We want to bring to your attention 10 practical tips for night driving, which will make your trip more comfortable and safer for you and the surrounding drivers.
The most interesting thing is that at night time the traffic intensity is 10 times less than during the day, but at this particular time of day about half of all accidents occur. Here are examples of accidents which are prevalent in the night time: collisions of cars, collisions with pedestrians, and loss of control. As a rule, the most serious accidents happen at night.
At night, the road is clear and drivers often exceed the speed limit. Driving at high speed, they do not have time to react to a change in the traffic situation, for example, a pedestrian running on the road. The driver, if he/she notices a pedestrian, does not have time to slow down.
Three Main Problems Related with Night Driving
The first factor is fatigue. The driver is tired, especially if he or she is driving all day. Or the driver suffers from chronic fatigue. Such people should be more attentive when driving a car, regardless of the time of day. In these cases, the driver only thinks about how to get home faster. So the driver can quietly fall asleep for a second, but this is enough to get into a serious accident.
The second factor is limited visibility. At night, not only the apparent distance decreases but also the field of view and contrast, which leads to a decrease in the perception of the “picture”. High speed along with a decrease in attention can end up badly. Choose a speed so that during emergency braking the stopping distance does not exceed the zone of visibility. It turns out that the speed of the car is limited by the possibility of the optics of your car. You can install more powerful headlights, but you will dazzle oncoming drivers.
The third factor is blindness. Yes, you turn on the passing beam when approaching an oncoming car. But not all drivers are so polite. In the case of blinding, the pupil functions are not restored immediately, but only after 30 seconds. This means that you will see quite badly the next 30 seconds after blinding. 30 seconds at a speed of 70 mph ..You know what may happen.
Tips for Night Driving
1. Turn on the low beam before nightfall. The most dangerous drivers are those who ride through the twilight with headlights turned off. A car is not an apartment. Saving electricity in it is stupid.
2. Driving up to the ascent, remember that if a car appears on the hill, it will inevitably blind you even with low beams (correctly adjusted headlights shine slightly down). Be ready for this. And before the descents, keep in mind that you in the same way blind other drivers.
3. If you drive along an unfamiliar road at night, pay attention to every single turn. Night reduces the angle of view and accuracy of perception.
4. Our distant ancestors were not nocturnal animals. The night time is a foreign environment for us. This is especially true of sight. During a long trip, you can keep a thin slice of lemon under the tongue to increase the sharpness of night vision. This technique was used by pilots of the Second World War during night bombing.
5. Once a month, wash the windshield to crystal purity on both sides. Oil stains and light deposits of dirt, completely invisible during the day, at night, refract the light of oncoming cars into blinding flashes. The case sometimes comes to a complete loss of visibility.
6. Even if you turn on the low beam, it is still impossible to avoid short blinding on a narrow road. For a moment you are driving being blind. Therefore move your foot from the accelerator to the brake.