Driving at night

[Las Palmas]

1 hour ago, Mr Vlad said:

Las Palmas John. Its fine you don't believe in night driving glasses. The main difference between them and sun glasses is the shade of the tint and the density of the tinge. Polarised sunglasses are available I know. However my 20 year experience of night driving glasses tells Me they're great (hello Tony the tiger lol).

I remember vividly in the 80's painting the headlight lens on my motorbike in a yellow paint. It was marketed for use in fog. Worked really well and was great in snow as are night driving glasses. 

The yellow headlamps I was talking about in French cars were not for driving in snow or fog. They were there for all kinds of driving. Cars from France had yellow light, where German cars had more white or less yellow or whatever you would call it. Halogen is not white - white (halogen light is around 3700), but far less yellow than the yellow I mention (2750 - 3000).

Almost 20 years ago I had cataracts repaired and artificial lenses inserted. No problem since then. Do not use glasses (except shades when sun is sharp) and can see clear far away well enough to drive without glasses and still read without as well. Only use glasses when trying to find out ingredients in food when it is written so tiny and almost impossible to read on purpose.

No problems driving at night, actually find it easier; fewer cars on the road.

[DavidCM]

1 hour ago, Rabbers said:

I don’t mean to alarm anybody but weaker night vision and a tendency to be troubled by headlights are symptoms of cataracts, which is itself a condition that becomes more common with age.  If the symptoms become more marked and perhaps accompanied by others such as seeing halos around lights it would be a good idea to have a retinal test.

I wholeheartedly agree.I had cataracts removed a few years ago and was able to drive without glasses for the first time since about 1970.

Knowingly driving without good vision is both illegal and irresponsible.Insurers would also take a dim view(pun intended),so could refuse to pay out..leaving you open to being sued for damages...you could lose your house etc.

If at all in doubt,get your eyes tested.

[Barry14UK]

6 minutes ago, DavidCM said:

I wholeheartedly agree.I had cataracts removed a few years ago and was able to drive without glasses for the first time since about 1970.

Knowingly driving without good vision is both illegal and irresponsible.Insurers would also take a dim view(pun intended),so could refuse to pay out..leaving you open to being sued for damages...you could lose your house etc.

If at all in doubt,get your eyes tested.

I have to have my eyesight checked when I renew my licence as I have declared Glaucoma.  I also have cataracts forming, yet I can pass the driving eyesight requirement by reading a number plate at the prescribed distance and the indoor approved test without even using my distance glasses which I did out of curiosity.  I normally have my eyes checked extensively every 6 months at a hospital Glaucoma unit but have been waiting some two years for this apparently delayed due to Covid.  Coincidentally, I have this much delayed appointment tomorrow.  I am not very happy about the very bright light test but hate the field tests where you have to press a button each time you spot a light briefly shown in different positions on a screen as part of a sequence.  Your finger is almost twitching over the button and I am sure I sometimes get this wrong.  However, I am told the light is repeated within the sequence, so errors of anticipation or undue delay in response tend to take this into account. I was also told my hating the field test is quite common.  

[ALAW]

14 hours ago, Mr Vlad said:

Night time driving glasses is what you want. They're like sunglasses but they have a yellowish tinge plus they're polarised. They eliminate glare and improve night time sight. I've been using them for years as just under half my driving time is when it's dark. Highly recommended 👌 

I know what your talking about here Vlad i had a pair years ago when i was much younger.

[ALAW]

12 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

can you recommend any specific glasses please Vlad ?

John the pair I had years ago were called Ambervision. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, DavidCM said:

years ago and was able to drive without glasses for the first time since about 1970

I had cataracts in both eyes, regarding sight I have one “good” eye and one bad, was born that way. When I had the good eye fixed I opted to go private and have a varifocal replacement lens implanted, 7 years on I still don’t need glasses it has been fantastic, however at night it’s not so good, halos around lights etc, the surgeon who did the op did say he wouldn’t use this replacement lens on pilots or lorry drivers due to the performance in the dark, I have got more used to it in the dark but I can’t say driving in the dark is enjoyable 

[Phil xxkr]

20 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

can you recommend any specific glasses please Vlad ?

This was mentioned John earlier on this year when I wrote of Hoya En-route lens. I have to say that I find them hugely effective in reducing night time glare from on-coming traffic. Although I have to say driving my XKR the other night the lower seating position made me realise yet another benefit of the RX. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year John to you and everyone else on this highly entertaining forum. 🎄🎉🎉🎉

[Rabbers]

When the requirement for yellow headlamps on French-registered cars was lifted, sometime in the early 90s as I recall, more than a few people were angry to learn that studies refuting long-held official claims that yellow was less dazzling and made cars more visible had for several decades been kept locked in a drawer at the Ministry of Transport.  This meant, somewhat embarrassingly, that well-founded lobbying by foreign car manufacturers as well as much of the motoring press had long been unjustifiably and inexplicably ignored.

