Night Driving Safely Tips
It is a well established fact that the number of road traffic deaths and accidents during the hours of darkness are three times greater than during daylight hours. This has been proven with statistics in America, Great Britain and various other countries all agreeing on this figure. There are various factors that can contribute to these statistics and also some simple precautions that can be taken to make night driving safer for everyone including pedestrians and cyclists. Here in this article we will look at these factors and the precautions that can improve road safety at night.
Darkness severely reduces our ability to judge distances correctly often causing harsh braking which can result in loss of control or leaving the road on a corner as the speed is too fast. The ability to distinguish shapes, colours and sizes as well as a large reduction in our peripheral vision is also a huge problem with night driving. This makes it very difficult to make out anything that is not illuminated on or approaching the road ahead until they are in the range of your headlight beam. Therefore any pedestrians in dark clothes, animals, unlit obstructions and objects which have fallen onto the road are very difficult to see and depending on your speed may be impossible to avoid hitting.
As we age our eyes wear out meaning that overall vision is impaired as the eyes require more light to see with thus making night driving even more dangerous. Some countries have introduced a system whereby when you reach a certain age you must pass an eyesight test to be eligible to continue driving. Everyones eyes adjust to changes in light intensity at different speeds making it more dangerous for people for whom this takes more time as during this time their vision is severely impaired and this is particularly a problem when getting hit with headlight glare as this causes almost complete blindness.
Here are some tips and precautions that can improve your safety in the dark for both pedestrians and drivers.
Lights - Make sure all your lights are working by doing a daily check on them and carry spare bulbs and fuses and if a bulb blows find a safe place to stop and change the bulb. Never drive using side lights these should only be used as parking lights and never on a moving vehicle. Lights can be upgraded with some countries also allowing use of powerful xenon headlights which can be bought as a HID conversion kit which give up to three times the light using the same power. The use of sylvania headlights can also increase your lighting power as their Halogen bulb called the sylvania silverstar gives out 20% more light than any other bulb in the Halogen range.
Speed and distance - These are the two factors that put a driver at the greatest risk and both are caused by the driver so any accident caused by these reasons at night are self inflicted. The way to judge your speed is always be able to stop within the distance that you can see to be clear ahead of you. Following distance should always be at least a two second time gap between you and the vehicle in front in dry conditions and four seconds in wet driving conditions.
Pedestrians - Should be aware and appreciate that drivers have a problem seeing them at night especially when wearing dark clothes and always check that a vehicle is slowing down before attempting to cross in front of it.
Drivers - Avoid anything that can affect your concentration this includes drink, drugs and medication. Other things that can be distracting like mobile phones, changing a CD or radio station, drinking, eating and smoking. Stay alert and if you feel drowsy at any time pull over at a safe place have a rest and wash your face with some cold water.
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