Do anti-glare driving glasses REALLY stop you from being dazzled by headlights at night?

Dazzling has become one of the biggest gripes of drivers in recent years.

As car manufacturers have largely started to use brighter, whiter LED headlights, this has triggered a surge in complaints from motorists who are being partially blinded by oncoming traffic at night.

But there is an advertised solution to the problem.

Anti-glare glasses have long been marketed as the antidote to dazzling. But the technology has moved on from the basic – and garish – yellow-tinted night driving specs that became big in the 1990s.

Instead, they are listed as specialist lenses with coatings designed to reduce reflections and dazzle caused by oncoming headlights and street lighting – in theory, helping motorists undertake safer journey.

But a recent test of anti-dazzle night-time driving glasses found that most not only failed to reduce headlight glare and motorists’ stress levels, some restricted the driver’s visibility to the point that they were deemed to be potentially dangerous.

What Car’s investigation involved testing six pairs of popular anti-dazzle glasses that are easy to source online.

It found that five of these failed to a meaningful reduction in glare or help to significantly increase the confidence of night time drivers. 

But most worrying is that one brand of glasses darkened the surroundings so much that it was harder to see unlit vehicles, other road users and pedestrians.

Each pair of specs was tested at night on the same 12-mile test route that included lit and unlit urban and rural roads. 

As well as using their own judgement to assess the effectiveness of each pair of glasses, the tester wore a heart rate monitor to show if there was a difference in stress levels during each lap.

An assortment of anti-glare options were tried, including clip-on glasses and pairs that can be worn alone or on top of prescription driving glasses. 

But the study found that only the Tjutr flip-up clip-on glass lenses – priced from £13.99 –  gave a noticeable reduction in the brightness of oncoming headlights and provided good visibility on poorly lit sections of road.

As such, these were given the highest rating of four out of five stars. 

In contrast, a pair of £19.99 HeadLight glasses – claimed to have ‘Glarecut technology’ – did nothing to reduce glare and were given a single star score.

‘The lenses’ vivid yellow hue gives everything an unrealistic colour cast that can be quite disconcerting,’ the test team said.

‘What’s more, their anti-dazzle properties are poor; wearing them didn’t lessen the glare of oncoming headlights or stop the light refraction that can cause streaks of light to stretch out from around headlights. 

‘They’re also the darkest of the glasses tested, so seeing people on the roadside can be tricky. 

‘We passed a runner in dark clothes and only spotted them because they were wearing a light on their wrist.’

The heart rate monitor also showed a marked increase in stress levels when wearing these glasses.

What Car?’s testers wore six different pairs of anti-glare driving glasses on a 12-mile route at night. As well as their own judgement, they used a heart rate monitor to judge performance

The least expensive glasses – the £8.99 Boolavard Night Sight driving glasses – received a middling three-star rating, while the most expensive – a pair of £67.95 SelectSpecs driving glasses – were scored lower at just two stars, proving that higher cost doesn’t translate to improved performance.

The results of What Car?’s investigation mirrored a similar small-scale 2019 study by ophthalmologists – doctors specialising in the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye disorders and visual system diseases.

It examined the performance of yellow-tinted anti-glare glasses for 22 individuals who wore them in a night-driving simulator.

It summarised that yellow-lens night-driving glasses ‘did not appear to improve pedestrian detection at night or reduce the negative association between headlight glare and pedestrian detection performance’. 

It concluded: ‘These findings do not appear to support having eye care professionals advise patients to use yellow-lens night-driving glasses.’

Anti-glare glasses have long been marketed as the antidote to headlight dazzling, but the investigation revealed they might not be as effective as drivers hope

What Car? consumer editor Claire Evans said: ‘Our research shows that while you can gain small benefits from wearing some anti-glare glasses, others offer no improvement in vision and some actually make the situation worse. 

‘So, unless you’re really struggling with night-time driving, we wouldn’t recommend investing in a pair.

‘If you’re finding night-time driving difficult, the best course of action is to make sure you have regular eye tests and opt for anti-reflective lenses if you have prescription driving glasses.’

Two recent studies have suggested that drivers being blinded by the glare of LED headlights is becoming an increasing problem that is impacting motorists’ confidence to make journeys in the dark. 

More than half of drivers affected by dazzling headlights told the RAC that the issue had worsened this winter season just gone compared to the previous.

Meanwhile, car manufacturer Vauxhall found one in 10 drivers now admit they are scared of hitting the road in the dark due to dazzling headlights and poorly lit roads.

Nearly a fifth of the 2,000 drivers polled by the car maker said they now drive less at night than they did 12 months ago. 

It comes after the Government was advised to review and update headlight standards to reduce headlight glare.

The recommendation followed a major probe into the cause of driver dazzling, and the findings by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory) concluded that glare can be objectively linked to bright headlights, and to certain road conditions and vehicles.

The study was funded by the Department for Transport after growing concern about the perceived dangers of headlights.