Good Vision In A Downpour

[Monk]

GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR

" I haven't Tried this myself yet, but I will..... Also might work well riding a M/C .... I'll try it in the Jeep first"

GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR DID NOT KNOW THIS....

HAVE TO TRY IT!!!

How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour.

I can vouch for this!! We are not sure why it is so effective just

try this method when it rains heavily.

This method was told by a Police friend who had experienced and

confirmed it. It is useful..even driving at night.

Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED

of the wipers during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front

of the windscreen is still bad......

In the event you face such a situation, just try your SUN GLASSES

(any model will do), and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in

front of your windscreen is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain.

Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car,

as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision,

but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea..

Try it yourself and share it with your friends! Amazing, you still

see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling.

You can see where the rain bounces off the road.

It works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing semi's spraying

you too. Or the "kickup" if you are following a semi or car in

the rain.

They ought to teach that little tip in driver's training.

It really does work.

[Monk]

Has anyone ever tried this?

[dutchinterceptor]

Can't say for the sunglasses but I always run a dark smoke visor and in heavy rain doesn't make any difference. I don't think anything helps with the spray off of the big trucks. The dark visor does help with the headlight glare at night though.

[Guest]

Ive heard of this before, but I believe they have to be polarized sunglasses.

[HispanicSlammer]

Cant wear polorized glasses with a standard motorcycle visor, unless you want to see rainbows all day long, strange effects of looking through the stress lines on the shield.

[BustedKnuckles]

Ive heard of this before, but I believe they have to be polarized sunglasses.

Yes, this is right! I have found this to be true in a car, here in Oregon we get lots of experience driving in the rain. Unfortunately when I wear polarized glasses on the bike my Shoei's clear shield turns to rainbows so I use cheapo sunglasses when riding...

Anyone else have thoughts or experience with this?

(Edit: HS beat me to it with the rainbow problem, I guess I'm not the only one!)

[Guest]

Ok I had not put 2 and 2 together. I was riding up Roan Mt. and got cought in a sudden down pour with the sunglasses on. Not a single car or truck stayed on the road witch puzzled me because I could see a good 100 feet ahead of them so I just kept on going. That was a good thing the sun was shinning on the top and all the way down to Bakersville. Thanks I will try this out in my truck now.

[Monk]

Speaking of polarized glasses made me remember something I heard years ago about polarized glasses, and riding(probably different while raining)....... But due to what they were intended for was to stop reflection.... throws up a warning sign for use while riding.... makes it hard to see oil/water/puddles on the road.... makes since.... Thx

[The mailman]

Cant wear polorized glasses with a standard motorcycle visor, unless you want to see rainbows all day long, strange effects of looking through the stress lines on the shield.

I can vouch for the rainbow situation with polarized lenses and the faceshield. I learned to ask for non-polarized lenses now. I always wear a pair of prescription wrap style glasses with my dark visor rain or shine and I can see just fine. I tested that out again on Sunday riding in the rain from Loveland Pass to Idaho Springs in a downpour.

On a second note: My wife must really trust my riding abilities... We had lunch at the Dam Brewery before heading home and the combo of a full belly and the cool moist air must have lulled her off as she fell ASLEEP on the back of my VFR ON I-70, IN HEAVY TRAFFIC, IN THE RAIN! Says she doen't remember a fairly long stretch of the ride. At least she doesn't toss and turn when she sleeps!

[Guest]

Speaking of polarized glasses made me remember something I heard years ago about polarized glasses, and riding(probably different while raining)....... But due to what they were intended for was to stop reflection.... throws up a warning sign for use while riding.... makes it hard to see oil/water/puddles on the road.... makes since.... Thx

[Trinith]

Cant wear polorized glasses with a standard motorcycle visor, unless you want to see rainbows all day long, strange effects of looking through the stress lines on the shield.

I've noticed that too, and gotten used to it for the most part. Heard some complain that it gives them headaches but personally I think its fun to look at all the purdy colors.

Can anyone go into any more detail about why that happens?

