Defensive driving is a common theme among driving instructors. But what is often not taught is how to prepare the average driver for driving at night. Most of these issues involve glare—and the problems with it grow stronger with age. When you’re a new driver, many of these issues do not affect your eyes. As you and your eyes age, they become increasingly sensitive. This can cause many problems for driving at night and can lead to many people refusing to even go out at night. Here are some night driving tips to keep you safe in the darkest of conditions.
Night Driving: The Facts
- Vehicle Death Rate is tripled at night compared to the day
- About Half of Night Driving fatalities are caused by poor visibility
- More Intoxicated drivers are on the road at night
- Animals are harder to detect on the road
- Most at risk on nighttime streets and roads in all motor-vehicle fatalities are those in the 15-24 age group and the 75-and-over age group. They make up 33% of all victims, and their death rate is twice the average of all groups. Half of those killed in a “collision with a fixed object” were in the 15-24 age group. -via National Driver Training
- 1 in 4 drivers feel unsafe behind the wheel due to glare -via EyePromise
Night Driving: Tips & Best Practices:
1. Make sure your headlights are properly aligned to ensure your maximum visibility
2. Keep a safe distance behind other cars on the road (Reaction times tend to be slower in darker conditions. Also depth perception tends to be less accurate at night)
3. Schedule regular exams on your car to ensure that all your lighting and safety equipment is functioning properly
4. Try to resist smoking because smoke in the air can cloud your vision
5. Do not focus on other car lights because this can destroy your concentration
6. If many bright lights are coming, focus on the outer edge of the road to maintain appropriate distance and concentration
7. In any event of trouble, pull the car over to the side of the road and use your flashers to warm others on the road.
8. Make frequent stops to stay alert
9. If you are too tired, stop at a safe place to get a nap before you continue driving
10. Use regular eye exams to ensure that your vision is good enough to be operating a vehicle
Be sure to check out our Page on Night Driving & see what our Night Vision Visor Can do