Do Blue Light Glasses Help With Driving at Night?

Night driving can be hard work for your eyes. Trying to focus on the road against the glare of oncoming headlights is a common struggle. It's enough to make your drive a chore. 

Wearing blue light glasses with the right tint can help you cope with these blinding lights. 

This guide will discuss everything you need to know about wearing blue light glasses while driving at night, and what type of glasses you should wear. 

Let's get started. 

Beyond the Screen: Understanding Blue Light Glasses Against Night Glare

The use of blue light glasses is usually associated with digital screens. But there are other sources of blue light you should be careful about. 

Modern Headlights and Streetlights

LED and HID headlights emit a large amount of intense blue light, the same light that causes digital eye strain. 

The Scatter Effect

Blue wavelengths are short, which is why they scatter more within our eyes as compared to longer wavelengths. This scatter causes glare and halos, making a driver’s job tougher. 

Eye Fatigue

When you struggle against this intense blue light, your eyes work harder to focus, which often leads to fatigue. 

How Blue Light Filtering Glasses Can Help?

The right type of blue light glasses used in the right manner can help minimize eye discomfort while driving at night. 

The solution isn’t just any blue light glasses; standard clear lenses don’t offer enough blue light filtering against the intense headlight glare. 

You need to select the right tint for the application. 

Targeted Blue Light Reduction

Lenses designed for night driving are intended to block the most problematic light wavelengths (Around 415 to 455 nm). This wavelength range causes the most light scattering within your eyes. 

Glare and Halo Reduction

Blue light glasses reduce light scattering, minimizing the blinding glare of headlights and the halos around streetlights. 

Enhanced Contrast

Filtering excess blue light tends to improve your contrast perception in night conditions. As a result, you can identify details on the road, such as signs and pedestrians, more easily against darker backgrounds. 

Reduced Eye Strain and Fatigue

Less glare and scattering means your eyes don’t have to do extra work to see clearly while driving at night. This leads to a more comfortable, less chaotic driving experience. 

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Choosing the Right Tint for Night Driving

Not all blue light glasses work the same way; for night driving, you need to be extra cautious while selecting a pair for obvious reasons. 

Amber or Yellow Tints

These tints effectively block the more problematic blue-violet spectrum of light, allowing more orange, yellow, and red light to pass through (These are crucial for you to see brake lights and traffic signals).

This tames the glare sources and makes the objects stand out against darker backgrounds. 

When shopping for these, look for a pair that’s marketed as “Nighttime glasses”. Or, look for a blocking percentage around the 415 to 455 nm range. 

Avoid overly dark tints (More on this later).

Light Copper/Yellow Tints

These tints offer good blue light blocking while maintaining color recognition. They provide a more neutral color perception than amber tints, while reducing glare and scattering sufficiently. 

Yellow tints are good for drivers who want accurate color perception and find amber tints too warm. 

Tints to Avoid for Night Driving 

Night is a tricky time to drive. The visibility is usually low; some light sources can make it even worse. 

You need to make sure the blue light glasses you wear don’t affect your vision while reducing glare and scattering. 

Plus, they need to block enough blue light to offer the desired benefits. 

Here are the tints you want to avoid for night driving. 

Clear/Almost Clear Lenses

While clear lenses can work against digital screens, they usually lack the blocking strength necessary for protection against modern headlights. 

Dark Red Tints

If tints are too dark, they can distort colors and make it harder to recognize brake lights and traffic signals effectively. 

Choosing the Right Blue Light Glasses for Night Driving (Buyer's Guide)

Here’s a quick blue light glasses buying guide for night drivers:

Prioritize Amber or Yellow Tints: Prioritize amber or yellow-tinted lenses or glasses that are marketed as night driving glasses. 

Check the Specs: Look for glasses that mention blocking of 415 - 455 nm blue light wavelengths. 

Anti-Reflective Coating is a Must: An anti-reflective coating reduces glare from headlights. 

Prescription is Possible: If you already wear prescription lenses, ask your doctor to add a blue light filter to them. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Let’s answer some common questions related to blue light glasses for night driving. 

Do Blue Light Glasses Help with Night Driving? 

Yes, amber/yellow tints can reduce the glare from oncoming headlights and streetlight halos. Clear blue light glasses offer minimal benefits; tints that are too dark distort colors. 

Are Blue Light Glasses Good for Driving?

For daytime, clear lenses with an anti-reflective coating reduce glare. At night, however, amber or yellow-tinted glasses work well against headlight glare. 

Is It Okay to Wear Blue Light Glasses at Night? 

Yes, if the tint isn’t too dark. Avoid dark red tints as they reduce visibility at night, especially for critical tasks like driving. Choose high transmission lenses (85% and more) for safety. 

Which Glasses Help You See Better While Driving at Night? 

Yellow/amber tints with anti-reflective coatings work well. You can also wear prescription lenses with anti-reflective coatings. Just avoid dark or polarized lenses. 

Conclusion

Standard blue light glasses designed for digital screens might not help with nighttime driving. But specifically engineered amber or yellow tints with AR coatings offer a feasible solution. 

By strategically blocking the trouble-maker (Around 415 to 450 nm) blue light, these glasses minimize glare from headlights and halos from streetlights. 

They can also enhance contrast and offer a more comfortable, confident, and potentially safer night driving experience. 

If the blinding glare of headlights has turned night drives into a chore for your eyes, wearing the right tints can help. 

Read More: Wearing Blue Light Glasses All Day (Can You Do It?)