Vision is the most important of the five senses for driving. Without it, you would go off the road or hit another car in a matter of seconds. It’s why a vision test is required when getting a driver’s license for the first time and for renewals. However, the eyewear choices that drivers make, profoundly affect their safety on the road, sometimes for the worse. Here are three eyewear choices that increase the risk of a car accident:
Wearing the Wrong Sunglasses Tints
Sunglasses normally make driving safer because they protect the driver from sun glare. However, choosing the wrong tint color can increase the risk of an accident because it distorts the driver’s perception of color. This interferes with their ability to recognize the color of road signs and, most importantly, the color of traffic lights. Pink, blue and green tints cause the most color distortion and should never be worn while driving. The inability to distinguish the color red is an accident waiting to happen. Gray and brown, on the other hand, are the best tints for driving because they don’t distort colors.
Wearing High Index Lenses Without an Anti-Reflective Coating
High index glasses are for people requiring strong corrective glasses. Unlike the super thick lenses that were commonly used many years ago, these glasses achieve the same corrective strength with very thin and light lenses. However, their one draw back is they produce a lot of glare for the person wearing it. The problem is so extreme, that driving with them at night is dangerous. Fortunately, applying an anti-reflective coating on them completely solves the problem. But some people forgo this in an effort to save some money.
Wearing Yellow Sunglasses at Night
Many people believe, and some sunglasses manufacturers claim, that yellow tinted lenses improve night vision. While yellow lenses improve your contrast perception in fog, and therefore enhances safety, it does not improve night vision. Yellow tinted lenses or those of any color, filter out light. When driving at night, you want more light, not less. Yellow enhances contrast perception even at night, but it blocks out light.
If a motorist’s reckless or negligent driving injured you in a car accident, get legal help from the experienced lawyers at Hogan Injury. Contact us today.