All items

At Southern Seas we care passionately about giving customers good quality glasses at affordable prices. We do not believe that you should have to pay 100 Pounds for a pair of glasses (even it is a buy one get one free offer!). We strive to provide the best eyecare at a very reasonable price, in doing so we pass on the savings to you, the customer

Derby Distance Glasses

£19.99

Kent Tinted Brown Distance Glasses

£24.69

Anglesey Photochromic Grey Distance Glasses

£23.49

Thornbury Distance Glasses

£20.69

Southern Seas Wrexham Photochromic Grey Distance Glasses

The Wrexham Photochromic Grey Distance Glasses

£23.49

Berlin Tinted Brown Distance Glasses

£25.97

Derby Reading Glasses

£20.49

Southern Seas Rimless Ready to Wear Distance Glasses

Northumberland Ladies Distance Glasses

£39.36

Southern Seas Brandon Bifocal Readers Reading Glasses

The Brandon Overize Bifocal Readers

£22.69

Southern Seas Brandon Computer Glasses Eyewear

Brandon Oversize Computer Distance Glasses

£22.69

Enfield Distance Glasses

£21.97

Southern Seas Bicester Photochromic Reading Glasses

Bicester Photochromic Readers

£24.97

Rimless Photochromic Distance Glasses UK

Swansea Rimless Photochromic Distance Glasses

£29.75

New York Tinted Green Distance Glasses

£26.61

Leeds Distance Glasses

£26.67

Southern Seas Surrey Photochromic Reading Glasses

The Surrey Photochromic Readers

£24.97

Southern Seas Rimless Photochromic Distance Glasses

Northumberland Photochromic Grey Distance Glasses

£42.86

Leicester Distance Glasses

£20.69

Belfast Rimless Distance Glasses

£26.89

Southern Seas Darlington Photochromic Reading Glasses

The Darlington Photochromic Reading Glasses

£22.99

Hereford Photochromic Reading Glasses

£22.99

One Pair of Southern Seas Brandon Photochromic Grey Shortsighted Distance Glasses

Brandon Oversize Photochromic Grey Distance Glasses

£24.19

Southern Seas Brighton Distance Sunglasses

Brighton Tinted Grey Distance Glasses

£23.99

Brighton Distance Glasses

£19.99

1 2 3 4 5 … 34

Can you drive wearing reading glasses?

Tony Brooks

Can you drive wearing reading glasses? The short answer is no.

Reading glasses are designed to correct for presbyopia, which is a big word for when the eye cannot focus properly on near objects.

Reading glasses (readers) are designed to give clarity to objects at a maximum distance of around one metre, or 3 feet. This corresponds to roughly an arm’s length, or the (greatest) distance at which you would hold a book, a phone or a menu away from your face.

Driving involves focusing on objects at a distance greater than one metre, e.g road signs, other cars, etc, therefore reading glasses are not recommended for use when driving.

The UK Driver and Vehicle Licence Agency (DVLA), sets out its driving eyesight rules here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-eyesight-rules

Essentially, they say that you need to be able to read a number plate at 20m in order to pass the eyesight part of the test. Note though, that different (higher) standards of vision are required for UK lorry and bus drivers, in order to pass the driving eyesight test.

***

If you want to know more, here’s is a summary of what the DVLA say about eyesight rules on their website:

“You must wear glasses or contact lenses every time you drive if you need them to meet the standards of vision for driving. You must tell DVLA if you’ve got any problem with your eyesight that affects both of your eyes, or the remaining eye if you only have one eye. This doesn’t include being short or long sighted or colour blind. You also don’t need to say if you’ve had surgery to correct short sightedness and can meet the eyesight standards.

At the start of your practical driving test you have to correctly read a number plate on a parked vehicle. If you can’t, you’ll fail your driving test and the test won’t continue. DVLA will be told and your licence will be revoked. When you reapply for your driving licence, DVLA will ask you to have an eyesight test with DVSA. This will be at a driving test centre. If you’re successful, you’ll still have to pass the DVSA standard eyesight test at your next practical driving test.”