Misleading media story

10th August 2020

UK regional media have been running the same ludicrous scare story for some time now claiming you could get fined for wearing sunglasses whilst driving and fined for not wearing them! Guaranteed to confuse people! We have no idea which organisation originally issued this story to the media (or why) but it’s mostly factually incorrect (that’s being very polite). Let’s set the record completely straight. The only sunglasses you should NOT wear when driving are Category 4 ones that have very dark lenses that let in less than 8% of light. If found to be wearing these, you could be fined and if you had an accident your insurance company is unlikely to pay up. Category 4 sunglasses should be clearly described when sold and clearly marked either on the sunglass or outer packaging.

The vast majority of drivers are only too aware that it can be very difficult to see clearly in bright sun conditions, especially when glare reflects off the road surface (especially a wet road), or when the sun is low on the horizon. These conditions occur regularly and at all times of the year when driving so of course you should wear sunglasses as an essential, indeed vital, safety measure to combat them. It’s plain common sense. Find driving sunglasses.

As we have mentioned before we strongly recommend you keep a pair of polarised sunglasses ready-to-hand in the car when driving and put them on whenever the sun is shining.