What is Drivewear? What is the Technology involved?

Although driving has become an integral part of our daily lives, driving is one of the most challenging and difficult activities a person can engage in. The truth is, we need all the visual help we can get. Younger Optics has answered this need with Drivewear.

Drivewear lenses uniquely combine two of the most advanced technologies found in the eyeglass industry today: Transitions^™ Photochromic Technology and NuPolar^® polarization.

Designed specifically to meet the unique visual demands of the driving task, Drivewear lenses Activated by Transitions™ is the first polarized photochromic lens to darken behind the windshield of a car. Drivewear lenses use advanced dyes that respond to visible light in addition to UV light, which allow Drivewear lenses to change color based on current driving conditions in order to enhance the driver's vision. Drivewear lenses also utilize NuPolar^®, the world's leading polarized Rx technology, to provide protection from blinding glare, another distinct advantage when driving a car.

In low light, the lenses take on a green/yellow color which provides high contrast and is designed to minimize glare and maximize useful light information reaching the eye. In daylight (behind the windshield of a car) they change to a copper color which reduces glare and excess visual light and provides good traffic signal recognition, highlighting reds and greens. Finally, in outdoor conditions, they become a dark reddish-brown color, providing maximum comfort in high light conditions by filtering excess light so that the eye does not become saturated. In virtually every daylight driving situation, Drivewear lenses provide optimal visual comfort and safety.

How is Drivewear different than Polarized or Photochromic lenses?

Drivewear lenses combine the two technologies together in a synergistic way that has never been accomplished before. Designed specifically for driving, Drivewear lenses offer the consumer far more than just polarized photochromic eyewear. They are designed to optimize the wearer's vision whether they are in overcast or bright and sunny weather, in direct sunlight or in the shade. It is a revolutionary product in the sense that nobody has successfully brought the two technologies together with a specific function in mind before now. These technologies compliment each other perfectly for driving. Think of Drivewear as an “intelligent” lens that “knows” what color gives you the best contrast and glare protection while driving in varying daylight conditions.

Who is the Drivewear target market?

Obviously, our primary market is anyone who spends a significant amount of time in their car or other vehicle, such as commuters and professional drivers. More specifically, we are finding that the typical Drivewear purchaser is the professional male, aged 45 and older. This may be because this group tends to have more expendable income along with a greater appreciation of technology.

How is Younger going about educating the industry on this new lens?

Younger Optics has conducted numerous seminars in conjunction with Transitions Optical. We offer an array of educational materials, and have a great sales team that spends a lot of time training the laboratories and dispensers in their areas. Drivewear has also been the subject of several articles and advertising in optical publications.

Why do you define Drivewear as a new entire lens category?

Traditional clear eyewear and sunwear lenses are not optimized for today's automobile-centered world. Photochromic eyewear, such as Transitions® lenses, work great as a primary pair of eyewear, but they do not darken inside a car because the windshield blocks out the UV that the lenses need to activate. And polarized sunwear blocks dangerous glare, but they don't change in varying light conditions. Drivewear lenses address a need that simply cannot be filled with traditional eyewear or sunwear; they are an entirely new category of eyewear, designed specifically with the driver in mind.

What type of support marketing materials do you have available?

Younger Optics offers a variety of award-winning educational and point-of-purchase materials including brochures, videos, counter displays, posters and demonstrators, all complimentary to Eyecare Professionals. ECP's can visit www.drivewearlens.com to view and obtain these materials with the ease and convenience of ordering online.

What has been the response from those patients that have purchased Drivewear?

We have gotten literally thousands of testimonials from both ECP's and consumers around the world, telling us how much they love their Drivewear lenses, and you can read many of these testimonials on the Drivewear website. Patients have told us that they use them not only for driving, but also for fishing, golfing, even shopping – since they don't have to remove their sunglasses as they go into and out of stores. We've heard it often that though Drivewear lenses work great in every condition, low light and overcast conditions is where they really shine, because traditional polarized sunwear is much too dark in these conditions. And that is the real beauty of Drivewear… from sun up to sun down, Drivewear offers your eyes the right amount of protection they need, when they need it, so you don't have to change your sunwear as light conditions change.

What type of materials and styles is Drivewear available in?

Currently, Drivewear lenses are available in; hard resin single vision, finished plano, flat top 28 and the IMAGE^® progressive, and now the most widely asked for material - polycarbonate single vision and IMAGE^® progressive.