Women drivers with chunky sunglasses might be a road safety hazard

Some of the summers hottest styled chunky glares might be dangerous for women while driving, a survey has found.

London, Aug 10 : Some of the summer's hottest styled chunky glares might be dangerous for women while driving, a survey has found.

The survey estimated that or one in eight women in Scotland drive with wide-armed sunglasses, ultra-dark or tinted lenses, popularised by the likes of Kylie Minogue, Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham, which can limit peripheral vision.

The survey found that less than two in five women wore driving-specific sunglasses while nearly three in four did not wear sunglasses at all while driving in bright light.

Nearly one in four women had driven while wearing sunglasses with dirty lenses, while one in five had driven with scratched lenses.

The Eyecare Trust charity, which took part in the research, also warned against sunglasses with pink or blue lenses, which could distort vision. Instead they are asking women to choose neutral lens colours that provide true colour definition, such as grey or brown.

The charity also advised against the use of very dark lenses, which the survey said were used by one in ten of the women in Scotland who were polled.

Niki Bolton, a spokeswoman for insurer Sheilas' Wheels, which commissioned the survey of 766 women in the UK, insisted that wearing insensible sunglasses was a safety hazard, which fashion-conscious women should realize when in control of a car.

"Wearing unsuitable sunglasses is just as dangerous as wearing none when driving in bright conditions," the Scotsman quoted Bolton, as saying.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is however helpless as it cannot stop drivers from wearing a sunglass as long as it does not hamper their field of vision.

ANI