Your vision changes over time but those changes may not always be noticeable at first. You might find you need to hold a book further away to read the small print, or it’s becoming harder to focus on objects in the distance. These things are easy to ignore, but have you thought about how they could affect your driving?

The Law and Your Vision

It is a legal requirement for drivers to be able to read a number plate from 20 metres away, with glasses if needed. That’s about 5 car lengths in case you’re unsure how far it is. It’s the driver’s responsibility to ensure they can always pass this test, but how many of us check this regularly?

It may surprise you that it there are now an estimated 9 million drivers on the Britain’s roads with poor vision that doesn’t meet the legal vision standards for driving, with resulting road crashes estimated to cause 2,900 casualties.

With Road Safety Week coming up on November 14^th, we want to stress the importance of having regular eye exams – usually every 2 years for most adults. This is the only way to ensure your driving vision is up to scratch.

During your eye exam, not only will our resident optometrist, Mr Kasmani, check your prescription, but he’ll also test for signs of possible general conditions or eye diseases like cataracts or macular degeneration that could affect your vision, and consequently, your ability to drive safely.

Glare While Driving

Bright glare from oncoming headlights, or sunlight can be exceptionally dangerous while driving too, regardless of whether your prescription is up to date, causing you to experience excessive eye strain and squint as a result of reduced visibility. This can make you less aware of any oncoming traffic, obstacles on the road, and pedestrians.

Driving Glasses

Did you know that specialist driving glasses are available to help reduce glare and give you more clarity of vision when driving?

Our innovative Essilor RoadPilot glasses lenses are specially designed to be worn day or night, reducing glare and reflections by up to 90%, as well as image distortion. They also provide a wider field of vision for single vision and varifocal wearers, and improved contrast sensitivity.

Mr Kasmani has personally worn this product to ensure its effectiveness, as he likes to do with anything before offering it to you – our valued patients and has been really impressed with the hugely significant difference it has made to his driving experience during the day, and at night.

Another great option we offer to combat bright glare while driving during the day, is fit over sunglasses with amber and copper tinted polarised lenses from Cocoons, which are designed to filter both harmful UV, eliminate blinding glare, and sharpen your visual acuity.

For night driving, Cocoons also have their Twilight® night driving lens system which features fit over blue light filters for improved contrast and reduced road glare and halos that can cause eye strain while driving at night.

Finally, one of our most popular prescription driving glasses for varifocal wearers is our Essilor Varilux^® Physio^® 3.0 lenses. These brilliant lenses use WAVE 2.0 technology to remove distortions, giving you sharp vision at all distances, even in low light.

With such a wide variety of options available, whether you’re looking for general driving glasses or specifically prescription night driving glasses, there’s something available for your individual vision needs, and our team, led by owner and optometrist Mr Kasmani, will dedicate as much time as necessary to find the right solution for you.

Book Your Eye Exam

Ensure the safety of both yourself and those around you when you’re on the road by contacting Feltham opticians practice in West London to book an eye exam if you’re due, or experiencing vision problems, or a driving lens consultation – we’d be more than happy to help!