Eye Health Resources

Driving at Night with Astigmatism

What's driving at night with uncorrected astigmatism look like?

Picture this: You drive up to a stoplight at night and there’s a car on the other side with its bright headlights on. To a person with normal vision, the lights might be annoying. To you, the lights seem streaky and smudged, obscuring your vision and making it hard to see if there are any hazards around you. When the light turns green, you have to wait until the other car passes you to be able to see well enough to drive away. This example highlights the challenges—and dangers—that lights could present to people with severe, uncorrected astigmatism at night. Bright lights can be a distraction at best, and at worst, dangerous.

A dark photo with only headlights visible, which have streaks of light coming from them
Is It Safe to Drive at Night with Astigmatism?

Your safety depends on your astigmatism

An over-the-shoulder view of a man driving his car around sunrise

When it comes to your ability to see clearly enough to safely dive, it all comes down to how severe your astigmatism is and whether or not your vision is corrected. For example, driving with severe, uncorrected astigmatism can be dangerous due to vision blur and distortion. But driving with glasses or contact lenses that correct astigmatism may be no different than driving with 20/20 vision. Ultimately, only you and your Optician can determine how safe it is for you to drive at night.

Understanding the basics of astigmatism

A close up of a s smiling older man's brow eye

To understand how astigmatism affects the way you see lights, especially while driving, it helps to understand the fundamentals of astigmatism. Astigmatism is when the front surface of the eye (cornea) or lens inside the eye isn’t perfectly round like a basketball. Instead, it’s shaped more like an American football. This shape, when uncorrected, makes it difficult for light to focus correctly in the eye, causing images to appear blurry or distorted.

Astigmatism's Effect on Night Vision

More light, more challenges

A woman sits in her wheelchair observing a brightly lit city at night

Your pupils are the gatekeepers for how much light gets into your eyes. When it’s bright, they shrink so that you aren’t blinded by light. When it’s dark, the pupils get bigger to let more light in and help you see better. For a person with uncorrected (or under-corrected) astigmatism, bright lights like headlights, combined with a dark environment, can be particularly challenging since the eyes already struggle to focus light properly.

Astigmatism Symptoms at Night

What do lights look like for a person with uncorrected astigmatism?

When a person with uncorrected astigmatism sees lights at night, they may experience any of these difficulties:

  • Blurry vision
  • Distorted or squashed images
  • Streaky or haloed lights
  • Light beams emanating from light sources
  • Starburst effects
A POV view of driving a car down a dark road while it's raining

Tips for driving at night

What to do when you have uncorrected astigmatism

When you consider the science of how astigmatism works and how bright lights can impact people with uncorrected (or even under-corrected) astigmatism, it’s easy to understand why driving at night can be challenging—if not dangerous. Streetlights, headlights, emergency lights and more can all impact the ability to see, increasing the chances of an accident. Here are two tips that can help.

Get your vision prescription checked

If you have astigmatism, the number one thing you can do to make it easier to drive at night is to visit your Optician and get an up-to-date prescription for glasses or contact lenses. This can help reduce or eliminate things like blurry vision, distortions and starbursts that make driving challenging. Even if you already have a prescription, your vision may have changed or the prescription may not correct your astigmatism completely, so it’s still worth checking in with your Optician.

Find an Eye Care Professional

Until that time, control what you can as you drive

The little things add up, so take steps to make yourself more safe, comfortable and confident while behind the wheel at night.

  • Leave early so you have time to go slowly
  • Limit the distractions inside your car
  • Don’t use cabin lights
  • Try not to look directly at headlights or streetlights
  • Use the night setting on your rear-view mirror
  • Stick to familiar areas
  • Keep all reflective surfaces clean and smudge-free. That includes any eyeglasses you might wear.

Why choose ACUVUE® for astigmatism?

Clear and stable vision1

No matter how active you may be, your vision with ACUVUE® contact lenses for astigmatism is clear and stable all day1 and can correct for both short-sightedness and long-sightedness.

EYELID STABILISED® design

For astigmatism, it's extremely important that your lenses stay in place for clear vision. ACUVUE® lenses realign with every blink2.

Great for active lifestyles

Your vision stays clear and stable1 as you run, jump and twist. And unlike glasses, there's no risk of breaking contact lenses.

Easy application and removal

Due to the contact lens' design, it can't be applied upside down like most other lenses for astigmatism2.

Built in UV protection#

ACUVUE® offers UV blocking# across its entire line of contact lenses, including those for astigmatism

Get started with ACUVUE® contact lenses

Try ACUVUE® for free*

Provide some basic information and get a contact lens free* trial

Find an Eye Care Professional

Use our locator tool to find an eye care professional who can fit you with ACUVUE® contact lenses

What does driving at night with astigmatism look like?

When a person with uncorrected astigmatism sees lights at night, they may experience any of these difficulties: Blurry vision. Distorted or squashed images.

Why is my astigmatism so bad at night?

If you have astigmatism, the cornea is shaped more like a football, and the light rays entering the eye meet at different points causing blurred vision. At night, or in other low light conditions, the blur gets worse. That's because when the lighting dims, the pupil dilates to let in more light.

Are there lenses for driving at night with astigmatism?

ACUVUE Contact Lenses for Astigmatism can help reduce the amount of light entering your eye, helping people with astigmatism see better at night.

* Please note professional eye examination and fitting fees may apply. GCC residents 18 or over only. One trial per person. Eligibility subject to Eye Care Professional approval. Participating Eye Care Professionals only. See link for full terms and conditions.

All ACUVUE® contact lenses have UV Blocking to help provide protection against transmission of harmful UV radiation to the cornea and into the eye. UV absorbing contact lenses are NOT substitutes for protective UV absorbing eyewear such as UV absorbing goggles or sunglasses because they do not completely cover the eye and surrounding area. You should continue to use UV absorbing eyewear as directed by your Eye Care Professional.

For more information on proper wear, care and safety, talk to your Eye Care Professional and read the Instructions for Use.


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Last updated 12/07/2024.