Headlight glare

[Horse]

Coincidentally ... happened across this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0017cjv

Blue Light Filtering Glasses
Sliced Bread Presents

According to some businesses, the laptop, phone and TV screens we use every day are causing us big problems.

They claim these devices emit concentrations of "harmful blue light" which leaves us with tired eyes and poor sleep. One firm goes even further by suggesting this may contribute to a worrying long term condition, macular degeneration which leaves you with a permanent black hole in the centre of your vision.

Their solution? A pair of trendy looking spectacles which claim to filter out this blue light.

Listener, Sophie spends roughly 12 hours a day at a screen of some sort.
She bought a pair but isn't sure if they work. So she's asked Greg to look into them and find out.

We get answers from two leading lights in the science of our eyes. Professor John O'Hagan has been a public health scientist for 46 years and is Visiting Professor in Laser and Optical Radiation Safety at Loughborough University.

Greg also meets sleep expert Russell Foster, professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford who's been researching body clocks for 38 years.

We put the evidence directly to Dhruvin Patel. He's the boss of one of the largest blue light filtering brands, Ocushield which turned over £2m last year.

How does he respond? And will Sophie keep using her trendy specs?

This series, we’re testing your suggested wonder-products. Seen an ad, trend or fad and wonder if there's any evidence to back up the claim? Tell us! Drop us an line to sliced.bread@bbc.co.uk .

One of the experts interviewed suggests that it may be the flickering of LEDs rather than the colour that causes problems.

FWIW I had a colleague who couldn't use a newfangled monitor and kept a big CRT jobbie instead.

[MrLongbeard]

FWIW I had a colleague who couldn't use a newfangled monitor and kept a big CRT jobbie instead.

I'm the same, only switched to a flatscreen in the past couple of years as old 60hz ones were unusable for me, now 120+hz panels are cheap the problem, for me, has gone away

[Horse]

An ad for tinted glasses popped up on Insta.

And after posting in this thread, up pops the ad again!

Stylish things they are.

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And seem to be very effective:

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[Horse]

Although ...

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Let's look closely at the bicycle:

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[Horse]

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[Mr. Dazzle]

Stylish things they are.

Booyakasha!

[Ditchfinder]

Just done a drive to France and back and it takes about 18 hours door to door so always plenty of night driving in Winter. We always dread the night driving because of glare which makes it really tiring.

Before this trip I spent about 20 mins really cleaning the inside and outside of all of the windows.

This made a significant difference with only the newest, blue/white LED headlights being distracting. I got more glare in the wing mirrors than the screen or rear window this trip.

Anyone else done this and found an improvement?

[Horse]

I noticed a great improvement going from a 186,000 mile car to a 10,000 mile one!

[The Spin Doctor]

I always clean the screen inside... traffic film build up causes a lot of haze. Unfortunately, can't do much about the tiny chips and scratches on the outside.

[Noggin]

I've put a soft cloth in my work bag for the weekend - I'm sure that whoever does clean the vans in the week does the windscreens does them with an oily rag It is definitely better when I've cleaned the screen inside - so this weekend I'll take a proper cloth

[The Spin Doctor]

I'm usually pretty sceptical about product claims, but interior glass cleaners is an exception .

https://www.whatcar.com/news/best-car-g ... ers/n25750

[Horse]

I've used the Autoglym glass cleaner for years.

'Used' as in bought with my own money.

*Shudder* paying ... it's that good ...

[Count Steer]

I've used the Autoglym glass cleaner for years.

'Used' as in bought with my own money.

*Shudder* paying ... it's that good ...

I use their screenwash too, it's significantly better than the cheap stuff. (I use Autoglym de-icer too, that's better an' all )

[Mr. Dazzle]

The autoglym stuff which dries to a haze and which you polish off, leaving a fine blue powder which then shows up everywhere else for 4 months?

Yeah it's really good, but see above

[Horse]

The autoglym stuff which dries to a haze and which you polish off, leaving a fine blue powder which then shows up everywhere else for 4 months?

Yup that's the jobbie

A light dusting of pale blue would be an improvement to the usual state of my car

[Horse]

Insta has another, this time biker-specific

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[Tomcat]

My current car and bike both have LED lights and they are very effective. IMHO it's a massive improvement in being able to see where you're going at night, unlike the old stylee mating glow worms we used to be lumbered with. And that in its own right has got to improve safety.

But I can see (literally) why people get upset about being blinded. They are very bright when the oncoming vehicle is cresting a rise, and a real PITA if badly adjusted. But then, TBF so are standard headlights. The art is don't look directly at them (tempting though it may be) and make sure your own lights are properly adjusted. We used to have a thing called an MoT where they allegedly checked this, along with the failed bulbs that make oncoming cars look like bikes...

The biggest thing for me that has improved night driving is getting my cataracts done. It creeps on insidiously and it has become like driving in mist where oncoming lights caused a halo that was impossible to see past. Now it's not a problem. If only there was some requirement for eye testing upon licence renewal. And ideally a refresher on road knowledge and driving standards too, considering the last experience of learning anything that some people have had was 30 or 40 years ago.

[wasabisashimi]

For me, it is relative brightness. Your eyes calibrate to the brightest light. Your light must be brighter than the other guy's. The only reaaly obnoxious ones to me are the chelsea tractors. The lights are too high.

[MrLongbeard]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... complaints

I doubt anything will happen / change

[Mussels]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... complaints

I doubt anything will happen / change

I'm not sure it should do, new headlights are better in some ways but worse in others. Overall I think they are more dangerous but not convinced going backwards is the right solution.
The study may find other improvements that help without changing headlights.