driving at night - is the problem the windscreen

lobbyludd

On a recent long drive, the glare and scatter during the driving at night bit made driving difficult, I was fine on the motorways but as soon as I hit the towns with all the extra christmas lighting it was very difficult.

In the wet weather we've been having I've noticed that there appear to be very fine scratches on the exterior of the windscreen that I've not noticed before, mostly running vertically: I've polished the screen (just microfibre cloths and water) and changed the wiper blades but this hasn't helped.

would these scratches cause glare and scatter and can I do anything about it?

I've recently had my eyes tested and they are fine with no need for any glasses etc. but I didn't ask about this as I didn't know it was a problem!

spacey2012

Invest in some clear polarised glasses.

anotherbaldrick

It is a problem that will develop for most people with advancing age, the eye gets scratched and scatters light falling onto the retina. As suggested polarised glasses will help. Some decide to restrict their driving at night in wet conditions.

DUTR

lobbyludd wrote: »

On a recent long drive, the glare and scatter during the driving at night bit made driving difficult, I was fine on the motorways but as soon as I hit the towns with all the extra christmas lighting it was very difficult.

In the wet weather we've been having I've noticed that there appear to be very fine scratches on the exterior of the windscreen that I've not noticed before, mostly running vertically: I've polished the screen (just microfibre cloths and water) and changed the wiper blades but this hasn't helped.

would these scratches cause glare and scatter and can I do anything about it?

I've recently had my eyes tested and they are fine with no need for any glasses etc. but I didn't ask about this as I didn't know it was a problem!

You haven't polished the glass then.
Try some glass polish, AG glass polish or Halfords Intensive glass cutter, with both products use just a pea size amount per side window, apply to the interior and exterior, leave a few mins until it dries and hazes, then using a clean cloth wipe the residue away, I have just done this to my GF's 2001 Fiesta, even she has noticed she can actually see the roads now, reduced glare and greater water repellancy, I didn't change the wiper blades but did clean the rubbers with liquid glass cleaner ( oh and polished the headlight lenses too) .

neilmcl

spacey2012 wrote: »

Invest in some clear polarised glasses.

Is there such a thing as clear polarised driving glasses?

Richard53

This can be an age problem, as mentioned above. I am finding oncoming headlights dazzle me more than they used to, and worse on the bike as the visor is not the same optical quality as glass. Worse in the wet, of course. I accept it, and adjust my driving/riding accordingly.

Clean windscreen glass (inside and out, ref DUTR above) will help a lot. (I have never seen clear polarised glasses, but I have a pair of yellow tinted goggles for the bike, and yellow tinted specs for the car, and they really do make a difference in low light and/or rain.)

The human eye is quite good at resolving high-contrast situations. A single bright headlight may dazzle, but the eye is still quite good at seeing detail in the darker background. But if that single point of light is scattered (dirty screen, dirt/mist on inside, raindrops, smears, dirty specs, ageing eyeballs) then instead of a single point of bright light you have a million points of light scattered across your vision. This reduces the ability to see detail in the darker areas, where there might be a pedestrian or cyclist, or debris in the road. Reducing the light scatter is the key. And being 20 again, I suppose.

maninthestreet

Have you been to the optician to get your eyes checked?

LandyAndy

I realise you've had your eyes tested but when I had this it was a sign of cataract. Operation cured it.

LandyAndy

maninthestreet wrote: »

Have you been to the optician to get your eyes checked?

See the OP

Broadwood

Just an idea lobbyludd, but does your car have a heated front windscreen?

We have a Ford Focus pool car at work and I hate driving it day or night especially when it's raining. My eyes seem to automatically focus on the fine vertical wires in the front screen. Trucks at work and my own car are fine for visibility but non of them have heated front screens. Scratches tend be two arcs of fine lines made by the wiper blades. My wife's old windscreen had these made by fine sand particles when she used to park daily near a brick factory. Luckily a recent stone chip resulted in her having to get the screen replaced cheaply via the insurance.

Richard53

Heated screens are like those optical puzzles. You don't see them as your eyes are focused further away, but then once you have seen them, you see them every time. I have a HWS in my car, and the only time it bothers me is in bright sunlight from a certain angle, where they show up as bright traces in the glass. I never notice them at other times. And it's a Ford, so likely the same as the one you mention.

If you force yourself to focus on the middle distance, they 'should' be out of your eyes' focal range and become invisible. I have seen some brilliant wildlife photography taken through a wire-mesh fence. If the lens aperture is big enough and the subject is far enough away, those thick wires can literally disappear.