You might think that all sunglasses are sunglasses, and you don’t need to know anything about them other than whether they’re comfortable or not. But a fresh pair of Ray-Bans can have a variety of qualities, and choosing the right one, especially for driving, can make all the difference. You should take note of what coating your glasses have, and what color and grade of tint the lenses are. The size of your frame also matters. And what about smart glasses?
Sunglasses are like window tint. If you wear too many dark-colored Ray-Bans, it may impair your ability to see details outside your car, which could prevent an accident. This is especially true if your car’s windows are already tinted, as the tint has an added effect. There are five categories of light transmission tint, from 0 to 4, each allowing less light than the one before. The darkest, Category 4, allows only 3% to 8% of light to pass through. Lenses in this category are illegal for driving, and must be labeled “not suitable for driving and road use”. And Categories 1 to 3, which allow 8% to 80% of light to reach your eyes, are not suitable for driving at night. Of course, it’s not just for Ray-Bans. All sunglasses tinted to this level are legally required to be labeled.
Polarized Ray-Bans (and other sunglasses) have a special coating designed to block horizontal glare, making colors and details appear sharper than traditional sunglasses. It’s generally a good idea to wear polarized sunglasses while driving, but keep in mind that they aren’t always optimized to work well with your car’s multiple screens and digital displays. If you have a car with a lot of information provided by a screen rather than an analog display, you may want to avoid them.
What else do you need to know?
Lens color is more important than you might imagine. Most sunglasses have brown or gray lenses, and they are perfect for driving purposes. However, you should avoid using pink, blue or green glasses, as they can make it harder to determine color, especially when it comes to traffic lights. Amber or pale yellow lenses can be good for driving as they enhance definition and clarity, although yellow is a particularly bad lens color for driving at night. Yellow lenses may give the driver the false feeling that they are seeing better at night, but this is simply not true, as any color is by definition blocking some light.
The size of your glasses can also make a huge difference to your driving safety and awareness. Using large, bulky lenses with thin frames is the best option to keep your peripheral vision unobstructed. like aviator style glasses Ray-Ban Ban Bridge These are a good choice for driving, as they were invented specifically to allow pilots to protect their eyes while flying, but maintain peripheral vision. So-called wraparound glasses are also good for peripheral vision, but they make you look like a fool. A big thick armrest may look good, but it may prevent you from seeing a car creeping up next to you on the highway.
Photochromic lenses – you probably know them as “transitions” – are not suitable for driving glasses. There are no adverse effects if you wear these while driving, but because they are typically activated with UV light and car windows block UV light, they will not darken if you are inside your car on a bright day. Amidst the stuff roaming around in your car, it’s best to have a dedicated set of sunglasses specifically for driving. Just make sure they’re comfortable.
What about smart glasses?
This year Illinois became the first state to introduce a law banning the use of smart glasses while driving. Just as states already ban the use of smart phones while driving, smart glasses may also be banned from the driver’s seat. Drivers face fines of up to $75 for a first offense and up to $150 for repeat violations. If the use of smart glasses results in an accident with serious injuries or death, the fine will be a minimum of $1,000, in addition to possible vehicular manslaughter charges.
Google, Apple and Meta (partnering with Ray-Ban) are all currently developing new products for this market. Google Glass was a joke from a decade ago, and I don’t think they’ve gotten any better since then. Aside from the surveillance and privacy issues these glasses are capable of recording pretty much anywhere, advanced augmented reality technology could become a major distraction for drivers who should be paying attention to the road.
On top of all this, having a small screen with tiny text just an inch from your eyeballs can cause strain, dry eyes, and difficulty refocusing between real-world vision and the display in your lenses. Real distraction and vision problems can arise here, and it seems tech companies aren’t interested in solving them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see several other states join Illinois in banning these glasses from driving.
