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Driving + Mobility

The lenses for more relaxed driving

How ZEISS lenses can make driving less stressful and safer.
11 April 2022
  • The lenses for more relaxed driving

Driving – many people absolutely love it, and enjoy the high degree of independence it provides. However, studies have shown that when driving in situations with poor viability, such as in the rain, fog, or at dawn and dusk, many people feel insecure, tense, and stressed when driving.. Good visibility is an absolute must for safe driving and accident prevention. If visibility is poor, we fatigue quickly and our reaction times are reduced. But what do drivers really need for good vision and what requirements are needed from today’s driving glasses? ZEISS has examined this subject in great detail and discovered the following:

What driving situations can cause the greatest issues?

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1. Issues due to poor weather conditions, at dawn or dusk, or at night.

Sometimes referred to as "night blindness," this condition makes it difficult to see in low light conditions and compels some to simply avoid driving at night or during inclement weather. The reason behind this challenge is that driving in poor lighting conditions requires completely different demands on our eyes. Our pupils become dilated, resulting in less focused vision than with contracted pupils, such as those in daylight. A frequent consequence of this is a reduced ability to judge distances, thus making drivers feel insecure and more stressed.

This creates a need for driving lenses that allow us to better assess distances in poor lighting conditions.

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2. Issues caused by glare

Many drivers find glare caused by headlights of oncoming vehicles, streetlights or reflections extremely irritating. This is particularly the case when driving at twilight or at night when the pupils of our eyes are dilated. Market research and scientific evidence both indicate that perceived glare in traffic is linked to modern car lighting technology, and in particular to LED and Xenon HID light sources. This makes it all the more important to have the appropriate glare protection in order to make driving safer and more comfortable. ZEISS has examined how drivers react to various types of glare and how lens coatings could minimize these negative effects.

3. Issues due to fast, frequent eye movements

3. Issues due to fast, frequent eye movements

Measurements conducted by the FKFS1 Institute on behalf of ZEISS showed that drivers look into the distance for an average of 97% of their time behind the wheel. A very high percentage indeed! However, our eyes also have other tasks to perform while driving, such as quickly glancing at the dashboard ormirrors. This is usually not a problem for younger drivers, but from about the age of 35-40 onwards, our eyes are no longer able to adapt, or "accommodate", to different distances as rapidly. We require special lenses, like progressive lenses, to overcome this obstacle. For driving, the intermediate and distance zones of progressive lenses must be particularly large to enable us to refocus quickly, with minimal head movement, between the road and dashboard. ZEISS has analyzed the behavior of our eyes when driving in great detail.1

One pair of glasses for everything!

73%** of wearers want eyeglasses that provide them with the best vision at night, but they also want to be able to wear them all day long!2

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Three wishes – one pair of eyeglasses: ZEISS DriveSafe Lenses

ZEISS has incorporated all of the above aspects in ZEISS DriveSafe Progressive Lenses to create lenses that are suitable for all-day use by frequent drivers who until now have experienced considerable discomfort due to poor visionand, for anyone who simply wants to make driving a more enjoyable experience.

Solutions by ZEISS DriveSafe

  • Bright light = photopic vision with small pupil: Large depth of focus, relaxed space perception

    Bright light = photopic vision with small pupil: Large depth of focus, relaxed space perception
  • No light (darkness) = scotopic vision with large pupil: Small depth of focus

    No light (darkness) = scotopic vision with large pupil: Small depth of focus
  • Low light = mesopic vision with varying pupil size: Challenging conditions due to variation in depth of focus

    Low light = mesopic vision with varying pupil size: Challenging conditions due to variation in depth of focus

Solution 1: ZEISS Luminance Design™ Technology

ZEISS DriveSafe Lenses feature an optimized eyeglass lens design that takes into account the size of our pupils in low light. One design is specifically for single vision lenses and another for progressive lenses. The result: more relaxed and better vision when driving in poor lighting conditions.

Reduced light-induced irritation such as dazzle and reflection

Reduced light-induced irritation such as dazzle and reflection

Solution 2: ZEISS DuraVision DriveSafe lens coating

ZEISS uses a special coating in DriveSafe lenses to take into account the many different situations our visual system are confronted with glare while driving. This offers the same hardness and cleaning properties as DuraVision®  Premium coatings, but features a different kind of anti-reflective coating. The DuraVision®  DriveSafe Coating by ZEISS partially reflects wavelengths in the high-energy, visible portion of the blue light spectrum, including the band around the wavelength of 450 nm. DuraVision®  DriveSafe Coating by ZEISS therefore reduces discomfort glare by up to 64%2 compared to premium AR coatings.

  • In testing, drivers reported 64% less issues with glare with the DuraVision® DriveSafe Coating than with other premium AR coatings.2

Up to 43% larger** mid-distance zone for easier focus switching between dashboard and mirrors. And up to 14% larger** far-distance vision zone for a wider view of the road.

Up to 43% larger2 mid-distance zone for easier focus switching between dashboard and mirrors. And up to 14% larger2 far-distance vision zone for a wider view of the road.

Solution 3: ZEISS DriveSafe lens design for progressives

ZEISS offers a special design to make driving with progressive lenses more comfortable and safer. The optimized vision zones make it easier for the eyes to refocus when moving between the road ahead and the dashboard and the rearor side- view mirrors. This reduces horizontal movements of the head. At the same time, the near zone is designed so that the glasses can be worn all day long – even for reading.

ZEISS DriveSafe Lenses are the ideal vision solution for all-day wear, not only for driving – whether you are at work, watching television or enjoying a favorite hobby.

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    * Source: FKFS Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart is an independent foundation associated with the University of Stuttgart. Founded in 1930, FKFS has became one of the largest and leading research institutes in the field of automotive engineering, serving major automobile manufacturers and suppliers.
  • 2

    Source: Internal wearer trial (CZV employees in Germany), external wearer trial (eye care professionals and consumers in Spain)