The PolaVisor can help reduce the visual discomfort RVers experience when encountering glare and bright sunlight.
By Gary Bunzer
November 2003
If you are an active RVer and have ever pushed your coach westbound late in the evening as the sun was about to set, I’m sure you have experienced what I call the “brutal sun zone.” Actually measured in inches, it’s that space between your lowered sun visor and the top of your dashboard. Ring a bell? The pervasive glare of the sun penetrates unabated through this gap, literally blinding you at times. The sun is slipping all too slowly beneath the horizon while you are desperately trying to focus your eyes, avert your gaze, and keep the coach between the lines. Such a scenario has the potential to create a dangerous driving situation. And the best of driving sunglasses may not offer much help.
Well, I’m pleased to share that I have been testing a polarized, antiglare visor for the past few months and have come to appreciate what it brings to my driving experience. We’ve all seen those colored sun shades that purport to eliminate glare altogether. Well, face it, folks; it is literally impossible to completely eliminate the glaring rays of a setting sun or the blurriness caused by hazy daylight mixed with a little driver fatigue. While not eliminating it entirely, the PolaVisor drastically reduces glare and the relative brightness of the sunlight. According to Winford Industries, which manufactures the PolaVisor, sunlight brightness can be reduced by as much as 80 percent, and glare is reduced by more than 90 percent under certain circumstances, including that annoying reflected glare even RVers are prone to receive via the rear glass of the vehicle just ahead. Those inexpensive, colorized plastic visors might reduce glare a mere 6 percent on a good day.
Another advantage of the PolaVisor is how it heightens the contrast between objects. Sharper delineation results in less eyestrain during a long driving day. Less eyestrain means reduced overall driver fatigue. Visual clarity during highway driving also is enhanced.
So what exactly is a “polarized” visor? The PolaVisor is a filter that attaches to a vehicle’s stock sun visor. According to company literature, it “consists of a single polarizing film laminated between two pieces of high-quality, acrylic lens material.” The acrylics used in the PolaVisor have proven quite durable during my testing phase. They are equally scratch-resistant and impact-resistant. Because visibility is so focused through the PolaVisor lens, however, I find myself wiping off my fingerprints regularly. Since the view is so clear, my prints stand out. Not a bad trade-off, though, for such clarity.
The PolaVisor attaches to the stock sun visor via integral mounting clips and two hook-and-loop fasteners. The two hinges on each PolaVisor are quite sturdy and hold it in any position. This versatility is most appreciated when the sun enters not through the windshield but through the driver’s side window. I can manipulate and position the PolaVisor to completely shield my eyes from the incoming UV bombardment. Conveniently, the PolaVisor folds completely out of the way when not needed, tucked behind the stock vehicle visor.
Each PolaVisor can be removed easily for cleaning or for installing in another vehicle “” a plus if you are one of the many RVers who tow a vehicle behind your motorhome. Once the coach is set up in the campground, transfer the visor to the car and you’re set for local sight-seeing junkets or until it’s time to take off again. Invest another 30 seconds and the PolaVisor is back on the motorhome. I would recommend using two in the motorhome, one for the driver and one for the copilot.
For you winter RVers, the PolaVisor works equally as well in all climates. Glare from snow can be just as debilitating as glare from direct sunlight. The advanced polarized filter incorporated into the visor minimizes all daytime reflection and glare situations, summer and winter.
The PolaVisor is intended for daytime driving only. However, Winford Industries also manufactures the GlareBuster, an antiglare visor that is designed for driving at night as well as in rainy, foggy, and overcast weather. It reportedly reduces headlight glare from oncoming vehicles by more than 70 percent. Both the PolaVisor and the GlareBuster are available from Winford Industries for $29.95 each plus shipping and handling.
With its ability to minimize glare, provide a clearer view of the countryside, and produce striking visual contrast in intense sunlight, the PolaVisor should be a welcome relief to many RVers.
Winford Industries Company, 61 Elderberry Road, Syosset, NY 11791; (516) 364-6855; www.winford-usa.com.