Visor Warning

[DryRider]

I went for a ride last weekend and it was very hot and sunny. On the way home I lowered my built in slip down sun visor, it's one of those retractable visors the type that is in addition to having the main clear shield or visor. You just push a button on the side of the helmet to activate it or FLIP DOWN. It was a huge help cutting the glare of the sun. I also said to myself this is like have an extra pair of sun glasses on really helpful and so much safer than all that very intense sun light and brightness. The freeway made a gentle curve and I entered a tunnel traffic on the two lanes to my right moving about 45-50 mph and as I entered the tunnel everything went black. I was in shock and knew I was really in a bad spot because the tunnel curves a bit. I could barely and I mean barely make out two white lines for my lane. I think a less experienced rider would have huge problems with a situation like the one I had...yup I feel stupid for not thinking about having the visor down...never really came to mind as I entered the tunnel. I was relaxed and just riding along and in the blink of an eye, all went dark...black. Be very careful with these new helmets that have this feature. I still wouldn't personally own a helmet that did not have this additional glare protection...but I'll be a hell of a lot more careful going forward...or backwards

 

[Defekticon]

I have a Shoei GT-Air with the same feature (I'm a GT-Air fanatic, it is an amazing helmet and worth every penny). The helmet is better than using sunglasses as you can flip up the internal shade when entering a tunnel much easier than removing a pair of sunglasses. I used to ride with sunglasses/tinted shields, the Shoei does a good job accommodating glasses, but the internal visor is the superior solution. I get some folks might think it's a gimmick/fad on new helmets. It's not.

 

[DryRider]

I maybe should have said I was using both the shield and my sunglasses due to extream glare. My sunglasses are Serengeti drivers and are photo chromatic meaning they adjust themselves to the brightness. I feel the result would have been the same no matter what you had on for glasses but none the less just want guys to know I was pretty shaken up after this event. Ride safe.

 

[Sierra1]

I have became a fan of the iridium/reflective visors. My dealer let me try it before I bought it. It keeps more sun out than a normal dark tint during the day, but at night it lets more light in. It allows me to have just one visor for all day use. I would still like one of the "built-ins" for those straight in to the sun rides though.

 

[Defekticon]

I maybe should have said I was using both the shield and my sunglasses due to extream glare. My sunglasses are Serengeti drivers and are photo chromatic meaning they adjust themselves to the brightness. I feel the result would have been the same no matter what you had on for glasses but none the less just want guys to know I was pretty shaken up after this event. Ride safe.

Ok that makes much more sense! Yes the polarized glasses can certainly make things go black in that situation.

 

[Madhatter]

every situation we get in is a chance to learn something.... we add that knowledge to our inventory of skills that promote survival....

 

[Gigitt]

Well I for one prefer the built in sunshade visor over sunglasses.

I have an Iridium type internal visor on on my Shark Vision R and the standard on my Schuberth C3.
The Iridium is so much better for keeping your face cooler than the standard tinted internal visor that came with the Vision R.
The Schubert internal visor is really good and optically perfect - like wearing a pair or Oakley visor type glasses - funny they cost as much as well!

Why I like them...
well just like your tunnel scare moment... if you are wearing sunglasses and you do get into darker road conditions like a tunnel or over grown tree canopy covering the road - you have to cope with this darkenss and that can be dangerous!!!
With the internal visor, you can at least flip it back up so you can see in darker sections of road.

Another problem with riding with sunglasses with an internal visor and external visor - you get ghosting - that is reflection bouncing around from all the surfaces and can make it actuallly harder to see some things on the road.

If you have Pinloc, there is now transition version that darken automatically - probably a better option than transition sunglasses behind an internal visor.

Don't dismiss the internal visor it is very practical when riding in differing light conditions.

 

[AdvToorer]

I haven't owned a helmet with a built-in visor yet. I have tried the tinted strip at the top of visor which worked with varying results depending on brand. I recently picked up an Aria XD4 and the peak/bill does a great job at as a sun visor.

