A new study has found that wearing yellow lens glasses at night does not help a driver’s vision, and may in fact make it worse.
According to a paper recently published in JAMA Ophthalmology, drivers wearing glasses equipped with yellow lenses were no better at spotting pedestrians when confronting oncoming headlights than those who wore clear lenses.
The study’s 22 participants used a specially designed driving simulator that included the option of bright oncoming headlights.
Researchers found that while glare from oncoming headlights did slow the speed with which participants spotted pedestrians, yellow lenses did not improve reactions.
Dr Alex Hwang, Harvard Medical School instructor and lead author on the study, told Reuters that people purchasing these lenses are under the impression that they can improve night driving.
“Wearing (tinted) glasses, whether they are yellow, red or blue, cuts out a chunk of light. Which means this is the same as wearing sunglasses while driving at night.
“Don’t waste your money on these kinds of glasses for night driving.”
