With nights darker, do you struggle to see while driving?

Now that the nights are darker, do you struggle to see when driving ?

As the days begin to get shorter, many of us are spending more time commuting in the dark.
And for some, the combination of the darkness and the glare of the oncoming headlights can cause some visibility issues. So what can we do?

Driving in the dark brings on new challenges. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatalities on the road are three times greater at night than during the day. Our depth perception and peripheral vision aren't as good in the dark and, for some drivers, there's a real vision problem.

"It could be something more significant like a corneal problem or they have some astigmatism that's uncorrected, or it could be something more significant like a cataract that needs to be addressed and evaluated," says Cleveland Clinic Dr. Rishi Singh. 

As we age, it usually becomes harder to drive at night and there are several reasons for that.

First, pupils shrink, reducing the amount of light entering the eye, which can make older drivers feel like they're wearing sunglasses.

Also, the aging cornea and lens in the eye become less clear as we age, which increases glare.

And while it's normal for folks to notice some changes in their night vision as they age, there are some warning signs that should not be ignored.

"It's okay to have it occasionally at nighttime, or more constantly at nighttime when you have a real issue or a known issue going on, it's when it happens during the day and especially with a decrease in vision or decrease in your visual field where you really want to get an evaluation by an optometrist or ophthalmologist for that condition," Dr. Singh says.  

Dr. Singh says that anytime you notice a significant change in your vision either during the night or during the day, it's a good idea to have an evaluation by an eye doctor.