While driving in the dark is more challenging for most people, it’s especially difficult for older adults who may be dealing with vision changes that naturally occur as we age. Learn what you can do to stay safe on the road while driving at night.
As we head into late fall and early winter, you may suddenly find yourself behind the wheel after dark much more often. One of the consequences of turning the clocks back is that your evening commute or driving to and from dinner with friends will most likely be done in the dark.
Driving at night is inherently more dangerous than driving during the day. Up to 50 percent of fatal car accidents happen after dark. (The higher number of nighttime accidents is also caused by more people being sleepy or intoxicated behind the wheel at night.)
The time change, and the early darkness it brings, can be particularly problematic for older adults whose night vision may not be as sharp as it used to be. But with some careful planning you can stay safe on the road after sundown.
The retina is the part of the eye that processes light, similar to the film of a camera. It contains two types of light receptors, rods and cones. Rods are the most numerous (about 120 million), found throughout almost the entire retina, and they are highly sensitive. They are responsible for vision in low light conditions and allow us to differentiate between light and dark. Rods pick up signals from all directions and that helps us to sense motion, depth and things in our periphery. Cones are less abundant (about 6 million), active in bright light and are responsible for precise, color vision. They are concentrated in the center of the retina around the fovea.
Our eyes adjust to light and dark conditions by narrowing or widening the pupils. In bright light, our pupils constrict (get smaller) giving us more depth of focus and causing light to focus directly on the cones. When it’s dark, our pupils dilate (open up) to let in as much light as possible to help us see better. This process is called “dark adaptation” and involves our rods. The drawback is that our ability to focus decreases and we are more susceptible to glare.
As we age, we retain most of the cones in the retina, but the number of rods decreases by 30 percent. That can have a dramatic effect on our ability to see in darker conditions. Our eyes’ dark adaptation process may also take longer because the muscles that control the pupils’ ability to dilate don’t work as well—or as quickly.
In addition to those natural consequences of aging, older adults are more prone to eye diseases that impact their vision after dark.
All of these issues can make it harder to read road signs, judge distance between you and other vehicles and see clearly when bright headlights are coming toward you.
You don’t necessarily have to confine your driving to daytime hours as you get older. But you may need to take some additional precautions to keep you safe on the road.
Try these tips to improve your ability to drive at night:
Driving at night is challenging for everyone. It can be doubly so for older adults who also have age-related eye conditions, such as cataracts, glaucoma or AMD. It is extremely important to have comprehensive eye exams annually to diagnose and treat those conditions early. And having the most up-to-date prescription and anti-reflective coating on your lenses to reduce glare can help keep you—and others—safe on the road at night.
Sources
American Optometric Association
National Safety Council
AARP
New York Times
Taking good care of your eyes and your overall health can go a long way toward preventing age-related eye conditions. Eating an eye-healthy diet that includes lots of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables slows down the formation of cataracts and reduces your risk of macular degeneration. Getting plenty of exercise and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure--both of which affect vision and eye health. And while you may not be able to prevent the presbyopia (and need for reading glasses) that comes with getting older, your eyecare professional can make sure you get the correct vision correction to see clearly.
The sun’s rays contain damaging ultraviolet (UV) light. The same UV rays that burn your skin and lead to skin cancer also affect your eyes. Staring directly into strong sunlight can damage the retina. And repeated sun exposure over time can lead to cataracts, benign growths on the eyes and even eye cancer. Protect your eyes anytime you’re in the sun by wearing sunglasses that block both UVA and UVB rays.
Some people claim that by correcting your vision with prescription glasses or contacts, you’re weakening your eyes—which then leads to worse vision. Their “proof” is that after wearing your corrective prescription for a while, your vision appears blurrier when you’re not wearing it. But that’s likely because you’re now used to seeing the world in clear, crisp detail—and in contrast, your uncorrected vision appears fuzzier. Getting the proper vision correction for your eyes is essential for your eye health. Don’t try to tough it out if you can’t see clearly. Visit your eyecare professional for an in-person or virtual vision screening.
Not having a bright enough light may make it harder to clearly see the words on the page, but it won’t damage your eyes or permanently impact your vision. Because you’re straining to see, you might get a headache or other symptoms of eyestrain. If you want to read in bed without illuminating the entire bedroom, get a reading light that provides just enough brightness to see your book clearly.
LASIK surgery corrects your distance vision only, so people who are nearsighted benefit most from it. But LASIK doesn’t affect the lens of the eye, the part that helps you focus up close. As you get older, changes to the lens impact your ability to see close up. So even if you have LASIK in your 20s or 30s, you’ll most likely still need reading glasses by the time you hit your 40s or 50s.
Having your face right up next to the bright screen may give you a headache or even cause some temporary eyestrain or fatigue, but it won’t damage your vision. Children are more prone to this behavior than adults—which may be because children can focus close up better than adults can. But if your child can only see the television clearly when sitting close (and has to hold other things close to see them clearly), they may be nearsighted. Taking your child to an eyecare professional for a vision exam will help determine if they need glasses to see clearly.
Most eyecare professionals recommend removing—and thoroughly cleaning—your contacts every night. Even if you use extend-wear lenses that are approved for use a week or month at a time, it’s always safer to give your eyes a nightly break. Your contacts are more likely to accumulate bacteria when you leave them in 24/7, and that can lead to eye infections. Sleeping in your contacts also prevents essential oxygen from getting to your corneas. If you must sleep in your contacts, make it a once-in-a-while event and ask your eyecare provider about contacts that are specially formulated to let more oxygen through.
Carrots (along with other vegetables like sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens) contain high amounts of beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. Vitamin A is essential for eye health, and a deficiency of the nutrient is the leading cause of childhood blindness in developing countries. In the U.S., vitamin A deficiency is rare, and few people get so little it could impact their eyesight. Also, there’s no evidence that beta-carotene affects the sharpness of your vision or can prevent near or farsightedness. So while getting lots of beta-carotene in your diet may help keep your eyes healthy, no amount of carrots is going to actually improve your vision and allow you to toss out your glasses or contacts.
The jury is still out on how effective blue light glasses are for eyestrain. One recent study found they made no difference in eyestrain symptoms during a two-hour-long computer task. But some experts feel they may help alleviate eyestrain and fatigue during prolonged, cumulative screen time. Either way, blue glasses alone won’t solve the problem of too much screen time. The best way to reduce eyestrain is to limit screen time and take frequent breaks when you do need to spend several hours at your computer.
The jury is still out on how effective blue light glasses are for eyestrain. One recent study found they made no difference in eyestrain symptoms during a two-hour-long computer task. But some experts feel they may help alleviate eyestrain and fatigue during prolonged, cumulative screen time. Either way, blue glasses alone won’t solve the problem of too much screen time. The best way to reduce eyestrain is to limit screen time and take frequent breaks when you do need to spend several hours at your computer.
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