Cruising west into the sunset with the top down and the wind in your hair is one of the most picturesque and romantic driving scenarios imaginable. That is, until you realize that the bright glow of our star is searing your retinas, and your car’s sun visor only folds down so far. Which is when the sunglasses come out — but be warned that your everyday, walking-around shades may not cut it for your driving needs.
Good quality driving sunglasses will always have thin frames and temples for optimum peripheral vision as well as large lenses for maximum coverage. The decision to go for polarized lenses, however, depends on what the car your drive. With older analog cars it doesn’t matter at all, but infotainment and navigation screens and HUDs in newer cars become blacked out or difficult to read through polarized lenses. One solution is to pull into the next truck stop and buy a pair of cheap sunglasses from the rack next to the novelty lighters, but the better choice is to invest in a nice pair that will actually block the sun and look good doing it. These are some of the best sunglasses to keep in the glove box for when you hit the road and the solar rays threaten to slow you down.
Guardrails by Maui Jim $329
Mt. Shasta by Smith $129
Bourbon Street by Eyefly $94
Conductor 6 by Oakley $210
Mile Highs by Knockaround $30
Carerra by Serengeti $149
