Driving at night is one of the most pleasant times to drive. The traffic is gone, and you have the roads to yourself. But it is also one of the most dangerous times to be behind the wheel, for example, lots of people end up getting caught speeding on I-95 at night. Limited visibility means you have less time to react to potential hazards. For this reason, road fatalities triple during the nocturnal hours.
Knowing how to drive in these testing conditions can help you avoid becoming another statistic and becoming involved in a road accident. However, if you are involved in a collision, it is best to contact legal counsel at the earliest opportunity to protect your legal rights. For more information on your legal rights following a car accident, visit the Robinette Legal Group, PLLC website.
Dim Your Instrument Panel and Dashboard Lights
Bright lights inside the car can serve as a distraction which will hinder your ability to spot the headlights of oncoming traffic coming around a dark corner. Reducing the light within the car will help reduce reflections and improve your ability to see hazards in the oncoming darkness.
Give Them Space
When driving at night, it is always a good idea to leave a little extra space between you and the vehicle in front. This is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, driving too close to the car in front can make some drivers nervous and cause the driver in front to make mistakes. Secondly, the closer your headlights are to their vehicle, the brighter they are in the other driver’s rear-view mirror. This limits their visibility and their ability to spot upcoming hazards.
Due to your visibility being reduced in the dark, it is also more difficult for you to identify potential hazards in front of the driver ahead. This means you are less likely to anticipate their breaking, and your stopping distance will be increased. As important as it is to ensure you leave enough room between you and the car in front, it is equally as important to make sure that your brakes work like brand new to avoid an accident. For example, if you have a Bentley and live in the appropriate area, you may wish to check out the huge range of bentley brakes that you can have installed. Don’t worry though, there will be brakes available for any type of car that you have.
To avoid a rear-end collision, leave a little extra space between you and the vehicle ahead when driving at night.
Reduce Glass Reflection Where Possible
If you have to wear glasses while driving, consider getting a pair with a layer of anti-reflective coating. Regular glasses can add to the light reflected from dashboard lights and further impeded your vision. Glasses with an anti-reflective coating remove this addition reflective layer and offer better vision at night.
Dirty windows also cause a whole host of reflective issue issues. Dirty windows steam up quicker, obstructing your visibility. They also increase glare from light sources, and in wet weather, severely reduce your ability to see out of your windscreen.
Before you set off on a nocturnal journey, take the time to properly clean the inside and outside of your windscreen to ensure a clear and unobstructed view for the duration of your drive.
Using these four methods, you can mitigate the dangers of driving at night and help protect against nocturnal accidents and collisions. Remember to take regular breaks to protect against tiredness as well, particularly if you are not used to the taxing nature of night driving.
