LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Department of Public Safety responded to a minor accident Tuesday morning and said the cause of the accident was impaired visibility due to the sun.
“We’ve had a couple of crashes, and had one this morning, involving the sun,” DPS Sergeant Johnny Bures said. “People were leaving and going to work in school in the morning. That sun is just right in the position where it’s affecting people’s visibility as they’re traveling,”
Bures says sun related accidents are common during the school year with school traffic picking up.
Optometrist Michael Dunn with The Vision and Wellness Center said sun exposure to your eyes can cause a lot of harm in the long run.
“Ultraviolet light and sunlight can burn the lens of your eye, and over the years that clouds it,” Dunn said. “And that’s a cataract.”
Bures and Dunn recommend sunglasses and the use of the car sun visor when driving.
“You want to have the lens that’s the proper tint, a polarized lens cuts out reflections off of the flat surfaces so you get rid of reflections off the top of car hoods and pavement, water, things like that,” said Dunn.
For those that don’t wear sunglasses, getting your car’s windows tinted is also recommended.
“Tinted windows can help, you want to be sure it’s not so dark that at night you have problems with it,” said Dunn.
Yearly eye check ups are also recommended, as well as safe driving.
“Leave a little bit earlier, and if you still can’t see an exit, find a safe spot to to exit and wait about 10 minutes to 15 minutes and the sun will reposition just a little bit and, you know, that could help you out too,” said Bures.
