Low-angle sunlight can make driving difficult, especially in the morning and early evening. When the sun is close to the horizon, sun glare can suddenly wash out your view of the road, making it super hard to see traffic signals, pedestrians, stopped vehicles, lane markings, and other roadway users.
Driving in sun glare requires more than simply squinting and hoping your eyes adjust. You may need to slow down, leave more space between your vehicle and the one in front of you, use your vehicle’s sun visor, or take other steps to improve your view. If you can’t see well enough to drive safely, the safest choice may be to pull over until visibility improves.
Why is driving in sun glare so difficult?
Sun glare is especially common around sunrise and sunset because the sun is lower in the sky. Instead of being blocked by the roof or reflected away from your normal field of vision, direct sunlight can shine toward your windshield and directly into your eyes.
Glare can also reflect off other vehicles, buildings, wet pavement, and other surfaces. A clean windshield helps, but even a small amount of dirt, dust, or film on the glass can scatter the sunlight and make the glare even worse.
The problem can be particularly dangerous because your visibility could change in seconds. A driver going toward the sun might have a clear view of the road one minute and struggle to see a traffic signal or pedestrian the next.
Slow down when glare affects your vision.
If sunlight is making it difficult to see, reduce your speed. You need enough time to recognize hazards and respond to them, and limited visibility can make it harder to spot something in your path, so extra time is needed.
Give yourself additional time to identify what’s ahead before proceeding through intersections, crosswalks, and other areas where pedestrians or stopped vehicles may be.
Increase your following distance.
Sun glare can make it harder to see a vehicle’s brake lights or recognize that traffic ahead has slowed or stopped. Increasing your following distance gives you more time to react if you suddenly identify a hazard.
Leave more space than you normally would between your vehicle and the one ahead of you. This is especially important when glare is strong enough that you can’t clearly see the road several seconds ahead of your vehicle.
Keep your windshield clean inside and out.
A dirty windshield can make sun glare much worse. Dust, fingerprints, and other buildup can scatter incoming sunlight across the glass and create additional glare. Clean both sides of the windshield regularly. The inside of the glass can develop a thin film that may not be obvious during normal driving but becomes much more noticeable when direct sunlight hits it.
Use your sun visor.
Your vehicle’s sun visor can block some direct sunlight and make it easier to see the road. Lower the visor when the sun is shining directly toward your eyes, and adjust it to block as much glare as possible without obstructing your view of the road.
Some visors can also be moved toward the side window and then extended outward. I showed this to someone recently and it blew their mind! The extra adjustment helps cover the gap between the front windshield and side window, blocking sunlight that might otherwise shine directly into your eyes from the side.
Choose sunglasses that help reduce glare.
Sunglasses can make bright conditions more comfortable and can reduce the amount of glare reaching your eyes. Choose sunglasses that provide good UV protection and allow you to see clearly. Polarized lenses can be particularly helpful for reducing reflected glare from surfaces such as pavement and vehicle windows. However, sunglasses shouldn’t be so dark that they make it difficult to see when lighting conditions change.
Watch carefully for pedestrians and cyclists.
Sun glare can make vulnerable road users particularly difficult to see. A pedestrian crossing the road or a cyclist traveling along the edge of the roadway may blend into the background when bright sunlight is directly in your field of vision.
Take extra time to scan for movement at crosswalks and check areas where a pedestrian or cyclist might be hanging out.
Be especially careful at intersections.
A traffic signal can be difficult to see when the sun is directly behind it or shining into your windshield. If glare prevents you from clearly identifying the signal, slow down and wait to proceed through the intersection until you’re sure what the signal is.
The same principle applies when approaching a stopped vehicle, turning across traffic, or entering a roadway. If your view is blocked by glare, don’t rely on assumptions about what should be there. Reduce your speed and make sure the path is clear.
Know when it’s safer to just pull over.
Sometimes the safest response to severe glare is to stop driving temporarily. If you can’t see traffic signals, lane markings, vehicles, pedestrians, or other important features of the roadway clearly enough to drive safely, find a safe place to pull over.
Once visibility improves enough for you to see the roadway clearly, you can continue your trip.
You can’t control where the sun is or when it will shine directly into your windshield, but you can prepare for the conditions. Keep your windshield clean, maintain your wipers and washer fluid, keep your sunglasses accessible, and know how to position your sun visor.
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