Made from a newer plastic with similar characteristics of polycarbonate lenses.

It is lightweight, thin, and impact-resistant and may result in better vision correction than the polycarbonate lenses in some people.

This season's styles feature polycarbonate lenses with graduating color from dark to light and a hint of a mirror.

In addition, Dr. Vinger is urging people to ask for polycarbonate lenses when ordering glasses.

"A lot of opticians try to talk patients out of polycarbonate lenses because they have to have them made out of house," he said.

"If you are getting a polycarbonate lens, scratch resistance is necessary, period," said Dr. Pitts of the University of Houston.

This is important to prevent degradation of UV-sensitive components and materials in headlamps, such as polycarbonate lenses and reflector hardcoats.

NHTSA adopted Ford's proposal for low-cost aerodynamic headlamps with polycarbonate lenses and transverse-filament bulbs.

For reasons of cost, weight, and impact resistance, newer cars have dispensed with glass Fresnel lenses, using multifaceted reflectors with plain polycarbonate lenses.

Your "eyewear professional" can also push a customer into more expensive lenses, like a high-index lens that is thinner and lighter than a perfectly adequate polycarbonate lens.