Safety Considerations: Driving with Contact Lenses

Contact lenses ensure wider field vision due to enhanced peripheral sight. Driving with contact lenses is certainly safer than spectacles for several reasons. Ensuring few safety considerations let drivers with impaired vision to stay fearless throughout the journey. A research conducted on “Vision Impairment & Driving” concludes that visual acuity is only weakly related to crashes whereas peripheral vision seems to play a critical role. Thus, it is safe to assume that contact lenses provide greater freedom, sense of safety & convenience during driving.

Safety Tips for Drivers:

1. Circle contacts may turn dry quickly in extreme windy conditions. Car vents; blowing cold or hot air affect circle lens tolerance & may reduce the wearing duration. To prevent eyes from strenuous strain during driving, divert the car vents away from your face.
2. Keep the driver’s side window closed. There should be no direct air pressure on driver’s face or on eyes. Furthermore, in windy atmosphere; air carries pollutants that when get into eyes accumulate over contact lenses and trigger abrupt urge of rubbing eyes. This leaves your circle lenses scratchy and unwearable.
3. In blazing environment, protect your eyes by either wearing UV protection circle contacts or by sun glasses. Sometimes hot air along with sizzling beams of sun, turn lenses hazy due to which vision is temporarily blurred. Wearing UV intercepting eye wear protect eyes from changing environmental conditions.
4. Carry a contact lens traveling kit. In case, lubrication is required due to an annoying sensation of dryness; use re wetting drops to moisten your eyes. Do not drive for minimum of a five minutes after instilling eye drops. Only use contact lens compatible eye drops.

Low vision reduces the driving exposure. Best practice is to start wearing prescription contact lenses for a better peripheral vision & greater independence. Spectacles may fall off on a bumpy ride, keeping your hands engaged and causing diversions. Contact lenses, however prevent fidgeting for a safer driving experience by enabling sharp vision.