kellen

Anyone else feel that oncoming traffic is blinding to them? It's definitely not the high beams of other vehicles and I really only notice it on longer drives. But my last car was a 3 series 2 door and I didn't notice it this much. Due to lower car? Fixes? Creative ideas?

I searched, only complaint was of a possibly old windshield that needs replacement. Really don't see a windshield doing it.....

Thanks in advance!

chuck911

Look away from the light.

Wayne Smith

The police in England wear yellow sunglasses at night. So I tried the same and found it made a major positive difference. These let my pupils open to see the edges of the road better, eliminate eye strain, and reduce fatigue. Not so important in my (tall) truck, but much more important from down low in the 911.

ptshrdn

I've also noticed it, definitely has nothing to do with the windshield since my windshield is practically brand new after taking a rock through it on 66. I've written it off to the car being lower than previous cars I've owned.

Macster

Eye fatigue. You are getting older. Used to be able to drive almost 24 hours with no problems but now 12 hours is pushing it. Eyes get tired. More frequent rest stops with some shut eye helps extend how long I can drive. Gives my eyes a chance to rest a bit.

To reduce eye fatigue I try to look away that is avoid looking directly at the lights but shift my focus to the right side of the road, though of course still keeping "half an eye" on the oncoming traffic in case a vehicle starts to leave its lane.

My Turbo has auto-dimmng rear view mirrors which helps reduce the amount of light being reflected to my eyes. In my Boxster I adjust the rear view mirrors to avoid reflecting the glare of the headlights of the vehicles behind me right into my eyes. it is so bad I often think a following car has its brights on but it is just the normal low beam lights.

Also, I do not know your age but you might want to have your eyes checked. The sensitivity could be due to the onset of cataracts.

Linnm

Glare at night specifically sent me to the eye Doctor for a check. Sure enough my cataracts were the cause. Removal of said cataracts fixed the problem and improved overall vision also

KNS

I think headlights are getting a bit brighter as well. They're even advertising how much brighter newer lights are.

Also, more and more people are driving SUVs. If you're in a "normal" car or a sports car the beam of light is just naturally going to be nearer your eye level.

What also pisses me off are guys who lift their trucks and and don't adjust the headlight beam. My coworker admitted to this and thinks it's funny.

cringely

I have polarizing clip-ons for daytime driving. Does anyone make yellow clip-ons?

Bruce In Philly

Get checked for cataracts. Seriously.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

kellen

I do the same, looking towards the right white line but looking out for other drivers. Very likely it's just the lowered car. Only 34 so no cataracts for me.

Will try to find a set of the yellow glasses or clip ons. Interesting idea.

Wayne Smith

Zenni Optical. Check on line.

After visiting the kids Pam and I tend to head home at night (35, 250, or 500 miles). My eyes are already fatigued. Oncoming lights create major strain. I put the yellows on and in 30 minutes feel like I've taken a nap (refreshed).

My eyes have become hyper sensitive to light. The glasses help. I just ordered yellow prescriptions from Zenni as well as clip ons (to replace my old scratched ones).

But the key is improved vision. The yellows keep my pupils open a bit more and the dark on the shoulder becomes a bit lighter.

Of course, don't look straight at the lights no matter what. That will close your pupils and defeat your goal for optimal vision.

Petza914

Many shooting glasses are yellow if you can't find specific driving glasses that are yellow.

Tcc1999

I don't doubt you but I'm not sure this is the whole story. The tint of the lenses can't add light at night; as you rightly state, it helps pick up contrast and reduce glare. But these two attributes are not the same as reducing discomfort from on-coming headlights - which the OP is having a problem with. If the yellow lenses result in a fraction more pupil dilation then oncoming headlights will cause greater constriction and result in a very, very short period of blindness, squinting and perhaps even a bit of a headache. So I guess what I am getting at is that you can't have a lens, yellow in this case, that both increases contrast and reduces glare, AND mitigates the discomfort (pupil dilation) from on-coming headlights. It's interesting how the very small muscles in your eyes which control lens aperture have such a big impact on eye strain. Something as simple as a yellow lens that opens the apertures microns relaxes the eyes and reduces discomfort when they constrict from on-coming headlights. (Yes, I know you didn't say any of this but it is important to point out that there is a difference and the reasons why.)

Wayne Smith

Headlights are strong in the yellow spectrum. The lenses filter these wavelengths minimizing the affect on your pupils. Your pupils respond to the light ... less yellow light passed through the lenses results in less contraction. Filtered out lights mean your pupils can stay wider open.

The shoulder doesn't offer a lot of yellow, so the lenses don't filter much from there. But larger pupils let that light in more.

I guess this is something you have to experience first hand. It works great for me, so I share. YMMV.

On the other hand, the affect these lenses have in fog sucks to me ... but I can see how they would be used for shooting.

There has been a lot of useful information shared here ... don't look at the lights, our cars are lower, trucks are taller, lights are brighter, our eyes degrade with age ... well done.

chuck911

Its the lowered car. All the other stuff factors in, but when you go from no problem to problem with the only relevant variable being driver eye height above road, whatcha gonna do? The technical explanation is the headlights on today's cars are dramatically more focused and aimed than in the past. They all have very sharp cutoff, especially above their aiming angle. And new cars are very heavily regulated with regards to aiming. It creates a situation where you ride with eyes 40" above the road you are out of all of it. (Mostly, cars go up and down.) But you get in a 911, only a couple inches lower, suddenly you are in a lot more of it. With the distance between in and out being so great because of the cutoff, a few inches makes a lot bigger difference than you'd think.

So that's the answer to your question. But the real answer still comes down to learning to not look at the light.

There's other tricks for seeing at night, like learning to look just slightly away from what you're trying to see. But that's a whole other technical explanation… just look away.