Driving At Night

Traffic death rates are three times greater at night than during the day. Yet many of us are unaware of the special hazards of night driving.

Why is night driving so dangerous? One obvious answer is darkness. Ninety percent of a driver's reaction depends on vision, and vision is severely limited at night. Depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision are compromised after sundown.

Older drivers have even greater difficulties seeing at night. A 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year old.

Fortunately, you can take several effective measures to minimize these after-dark dangers:

• Prepare your car for night driving. Clean headlights, tail lights, signal lights and windows once a week, more often if necessary.
• Aim your headlights properly.
• Don't drink and drive.
• Avoid smoking when you drive. Nicotine and carbon monoxide hamper night vision.
• Turn your headlights on at dusk. Lights will not help you see better in early twilight, but they'll make it easier for other drivers to see you.
• Reduce your speed and increase your following distances. Don't overdrive your headlights. You should be able to stop inside the illuminated area.
• When following another vehicle, keep your headlights on low beams so you don't blind the driver ahead of you. If an oncoming vehicle doesn't lower beams from high to low, avoid glare by watching the right edge of the road and using it as a steering guide.
• Make frequent stops for light snacks and exercise. If you're too tired to drive, stop and get rest.
• If you have car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible. Turn on flashers and the dome light. Stay off the roadway and get passengers away from the area.

Observe night driving safety as soon as the sun goes down. Twilight is one of the most difficult times to drive, because your eyes are constantly changing to adapt to the growing darkness.