I’m in my late twenties and I just got a new pair of glasses. I’m nearsighted with around -5 sphere and I think -1 cylinder IIRC. I’ve been nearsighted since I was a kid. My prescription seems to have stabilized more or less, with only a slight change from my last one several years ago.
When I first started driving as a teenager I found it difficult to drive at night, especially in the rain. I thought that’s just how things were, that it’s hard to see at night in the dark. Then the first time I bought new glasses after I started driving, with an up-to-date prescription and anti-reflective coating, it was a revelation. There was no glare, everything was crystal clear and my previous difficulties were just due to my glasses, whether it was due to my prescription changing or perhaps not having AR coating. Things were so clear at night that it was unreal, it was like I was looking at a video game rather than real life.
Unfortunately none of the glasses I’ve bought since those good ones have been as clear at night. I’ve gone through 4 different pairs of glasses I think, all with AR coatings, but I still get glare around lights, street signs and other bright things. I’ve bought them from different stores, with prescriptions from different doctors, and I had one of them re-do the lenses and it didn’t help.
I’m wondering whether I’ve gotten 4 pairs of crappy lenses in a row, or whether the one pair that was really good at night was just a fluke. And I’m not sure who to complain to because I’m not sure if this is and issue with my prescription being slightly off, or with the manufacture of the lenses.
For those who wear glasses, what do things look like at night? Do you see stars around lights? Has anybody been able to consistently get glasses that are crsytal-clear at night with no significant glare?
(Oh, and BTW, it’s not my windshield, I have the same problem walking around at night or sticking my head out my open window. My pitted windshield does make it a bit worse but it’s mainly my glasses/eyes.)
I can’t see for shit at night. I had a really bad time with my contact lenses, and my doctor told me that my abnormally large pupils were distorting my vision. So I got glasses with AR coating. The difference is significant. I still see stars but they don’t explode all over my field of vision and run into the other stars. It’s possible that your eyes have just gotten worse for night driving. I think we have to accept a certain degree of… unsatisfactoriness… when driving in the dark.
I don’t think so. With the one good pair of glasses, I distinctly remember that I could clearly see the details of cars on the other side of the road, as long as their headlights weren’t pointed directly at me. Now with my new glasses I can’t, it’s all washed out by the glare.
take this for what it’s worth because I have no way of explaining it in scientific terms. There are 3 things that affect my night vision.
-regardless of the type of lens material used I seem to see less light at night then I do with contacts. I’m near sighted.
-scratched lenses make on-coming lights appear to have a halo or pattern around them. That is made worse by the fine scratches that occur in windshields after a period of time.
-different types of plastics used for the lenses can create a “3D” effect with different colors. And by that I mean 2 differing colors next to each other will appear to have depth. As an example, the words at top of the page (STRAIGHT DOPE) would actually appear to physically stand out as if they were a solid object. I cannot wear glasses that create this effect and of course it’s the cheaper plastic lenses that do this.
All this aside there may be an optical relationship between glasses and windshield. I had a hell of a time landing a plane at night when first learning to fly. It got to the point my instructor was having misgivings about my skills. It all changed when I leaned forward toward the windscreen. I can’t explain it but it changes my perspective enough that the problem goes away. It’s almost as if the imperfections of the windscreen and my lenses fight each other at a certain distance between them.
Do you live in a snow belt (road salt) and do you have any coatings on your windshield? I had a serious problem with a rain repelling product. when water with road salt on it sprayed on the windshield it impregnated into the rain repellant and made it extremely dangerous to see through when sunlight or car headlights hit it.