Ad description
A website for Visual Stress Consultancy Ltd, www.visualstress.net, seen on 24 July 2024 stated, “The right coloured tints can also help adults with blinding headlights when driving at night*”. The claim was linked to qualifying text just beneath it that said, “*We always recommend that you check the DVLA advice specifically regarding the use of tinted glasses whilst driving to ensure that you comply with the Highway Code”.
Issue
The complainant, who believed that wearing tinted glasses while driving at night was a breach of the Highway Code, challenged whether the claim was irresponsible.Response
Visual Stress Consultancy Ltd (Visual Stress) explained that they worked directly with clients, using the Eqilens method of assessment, to assess the correct tint for their visual stress symptoms. They said that they only provided the assessment for the lenses. All manufacturing of the lenses was outsourced to a third party.
They confirmed the filters they used in their tinted glasses were categorised according to guidelines from The Federation of Manufacturing Opticians. They said that the classification and limitations of the filters could be accessed online on a major breakdown company’s website. That information showed that filters could be categorised from 0 through to 4, category 0 transmitted eighty to one hundred per cent of light and category 4 transmitted 3 to 8 per cent of light. They explained that they provided in total seventy-three filters and individually they were categories 0, 1 and 2 only. They said categories 0 to 2 were suitable for driving and only non-yellow category 0 filters could be worn driving at night. They explained while they did not provide individual category 3 or 4 filters, in the rare event that a combination of lenses reduced light transmission to below eighteen per cent (and therefore fell into category 3 or 4) their client would be informed that they could not be used for driving at night or at all. They confirmed the manufacturer of the lenses used a transmission meter to determine the category of the filter, and that all their tinted lenses would be sent to their clients with information that clearly stated their driving suitability.
They said that some alternative-coloured lens treatment methods could affect colour sense. To prevent that with their lenses they were looking to integrate a colour-recognition test for traffic signal green, red and amber, as an extra layer of confidence in the suitability of their lenses for driving.They said in a further response that they had removed the mention of driving at night in tinted lenses from the website and future ads would not state or imply that their lenses could be used for driving at night.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that marketing communications must not materially mislead or be likely to do so. In addition, marketers must hold documentary evidence to prove claims that consumers are likely to regard as objective and that are capable of objective substantiation. The ASA may regard claims as misleading in the absence of adequate substantiation. Further to that marketing communications must not condone or encourage unsafe or irresponsible driving.
The ad stated, “The right coloured tints can also help adults with blinding headlights when driving at night”. Consumers would therefore likely understand the claim to mean the tinted lenses provided by Visual Stress could legally be worn at night for driving. We noted the qualifying text beneath the claim stated that consumers should check with the DVLA to ensure that the lenses complied with the Highway Code. We considered that consumers would understand from the qualification that there could be specific instances or unique occasions when the lenses could not be worn for driving and that they should seek advice from the DVLA. However, that explanation did not counteract the impression that lenses provided by Visual Stress were generally legally permissible to wear for nighttime driving.Section 94 of the Highway Code stated, “At night or in poor visibility, do not use tinted glasses, lenses or visors if they restrict your vision.” We understood that sunglasses in the UK had to comply with specific standards to be sold legally, specifically the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) guidance 12312-1:2013. Those standards divided filters or lenses into 5 categories, 0 to 4 . We understood that category 4 lenses were illegal for driving, categories 1, 2 and 3 were legal to drive in the day but not at night and only category 0 lenses could be used to drive at night. Sunglasses sold in the UK had to list the relevant category on the product itself.
Visual Stress had explained that the manufacturer of their lenses had a transmission meter that was able to assess and categorise the lenses provided. That meant they were able to ascertain the correct category of the lenses and would be able to inform the consumer whether or not their lenses could legally be used for nighttime driving.We sought advice from the College of Optometrists as to whether the specific transmission meter used by the manufacturer could grade their lenses to legally comply with ISO 12312-1:2013. The College of Optometrists' website stated for filters to be suitable for road use and driving they should be of categories 0, 1, 2 or 3. However, in addition it said that the “spectral transmittance” and “relative visual attenuation coefficient Q” of filters suitable for the road should meet specific criteria.Therefore, for lenses to be legally compliant on the road they not only had to be categorised but also had to fulfil the conditions regarding the “spectral transmittance of filters” and the “the relative visual attenuation coefficient Q of filters”. Regarding the relative visual attenuation, relating to driving, that referred to how much the visibility of a signal light (such as a traffic light or road sign) decreased over distance due to the tinted lenses and how that was measured. The College of Optometrists told us that while the transmission meter used by the manufacturer could categorise the lenses, they were not aware that it could test for the “relative visual attenuation coefficient Q of filters”. Therefore, there was no way of confirming that the lenses provided by Visual Stress were legal for the road in the day or night.
The lenses provided by Visual Stress could not be accurately classified and therefore it could not be confirmed that they were legally permissible for driving at night. On that basis, we concluded that the claim “The right coloured tints can also help adults with blinding headlights when driving at night” was misleading and condoned unsafe driving.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 19.2 (Motoring).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Visual Stress Consultancy Ltd to ensure that future ads did not state or imply that their lenses could be used for driving at night if they did not have the evidence to support that they were legally compliant. In addition, they should not condone unsafe driving.
