The Best Glasses for Night Driving — Truth & Myth

Polarized sunglasses are ideal for cutting reflections in bright conditions — at the sea, in outdoor sport or driving on a very sunny day. But what about the annoying glare of headlights and street lights at night?

For daytime driving things are clearer — browse our sunglasses for driving and pick the right lens tint for the road.

What are polarized glasses?

A polarized lens has a multi-layer filter that blocks part of the light from reaching the eye. Polarized sunglasses were designed to manage light by reducing the reflections that bounce off flat surfaces, which otherwise increase the amount of light and make clear vision difficult.

Light is vital for the eye to see, but when more light enters your eye than it can handle, glare is the result. In simple terms, glare happens when your eyes are exposed to very intense light. With that in mind, it makes sense that because polarized lenses only let a limited amount of light through, they reduce glare and improve vision.

It is true that polarized lenses can reduce the glare from oncoming headlights when you drive at night. However, wearing sunglasses of any kind in low-light conditions, especially while driving, is dangerous and definitely not recommended.

Do polarized lenses help with night driving?

Although polarized lenses could reduce reflections from the headlights of oncoming cars, they do not necessarily help with night driving — and could in fact do more harm than good. The filter in a polarized lens blocks some light from entering the eye, so vision becomes dimmer when you wear them. Blocking extra light in already-dark conditions can obstruct your sight even more than the glare of the headlights.

If night driving proves particularly troublesome, there are alternatives to wearing polarized sunglasses for clearer vision behind the wheel.

What are night-vision glasses?

Night-driving glasses are a popular choice for people who want extra contrast and clarity on the road, but the effectiveness of these "night-driving" glasses does not match the claim.

An affiliate of Harvard Medical School called the Schepens Eye Research Institute published a study in 2019 to determine how useful night-driving glasses really are. Researchers gathered 22 adults spanning a broad demographic range and had them "drive" through four night-driving simulations. The simulations presented drivers with different conditions — including a machine mimicking the effect of oncoming headlights — while wearing either clear lenses or yellow night-driving glasses. Their reaction times were recorded for each scenario when they saw a pedestrian at the side of the road.

The study concluded that wearing yellow night-driving glasses did not improve driver performance on the most critical task: spotting pedestrians. Not only that, but a small amount of the data reflected a slightly worse performance when wearing night-vision glasses than when driving without them. Overall, the results do not support eye-care professionals recommending night-driving glasses to patients.

The best glasses for night driving are…

If the difficulties of night driving affect how often or when you drive, you should schedule an eye exam and discuss the problem with an eye doctor. They can prescribe lenses with an anti-reflective coating to minimise the glare you feel behind the wheel. Don't need a prescription? Even better — the lenses can be made with the same coating and no power, to cut the annoying glare of headlights and street lights.

No one should give up driving because of common night glare or low light. Below are specialised driver lenses from the biggest lens makers.

1. HOYA EnRoute

Designed to meet the visual demands of drivers, HOYA EnRoute lenses are equipped with technologies that cut glare, reduce light scatter and improve both contrast and brightness perception. They give comfortable, restful vision in a range of weather and lighting conditions. Available in single-vision and progressive designs, EnRoute comes in two versions:

HOYA EnRoute Standard: can be used as an everyday, general-purpose pair that improves visual performance while driving.

HOYA EnRoute Pro: recommended for professional drivers who spend many hours on the road, with enhanced colour perception.

2. Shamir Driver Intelligence™

Day-and-night lenses for every driver, specially designed to make your driving experience smoother and safer in any lighting or weather. Shamir Driver Intelligence™ lenses provide clarity and comfort around the clock, adapting to changing light, reducing eye fatigue and improving reaction time for better performance on the road. The technology draws on Shamir's proven lens design methodology together with extensive input from the professional drivers of the BWT Alpine F1 team.

It is a two-set solution: the Sun pair is intended for daytime use (AI design, Shamir Glacier Sun UV coating, grey/green/brown or indigo, index 1.6, non-polarized), while the Moon pair is intended for night driving (AI design with myopic-shift balancing, Shamir Glacier Expression™ coating, index 1.60/1.67). Both use Shamir's Visual™ AI Engine™, Eye Point AI™ and As Worn POV™ technologies.

Package price, 2 lens pairs (sun and prescription): €160.00 at index 1.60

Package price, 2 lens pairs (sun and prescription): €228.00 at index 1.67

3. ZEISS DriveSafe

ZEISS developed an all-day lens solution made of three components to make driving safer and more comfortable:

ZEISS Luminance Design® technology calculates the lens for the optimal pupil size in low-light conditions.

The ZEISS DuraVision DriveSafe coating — preferred by patients for reducing headlight glare by more than 2 to 1.

ZEISS DriveSafe Lens Design incorporates up to 43% more mid-distance zone for easier focus switching between dashboard and mirrors, and up to 14% more distance zone for a wider view of the road.

See & choose

For daytime driving, start from our sunglasses. For night glare, ask us about anti-reflective driver lenses in your prescription frames.