A. You must not ride at night.
A. You must not ride at night.
B. You need no other eye protection.
C. You should also wear a face shield or visor.
D. You should ensure your lenses have an anti-glare coating.
If you wear glasses when riding, you can choose a helmet that has grooves already cut in the foam down the side of your head that make it more comfortable and stop the glasses' arms from digging into your temples and behind your ears which can become painful over time. Some specialist glasses have padded arms and frames specifically for wearing with a helmet. The softer the padding the less likely it is to last for a long time, especially if you ride with an open-face helmet in wet weather. Neoprene padding is the most durable but won't fit so snugly or comfortably to your face.
If you wear quite large glasses check that they will fit under your helmet without the top of them being pushed down by the padding along your brow - this will cause discomfort on the bridge of your nose.
It might take a bit of wearing of your helmet before the padding adjusts perfectly to your glasses and your head, so a small amount of discomfort initially might be unavoidable. You will need to put your helmet on first, then your glasses.
Any glasses you wear should come with shatterproof, impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses that offer 100% UV protection, plus durable hinges and a lightweight nylon frame.
Glasses will compromise your peripheral vision on top of the compromises already encountered because of your helmet. This is because the arms create yet more of a blind spot. When you go to buy the glasses it is essential that you try them on while wearing your helmet and sitting on your motorbike in the riding position because you don't want the frames to be obscuring any part of your motorbike instruments, for example blocking your view of your speedometer.
Daytime lenses should provide 100% UV protection as we have harsh sun in NSW. Polarised lenses will help to cut out glare. You can use yellow lenses as these can be used both day and night, and are particularly good when it's cloudy, but clear lenses are best for night.
Glasses can mist up quite quickly so remember to protect them with an anti-fogging product. This is because you have the temperature of your face plus hot, humid air coming out of your mouth. This is most likely to happen when it's cold outside.
Contact lenses give you the best performance. Or, consider laser eye surgery.
If you wear corrective sunglasses you will also need to have clear lenses available to you for night-time riding, or when the visibility is poor, for example in fog or heavy rain. You can get interchangeable lens kits for your glasses.
You can wear transition lenses which change darkness in response to sunlight, but these can often still be too dark at night time.
If you have an open face helmet then you can purchase prescription goggles. However, an open face helmet doesn't provide anywhere near as much protection in a crash as a full face helmet.
Choose goggles with shatterproof lenses with 100% UV protection. The lenses should be clear if you are using them for nighttime riding.
Leather or fabric straps will breathe more readily where they touch your skin rather than synthetic straps. The straps should be able to be adjusted to be comfortable while you are wearing your helmet. Goggles can create a lot of pressure on the bridge of your nose, your brow and your cheeks if they are not adjusted correctly.
The frame of the goggles should be vented otherwise they will mist up.
Goggles tend to restrict your peripheral vision more than glasses, but they are better at keeping wind and dirt out of your eyes when wearing an open-face helmet.