Drivers-side UV protection?

[ganchan]

I'm not convinced that sunscreen (which loves to go on unevenly and then sweat right off) and a floppy hat are going to give me adequate UV protection when I'm sitting in the driver's seat many hours a day on some extended drives. I thought of getting a UPF-rated balaclava like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F2H797C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

...but I'm afraid that the sight of Claude Rains as the Invisible Man might freak out other drivers and distract them into an accident.

Thinking about just cutting a bandanna and wearing it underneath my hat so it droops down over my ears and the sides of my face. I'll look like a basset hound, but that's OK.

25% tint is legal for the front windows in TX. But having it done isn't cheap, and doing it myself is a recipe for disaster. I guess I could rig a blind or shade, but the ones  I'm seeing don't look that great and may not actually block UV. Is there any other (street-legal) option I'm missing?

 

[Moxadox]

I've been living mostly in the desert for the past 3 years. I have extremely fair skin, and I've never had a problem with sun while driving. I do wear extreme sunglasses, because I have very thin retinas, but beyond a slight tan from walking around outside I have never had a problem from sun coming in the windshield. Anybody else?

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[RVTravel]

Vehicle glass probably blocks 80-90% of UV.

 

[AMGS3]

It's not the front windshield (almost no UV gets through the front) it's the side windows. Most side windows (on cars sold in the US anyways) offer very little UV protection.

Here's an article on it -
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/glo...e-protection-against-uv-rays/article27017864/

The summary - a doc noticed that more of his patients have sun related conditions on their driver side. These conditions include age spots, cataracts, skin cancers, among others.

It's not just smaller passenger vehicles either. Here's an article addressing the issue for professional drivers-
http://www.fleetowner.com/equipment/drivers-dont-be-fooled-your-windows

There are companies that make clear film that blocks most of the UV from coming in your vehicle windows.

3M does. Here's their link-
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/automotive-window-solutions-us/

As a bonus, their film blocks 60% of radiant heat from coming in which keeps your vehicle cooler as well, according to their website. Man I'm going to have to see if I can get some of that for my ice house windows. Less heat=less need for AC, right?

Just out of curiosity I checked our their dealers in Phoenix and there are 5 that pop up within 25 miles. There's one dealer in Albuquerque.

Hope this helps,
~angie

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[highdesertranger]

drive west to east, or south to north. lol. highdesertranger

 

[ganchan]

Yeah, I've seen some scary pictures of long-haul truckers who look 30 years older on the driver's side of their face....

I wonder if that 3M film can be self-applied by the severely manually-unskilled?   :blush:

 

[QinReno]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012Y82YOA  but I would investigate UV blocking claims.

 

[QinReno]

drive west to east, or south to north.  lol.  highdesertranger

Are you claiming that the sun rises in the east and sets in the east? :idea:

 

[ganchan]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012Y82YOA  but I would investigate UV blocking claims.

I like the suction-cup/static-cling screen options too. Not perfect, but cheap and removable.

 

[highdesertranger]

if you drive west to east the sun will never be coming through your driver side window. if you drive south to north it will only come in in the afternoon. I think if you wanted to avoid the sun you could figure out not to drive in the afternoon. besides it was a joke that is what the lol was for. after all you can only drive so far going from west to east before you run out of road. highdesertranger

 

[AMGS3]

^^^^ ganchan

I agree, it'd be nice to just transfer it from one vehicle to another if you get a different rig.

^^^^highdesertranger

Yup, west to east would make for short adventures if you were in Florida, or really any state on the east coast. Lol

Does anyone have any real world experience with the fabric ones? I tend not to believe much on a companies own website. They inflate their claims of product excellence, and some people seem to find and immense amount of joy in giving horrible reviews.

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[B and C]

I use one similar to this on the drivers side when traveling West:

https://www.amazon.com/AutoMuko-Window-Roller-Retractable-Sunshade/dp/B012Y82YOA

I put it far enough back on the drivers side window to give me shade while providing an unobstructed view of my side view mirror. All the small holes makes it pretty transparent too.

I don't know if it is illegal or not but I have never been stopped for using it. I only use it on the highway, never in town. It is white on the outside so it is apparent that there is something in the window. I think most police officers know what they are and how easy they are to see through.

 

[QinReno]

 if you drive south to north it will only come in in the afternoon. 
..... besides it was a joke that is what the lol was for.

I know it was joke, but for those navigationally-challenged, you had them driving in circles, north in the morning and south in the evening.

 

[AreWeLostYet]

The suck cup things don't let you roll the window down. This does:

https://www.amazon.com/Gila-Automot...d=1531019565&sr=1-1&keywords=gila+peel+&+tint

And it can be applied by the consumer. You can apply it where you want it, rip it off and re-apply it several times.

What works nice is apply it just to the top half of the window so you block the high sun from your face while leaving the lower half untainted to maintain night vision. This is important. I almost got T-boned driving a car with decaying tint that virtually blocked vision out the left window. A car had rounded a corner and was heading right at my drivers side and I just saw it at the last moment.

 

[B and C]

The suck cup things don't let you roll the window down. 

It does allow you to roll the window down, just not all the way.  Roll the shade up to roll the window down.  Easy one handed operation.  Mine also came with two hooks that fit over the top of the glass and fasten to the shade where the cups attach.  I like it down as far as it will go to shade my left arm too.  It gets tiresome trying to keep my arm out of the sun otherwise.

 

[ganchan]

It does allow you to roll the window down, just not all the way.  Roll the shade up to roll the window down.  Easy one handed operation.  Mine also came with two hooks that fit over the top of the glass and fasten to the shade where the cups attach.  I like it down as far as it will go to shade my left arm too.  It gets tiresome trying to keep my arm out of the sun otherwise.

My window refuses to go down anyway, so that's all right. 

 

[AreWeLostYet]

It does allow you to roll the window down, just not all the way.  Roll the shade up to roll the window down.  Easy one handed operation.  Mine also came with two hooks that fit over the top of the glass and fasten to the shade where the cups attach.  I like it down as far as it will go to shade my left arm too.  It gets tiresome trying to keep my arm out of the sun otherwise.

I don't like to leave the top of the window open at all. It's an invitation for someone to slip a coat hanger in and pop your door while you're relieving yourself at a rest stop.

 

[AreWeLostYet]

I was driving in street traffic one day, heading west and looked to my right and a woman had her arm out the driver's window and had a sleeve from a sweat shirt on her arm. Just the sleeve, cut off a sweat shirt. To protect her arm from sunburn sitting in traffic.

 

[B and C]

^^^I don't like to leave the top of the window open at all.

The hooks are small enough to fit up inside the channel so there is no wind noise going down the road. If you still don't like the hooks, there is always the suction cups (3), two at the top and one at the bottom.

 

[DebraOak]

I've been living mostly in the desert for the past 3 years.  I have extremely fair skin, and I've never had a problem with sun while driving.  I do wear extreme sunglasses, because I have very thin retinas, but beyond a slight tan from walking around outside I have never had a problem from sun coming in the windshield.  Anybody else?

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What type/rating of tinting do you have on your driver side window?