deciding.
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