Personally, I never met a Frenchman who actually believed that yellow headlamps were better, and when the subject came up in conversation, as it quite often did, the explanation offered mainly in jest but not without a hint of earnestness was that it was perfectly normal for things to be done differently in France.

 

[Malc1]

we have a cat called Winky .  yes, she only has one eye .....  not sure about her driving skills but mousing skills are still good and maybe we all need better centre of road " cats eyes " to help us see in the dark .............

on a more useful note .....  as a simple Type 2 diabetes bod on meds  I have an annual NHS retinopathy test that checks all my eyesight stuff and eye health etc  .  all's good for that moment in time ..  it doesn't supplant the usual annual ( is it ? ) opticians visit to SpecSavers tho'

And I hear having cataracts removed also involves eye lens replacement and the dispensing with that specsavers visit and spectacles too 

Getting old eh !          WELL DONE  the NHS  Eyesight bods and a Happy Xmas to you all

 

Malc

[Bluemarlin]

On 12/20/2022 at 9:05 AM, royoftherovers said:

Same problem for me Bill. AGEING.

I do as little as possible.

I would love to age as little as possible John,  how do you manage it?

[RONNIE W HODGEKINSON]

On 12/19/2022 at 10:23 PM, fourbanks said:

The same as me bill, were just getting older 

 

Possibly.. The Start Of Phaecal Cataracts Depending on Your age.. Usually The first signs of this are Bright lights Affecting the Quality of your Vision ..Good idea to get Your Optician to check this out.. Also if you are Pre-Diabetic this can pose further problems with your eyesite...Worth a visit even just to rule out these possibilities.....

[Malc1]

....  and the faecal issues might never go-away 😅..........  especially when faced with impossibly glaring white lights honing in on you at night, driving

Malc

[Rabbers]

1 hour ago, Bluemarlin said:

I would love to age as little as possible John,  how do you manage it?

Don’t know how John manages it but  I would recommend getting a sporty-ish but well-behaved car like the RC.  Works for me.  

[royoftherovers]

9 hours ago, Phil xxkr said:

This was mentioned John earlier on this year when I wrote of Hoya En-route lens. I have to say that I find them hugely effective in reducing night time glare from on-coming traffic. Although I have to say driving my XKR the other night the lower seating position made me realise yet another benefit of the RX. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year John to you and everyone else on this highly entertaining forum. 🎄🎉🎉🎉

Many thanks Phil. I have Bookmarked Hoya.

Your comments re Christmas and the New Year are of course reciprocated.

[Las Palmas]

6 hours ago, Malc1 said:

....  and the faecal issues might never go-away 😅..........  especially when faced with impossibly glaring white lights honing in on you at night, driving

Malc

It is not bad Malcolm,

Since I got new lenses in the eyes, I have had no problem driving, not in night, not in day. Half an hour getting the old lens out and the new in and have it inflated till you can see perfectly well again. I even got the choice to see fantastic close up or fantastic longer distance. Meaning that I would not need glasses to read the tiny letters on food telling you what is in it (e-numbers etc.) but then glasses for driving, and I found it more convenient to not need glasses outdoors as they tend to fog up when getting into a warm house. How they did what they did to me I do not know, but I can see little details on things far away and still do not need glasses to use computer or read. 3 weeks later same for the other eye.

[Bill Dawes]

Thanks for replies guys, I should add that my UX is a Takumi with triple LED adaptive lights, incredible in many ways although as I have complained on a separate post, the auto high beam doesn't activate until 40mph, inexplicable to me why, far too fast on narrow winding country lanes in the pitch dark, just when you need high beams and yes I know you can do it manually which is what I have to do.

Bill D.

[stepppy]

12 hours ago, Bill Dawes said:

Thanks for replies guys, I should add that my UX is a Takumi with triple LED adaptive lights, incredible in many ways although as I have complained on a separate post, the auto high beam doesn't activate until 40mph, inexplicable to me why, far too fast on narrow winding country lanes in the pitch dark, just when you need high beams and yes I know you can do it manually which is what I have to do.

Bill D.

Can you not turn off the auto high beam and just rely on manual changing them with the stalk?  That's what I do in my Gen 4 Prius (turn off auto high beam button) as like you say, sometimes you want high beams on at lower speed.  Having said that, mine seem to work above 25mph and not 40mph, which does seem high.

[johdhm]

I find the best (least worse?) solution is to try and not look directly at the oncoming headlights, but slightly to the left.

This means you don't get quite so dazzled, and can then look straight ahead when the oncoming car has passed.

And - it might sound obvious - but slow down if you are dazzled.

 

[wharfhouse]

5 hours ago, johdhm said:

I find the best (least worse?) solution is to try and not look directly at the oncoming headlights, but slightly to the left.

This means you don't get quite so dazzled, and can then look straight ahead when the oncoming car has passed.

And - it might sound obvious - but slow down if you are dazzled.

 

That's how I was taught to drive - if you look at oncoming headlights you also have a tendency to steer towards them...!