Riding at Night vision issues?

[Ramseybella]

As I am hitting 56 this year I am noticing my night vision isn't a keen as it once was even with driving LED lights.
I use Amber glasses at night and it helps hugely but just sucks that this is starting to bug me over the past four years.
Any of you riders experience the same?

 

[Arkyrider]

yes. Same here. Prescription glasses doesn't help either. I limit my night riding as much as I can.

 

[Dogdaze]

Yes, same as you, I prefer to ride from darkness into the light, early start as dawn breaks. Rain in darkness is worse. AGE!

 

[OldRider]

Eyes are funny things. About ten years ago I started needing reading glasses and I noticed tail lights and signs were getting blurry at night. I could get by at night, but glasses made things a lot clearer. In the last year I noticed that my night vision had come back and things were a lot clearer than in the past few years. A trip to my eye doctor confirmed that my vision had improved and he even gave me a weaker prescription. Who knows, the lights may start getting blurry again, but for now all is good.

 

[Kevhunts]

Very common complaint when in your 50's according to my eye doc. Was told I had the beginnings of cataracts but was still years away from needing surgery.

 

[Ramseybella]

Very common complaint when in your 50's according to my eye doc. Was told I had the beginnings of cataracts but was still years away from needing surgery.

Yes I was told the same line!!
I have to admit I have abused my eyes over the years, dirt, bugs building fine scale models for hours on end when I was younger, getting bad stuff splashed in them!!
Even long epic 12+ hr runs on the bike with polarized sun glasses next morning my eyes are all puffy.
Riding in this high altitude doesn't help. ???

 

[Don in Lodi]

So, it's not just me?
::018::

 

[tomatocity]

I was 68 last September and my eyes have degraded over the last eight years. My optometrist recently told me I have the beginnings of cataracts and is trying to get me an appointment with very good doctor at Kaiser. This doctor is pro surgery as I am. Hopefully this will work in my favor. Recently took a trip with a friend and we rode into late darkness two nights in a row. I struggled BIG TIME. Will be getting new lens' for my glasses on Friday and this should hold me over for awhile but I will stay away from riding in the dark or fog. Hopefully the new lens' will help with shooting. Want to get my CCW but not with these eyes.

 

[gunner]

I had perfect vision until I started getting near 50. My eye doctor told me that the reason my vision had started to degrade was that the muscles your eyes use to focus start to loose elasticity with age, which was the reason I had to start using corrective lenses to read.

He also said that the rods (the photo receptors responsible for low light vision) also degrade with age.

I now try to limit riding at night and slow down when I do ride after sunset.

 

[Shovelhead]

I can see fine at night, but oncoming headlights totally kill me. On a 2 lane road when I meet someone I almost have to make a point to look at the shoulder of the road.
I damn near feel dangerous to myself.

Something else that doesn't help the matter is the intensity of todays headlights. Some of these vehicles are crazy bright. I guarantee you that you could run high beams on a 78 Chevy pickup now days and nobody would flash you.

I'm 54 and started wearing glasses 5-6 yrs ago. They conned me in to the all the special anti glare coatings and such, don't make a bit of difference.

I rarely ride or drive at night anymore except for going to or coming home from work.

 

[Madhatter]

yep and yep my night vison is not what it once was... doc said that I too had the beginnings of cataracts ( but some how it has improved my overall vision, lowered my prescription ) . and for me fatigue makes it worse, my vision in the morning is not to bad, by evening it can be a bit of a concern..... of course some where along the way I turned into a chicken and I'm in my roost ( bed ) by 8.30pm most evenings.... 4.30am I'm setting on the edge of the bed crowing.... so if I travel I travel early when ever possible .... its best for me.... just for the record I will be 58 this month , so all things normal...

 

[RCinNC]

I can't even say it's age in in my case; I've never had the best night vision, even as a kid. By choice I won't ride after dark; the kind of headlights that would make me comfortable at night would probably set the paint on any oncoming cars on fire.

 

[Andylaser]

I can see fine at night, but oncoming headlights totally kill me. On a 2 lane road when I meet someone I almost have to make a point to look at the shoulder of the road.
I damn near feel dangerous to myself.

If I start to get dazzled, I will close the eye on the side that the oncoming vehicle is on. Use the other eye to keep an eye on the verge for a second or 2 until the other vehicle has passed.

 

[shrekonwheels]

At 50 you have something like half the night vision you did in your 20s. Caffeine decreases your night vision by something like 15 percent.

While I have freaky night vision, I have always limited my riding after dark anyhow, too many fury things which could ruin your ride. Not to mention your visibility is so limited it also limits your ability to respond to road hazards.

 

[Pterodactyl]

64 here. I had lasik surgery about eight years ago. I have what my Doc said was the perfect results, meaning that I have both good distant and close in vision. Often people get 20/20 distant vision but can't read anything without cheater glasses. One not so good result of the procedure is you can get a halo effect around lights at night; it made night driving challenging. I lived in Fairbanks, AK at the time and much of my driving was done in darkness. Over time the halo effect has gone back to normal but I still try to avoid riding and driving at night. My major concern now is that there are so many suicidal deer, antelope, elk, cattle and buffalo in Montana that it is nerve racking to ride.

 

[WJBertrand]

63 here haven't noticed anything unusual night vision wise.


-Jeff

 

[Happytrails]

As I am hitting 56 this year I am noticing my night vision isn't a keen as it once was even with driving LED lights.
I use Amber glasses at night and it helps hugely but just sucks that this is starting to bug me over the past four years.
Any of you riders experience the same?

Same here. Maybe in my mid 40's I started noticing the halo glare thing. Now at age 52 it hasn't gotten much worse but its still annoying. Have to look at the right side lane stripes to keep from getting dazzled sometimes. I have been commuting in the morning at 4:30am and hadn't noticed it as much. Can't explain why. My biggest worry are deer and other critters on the roads.

I've been wearing glasses since I was 9yrs old and my prescription hasn't change one bit in all these years. Just something I was born with I guess. Although in the past couple years the eye pressure in my eyes was too high and I had to have laser surgery treatments. My doctor says my eyes are ok now but he did advice me to start taking eye vitamins. He thinks I might be at risk for macular degeneration. Its tough getting old.

I think your on the right track with the night vision glasses. I wear those in the mornings and on cloudy days. Makes a big difference for me. Maybe on cloudy days there is that hazy light I dont know.

 

[FrontRangeRider]

Same here. I don't see as well as I used to and the oncoming lights really affect me these days. (I'm 61.) Additionally, as others have commented, mule deer and sometimes elk are in abundance along the roadsides around here after dark. I don't even like driving at night, much less riding... The other problem with riding at night is the road up the pass to get home. Lots of wonderful twisties in the daytime; at night, my headlight does not do a good enough job lighting the road to make it an enjoyable ride.

 

[Ramseybella]

Picked up a pair of these for night riding cheap enough not to be worried of damage or loss..
http://www.harborfreight.com/yellow-lens-safety-glasses-66823.html

 

[Don in Lodi]

Got my very first pair of glasses made up for me a few weeks ago. WAY over due... decades. Had the anti-glare coating put on. Their little demo picture of what the coating changes was exactly what I was seeing. Whether it's being able to see right or the anti-glare coating, I can see at night again. ::012::