More light for your vision

The transition periods of autumn and winter are particularly hard on our eyes: The sun hangs low in the sky in the mornings and early evenings, darkness sets in earlier; long twilight phases and frequent fog impede our vision - especially when we drive. Special secondary spectacles can help improve your vision in these challenging situations.

A familiar scenario: You are driving home after a long, stressful day at work. Twilight has set in, and the sun is already hanging so low that it is blinding your eyes while you manoeuvre through traffic in your car. The oncoming headlights are also reflected. You can distinguish the vehicles in the opposite lane, but not until it is too late. Your eyes are overstrained. You are aware of the fact that these situations endanger your safety and that of other drivers on the road.

To get you home safely in the future, see your eye care professional. He or she will recommend a special secondary pair of spectacles for driving that fulfil the extreme visual requirements brought on by twilight, light variations and glare.

Your driving spectacles should be equipped with optimal glare and UV protection in your individual prescription strength. This is how reflection and glare can be prevented. Spectacle lenses that have excellent anti-reflective coating as well as polarising and tinted lenses ensure that this is the case.

Uncoated spectacle lenses can act like a mirror, which leads to clearly visible light reflections that impair your vision. When driving, these reflections are primarily coming from oncoming traffic during the twilight hours and at night. Spectacle lenses with anti-reflective coating reduce these disturbing reflections and provide transparent, clear vision, uncompromised perception and diminished driver glare. There are three levels of anti-reflective coating: "basic," "medium" and "super." For frequent driving at dawn, dusk and at night, experts recommend the super-coated spectacle lenses.

It is very simple: Polarising spectacle lenses can filter the reflections – primarily from light-reflecting surfaces such as wet roads and water surfaces. The benefits will be obvious to you the moment you start wearing these lenses: Your vision will be considerably clearer. Thanks to the lenses’ special colouring, your vision will also be richer in contrast and you will experience a more brilliant colour rendering. You will be able to distinguish oncoming traffic more clearly and sooner, for example on wet roads and when the other driver has the dipped-beam headlights on.

UV protection can also be important for driving spectacles. It provides protection against the short-wave ultra-violet radiation that can permanently damage the eye. When purchasing a pair of sunglasses, make sure that they have the CE symbol as a mark of quality. Brown or grey tints are best suited for driving because they enable drivers to distinguish traffic lights, stop lights or other light signals as effectively and quickly as possible.

By the way: Tinted spectacle lenses with gradient colours can be especially pleasant for driving. The bottom edge of these spectacles is lighter and thus facilitates better recognition of items and information displayed on the dashboard.

Everyone is different. Accordingly, your eyes, the distance between your eyes and your specific vision are all different as well. Of course this also applies to the way you see when you are driving. Some people turn their heads to see what is happening next to them, while others only move their eyes. All of these things play important roles in the configuration of your spectacles because and have to be taken into consideration. Custom-tailored, extra-clear precision spectacle lenses can thus drastically increase your visual comfort zone and relax your eyes.

People do become more sensitive to glare with age. Their visual impression deteriorates and the safety risk goes up. Our tip: Have your eyesight checked regularly – at least as often has you take your car in for inspection. Have a vision test preferably every two years.

Your optometrist will also recommend a suitable frame for your driving glasses. Ideally, you should select a frame with small rims and narrow sidepieces that are positioned at the top so that your field of vision is not restricted by your spectacles while you are driving. Very small frames with small lenses are often not ideal for spectacles you will wear while you are driving.