As for polarized glasses in the rain, it makes sense. A pair of yellow or clear polarized would work best though. Most of the light coming off the rain drops is itself polarized and essentially just glare. Polarized glasses will kill that light quite easily, rendering the drops more or less invisible.

[Guest]

Cant wear polorized glasses with a standard motorcycle visor, unless you want to see rainbows all day long, strange effects of looking through the stress lines on the shield.

I've noticed that too, and gotten used to it for the most part. Heard some complain that it gives them headaches but personally I think its fun to look at all the purdy colors.

Can anyone go into any more detail about why that happens?

As for polarized glasses in the rain, it makes sense. A pair of yellow or clear polarized would work best though. Most of the light coming off the rain drops is itself polarized and essentially just glare. Polarized glasses will kill that light quite easily, rendering the drops more or less invisible.

I assume its an interference pattern caused by the altering of the light waves coming through the curved face shields and then hitting the polarizing filter of the sun glasses. Any better physics geeks than me out there?

I had my prescription sunglasses changed to non-polarized. My Optician was surprised when I described the effect.

I do remember the yellow tinted (shooters style) glasses where in vogue for driving back in the 80's. Sounds like a job for the Myth Busters.

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/GBSSCI/PHYS...ght/u12l1e.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherence_(physics)

[V4 Rosso]

Now that the days are getting shoter I have replaced my visor for the clear one and wear polarised sunglasses when needed but have never experienced that rainbow effect. :biggrin:

[Sweeper]

Shoei used to make a "high def" sheild. It was like the blue blocker sun glasses. I loved it because it made everything seem brighter but without glare. Also because you could ride day or night. Worked well in the rain too. Haven't seen one in a long time. One thing that sure doesn't help is getting old. I hate to ride with myself after dark anymore. :dry:

[Burns]

like smee42 said.. the high-def is the ticket.. used to use the same 'coloring' for ski goggles... it would define the terrain better... same is true for sun glasses/shields.

[Guest]

I wear polarized sun glasses all the time but I rarely ride with the face shield down, usually only when it's cold, raining, or I'm doing 70+ MPH. I've gotten used to the polarized glasses but it took some doing. If there is water, tar, or pretty much anything else in the road it looks like oil, this has provided for a few scary moments. I've pretty much gotten used to it though.

[TimC]

I wear glasses most of the time, but usually contact lenses during long rides, using a pair of polarized sunglasses. I don't notice the rainbow effect that much, but I do notice tar strips and oil spots on the road look funny. If anything, I think it makes them a bit more noticeable, but I should try some non-polarized lenses again to see the difference.

I will say polarized lenses do make a big difference in reducing glare. Try looking down at water using them, vs. normal lenses or none. You can see through the surface of the water, which is neat. That's probably why they work so well in the rain, as Trinith said above.

[marid2apterbilt]

I cant say much for polarized sunglasses but I do love my Yellow tinted sheild for nite riding, Makes headlight glare look like FOGLIGHTS :biggrin: But it changes the actual colors you seem a little bit.. Yellow linnes will look orange when you lift the vissor and a Yellow Flag on the Track looks White :fing02:

[Growler67]

Polarized lens sunglasses significantly reduce the glare reflected/refracted off the rain, that's how this "works'. It's not a 100% cure and "heavy rain" is subjective among non-weather related professionals. Just sayin'.

On the bike, a good and proper application of Rain-X on a lightly smoke tinted faceshield with polarized sunglasses has been the best I have achieved, though I try not to encounter such conditions as cagers pay even less attention to bikes. Not to mention (depending on geographical location) heavy rain masks/hides the arrival of hail and THAT ain't no fun.

[VF1000R]

I assume its an interference pattern caused by the altering of the light waves coming through the curved face shields and then hitting the polarizing filter of the sun glasses. Any better physics geeks than me out there?

You can get polarization via refraction but most of the time we see it in a reflection (e.g. off the surface of water). Many plastics are birefringent, meaning that one polarization direction is refracted slightly differently from the other. When you use a polarizing filter, you reduce one of the polarization components and the color banding from the other component jumps out. You get this in plastics when you stress them (e.g. bending them, hence the effect in visors). Here is a nice demonstration of it:

Dirk