Tilt of the head and all is good!

 

[howier]

I know I have had to tell some people this before. If you are looking through two lenses that are polarized "example glasses and sun shade" you will get a blackout effect. Hard to explain what it is unless you see it. I get it when looking through a visor at the GPS.

 

[DryRider]

I know I have had to tell some people this before. If you are looking through two lenses that are polarized "example glasses and sun shade" you will get a blackout effect. Hard to explain what it is unless you see it. I get it when looking through a visor at the GPS.

It's a difficult lesson to learn that's for sure. It's really not going to happen unless one drives into a tunnel or an extremely dark situation without notice while having forgotten about having it down. I got lucky. Thanks for your feedback.

 

[nelso]

I know I have had to tell some people this before. If you are looking through two lenses that are polarized "example glasses and sun shade" you will get a blackout effect. Hard to explain what it is unless you see it. I get it when looking through a visor at the GPS.

Yep this. You probably couldn't see the LCD dash either. Polarising does some cool/weird things if you're not used to it

 

[steve68steve]

BT,DT. I've been thru a few tunnels that have a "remove sunglasses" warning sign at the entrance.


I loved the tinted shields allowing me to not wear sunglasses, but I commuted for years: dark in the AM, full sun in the PM. I tried swapping shields for about 3 days before I gave up.


My current set-up is the clear shield with two strips of black electrical tape at the top edge. Not perfect, but for me it's the straightest line between two points.

 

[Den]

Why I like them...
well just like your tunnel scare moment... if you are wearing sunglasses and you do get into darker road conditions like a tunnel or over grown tree canopy covering the road - you have to cope with this darkenss and that can be dangerous!!!
With the internal visor, you can at least flip it back up so you can see in darker sections of road.

Another problem with riding with sunglasses with an internal visor and external visor - you get ghosting - that is reflection bouncing around from all the surfaces and can make it actuallly harder to see some things on the road.

I've been riding with sunnys under my TourX for years and am yet to experience the ghosting effect, although I can see where you're coming from. Whenever I enter a tunnel I simply pull my shades down to the end of my nose, and back up to the bridge when I'm out. Pretty simple and only a fraction of a second slower than the flip down sunscreen thing. This might not work for people with short noses though

 

[GearheadGrrrl]

Sounds like you went through the I94 Lowry Hill Tunnel westbound... That "tunnel" (actually a "cut and cover" always made me nervous, and it doesn't meet current Interstate engineering standards. If you notice they put in more lights by the entrance to the tunnel to try to ease the transition, but it's still not enough. There's been a bunch of bad accident there, note all the scrapes in the wall. For example, a couple decades ago a tractor-trailer rig jacknifed there in the rain and slit open a big tank of diesel. Caused a bunch of accidents and the DOT came out and cleaned up the spilled diesel as best they could. All was well until a few hours later it rained again and brought up the diesel and another bunch of accidents! Treat that tunnel with a lot of respect, it's tempting to try to do it at double the 35 MPH limit, but the consequences of screwing it up are pretty solidly concrete!

 

[WJBertrand]

I maybe should have said I was using both the shield and my sunglasses due to extream glare. My sunglasses are Serengeti drivers and are photo chromatic meaning they adjust themselves to the brightness. I feel the result would have been the same no matter what you had on for glasses but none the less just want guys to know I was pretty shaken up after this event. Ride safe.

Do the Serengeti drivers darken behind a shield? My prescription Transitions lenses depend on UV light to darken and as plastic and glass are pretty efficient UV filters, they don't darken unless completely exposed. i can drop just the clear shield and they will immediately begin to lighten.

 

[Hfjeff]

I have a Bell Qualiier DLX with the Transitions shield. I absolutely love this shield and it gets dark. But it does take a few minutes to transition from dark to clear. I have not ridden through any tunnels and I don't where it with sunglasses. I do not think it would be an issue, but glad you pointed this out as it will be something to keep in mind.