Night halos
Posted by Lissa on June 28, 2010
I’ve always had a problem with night halos. Driving on the Massachusetts Turnpike, at night, can be difficult; there are long periods without lights, with curves, and with Massholes blasting about at 90 mph. (I am not one of them. I usually keep the speedometer at 74. Unless I’m REALLY distracted or in a car chase or something.)
Anyway, it adds a challenge when every set of taillights is surrounded by a smeary red circle. I used to think everyone saw traffic this way, but when I got scoped for LASIK the doc said my pupils were larger than average.
Ironic, isn’t it? My body is trying its best to let me see in the dark, and the result is that I have trouble driving. Stupid body.
But — drumroll please!! — I figured out a helpful trick last night! Namely:
When my night halos are particularly bad, I try to stare into a set of headlights for a second or two.
No, really! My rearview is night-tinted so the side mirror seems to work best. If, when taillights are especially smeary, I blast a bright white light in my eyes for a sec, it constricts my pupils and the night halos go away. It’s awesome.
Now, as with any new experiment, one should try this briefly and under safe conditions. I do not, for example, recommend driving straight into incoming traffic to get those high beams blasted straight into your retinas. Nor should you carry a Maglite for close-range eye-searing. MODERATION, y’all.
Happy driving!
