Contact lenses and driving at night

In low light, your pupils widen to let in more light. A wider pupil means more light passes through the outer edges of your lens, natural or corrective, which is exactly where most visual imperfections show up. This is why halos, glare and starbursts around lights are far more noticeable at night than during the day.

We've covered the wider topic of vision and safety in our guide to eyes on the road, but night driving deserves a closer look, so let's get into it.

Halos and glare are usually a sign that your prescription needs updating, or that you have astigmatism that isn't fully corrected. Astigmatism means your cornea isn't perfectly round, so light entering your eye scatters instead of focusing to a single point. That scattering is what creates a ring of light around headlights and streetlights.

If this sounds familiar, it's worth asking your optician whether toric contact lenses for astigmatism could help. They're designed specifically to correct this kind of light scattering, rather than just sharpening your overall vision.

Long drives, air conditioning, heating and staring at a dashboard or phone screen can all leave your eyes dry and tired. Driving with dry contacts is uncomfortable, and it can blur your vision at exactly the wrong moment.

If your eyes often feel gritty or tired by the end of a drive, our guide to common contact lens complaints and how to treat them explains what's normal and when to see your optician.

Glare from dashboard screens and phone mounts can add to that strain too, so try to keep screens dimmed and take regular breaks on longer night drives.

Fresh contacts scatter less light than lenses with a build-up of protein or dust, which is why daily contact lenses are a popular choice for anyone who drives regularly at night. A new pair every day means no deposits, no cleaning routine to forget and consistently clear vision.

If you have astigmatism, make sure your contacts are designed to correct it. A standard lens won't fix the scattering that causes halos, however clean it is, so double check this with your optician or when you reorder.