March is Save Your Vision Month. As we all know, good vision is essential to good driving. You need to be able to clearly see the rear-view and side mirrors and watch for road hazards, including pedestrians crossing the streets. If your eyesight is poor, you risk endangering your own safety and the safety of others.
Part of qualifying for a driver’s license is passing a visual acuity examination. If you have poor vision or certain medical conditions that can affect your eyesight, such as stroke and glaucoma, you may not be able to get a license. Corneal disease and cataracts may also be prohibitive factors.
Driving conditions aren’t always easy on the eyes. When the sun is at its brightest, when there is snow on the road, or when you are driving toward a low-lying sun, it can be difficult to maintain the field of sight needed to drive well. Darkness can also obstruct vision and increase glare.
To reduce vision-related driving challenges, do the following:
- Use the vehicle’s visor to shade your eyes against the bright rays of the sun.
- Wear sunglasses to reduce the glare of the bright light. It is worth investing in a good pair of sunglasses with UV protection.
- People who normally wear prescription eyeglasses should consider investing in prescription sunglasses.
- When choosing sunglasses for driving purposes, choose a pair with a filter range of 0 to 3. Filter category 4 will be too dark for driving purposes.
- Anti-glare coating can be added to your prescription eyeglasses. This can be especially helpful for night driving.
- When wearing prescription contact lenses, you can still wear anti-glare, non-prescription glasses.
Drivers also need to protect their eyes against dryness. Car air conditioning and heaters have the tendency to reduce moisture on the surface of the eyes. This can be especially hard on people who are already prone to dry eyes. Avoid letting the air-conditioning or heater blow directly towards your eyes for a prolonged period of time. If you have a recurring problem with dry eyes, you can apply lubricating drops before you start driving.
