Driving at night can be risky business, as a dangerous combination of darkness and the glare of bright lights can make it hard to see the road, but one expert offers some safety tips.
Driving at night is harder to see at night, so if you have to drive in the evening and you’re uncomfortable, try to stick to familiar routes and make sure you know where you’re going,” advised Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal, an ophthalmology professor at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine.
She emphasized that you should inspect your car before leaving it after dark. “Optimizing every aspect of driving your car to allow for better nighttime vision is one of the first things to do for nighttime driving—it has nothing to do with your eyes,” Khandelwal said. A dirty windshield can make starbursts, halos, glares, smearing and streaking more apparent in the dark, so cleaning it is critical for clear vision. Headlights get dirty just as easily, particularly if it rains and mud or water gets splattered on them, so Khandelwal recommends wiping off any dirt or splash marks before you get behind the wheel.
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Driving At Night
Even after cleaning your windshield and headlights, there are plenty of vision issues that can make it difficult for drivers to see clearly. Your pupils get larger at night, which can cause more glares and halos and lower the effectiveness of prescription glasses and contact lenses, making people more nearsighted, Khandelwal noted. “Your prescription is generally set up in the eye doctor’s office, but sometimes it can be weak at night, so it’s important to get your eyes checked if you haven’t recently to get a better prescription for glasses or contact lenses. You want to make sure those are maximized,” she said.
Driving At Night
Cataracts, which can weaken nighttime vision, also hamper your vision as you age. And dry eyes make streaking, halos and glares worse. Khandelwal suggests using artificial tears or prescription eye drops to help keep the corneas clear and lubricated. If you decide to use lubricating eye drops, take them about 30 minutes before getting behind the wheel, because the drops can make vision temporarily blurry. Those who struggle with nighttime driving should not drive in the dark for long distances, Khandelwal added. Local driving where speed limits are lower might not bother people at night, but the high speeds of a freeway are another story.
Driving At Night
Frequently asked questions
Why Should You Drive Slower at Night?
Night driving is dangerous because, even with high-beam headlights on, visibility is limited to about 500 feet (250 feet for normal headlights), creating less time to react to something in the road, especially when driving at higher speeds.
What should you do to combat darkness?
- Aim your headlights correctly, and make sure they’re clean
- Dim your dashboard
- Look away from oncoming lights
- If you wear glasses, make sure they’re anti-reflective
- Clean the windshield to eliminate streaks
- Slow down to compensate for limited visibility and reduced stopping time
Stay Alert, Stay Alive
Even though we only drive 25% of the time at night, 50% of road fatalities occur during this time. Driving at night is invariably riskier, regardless of how familiar the route is. Injury Facts estimates that over 42,000 people lost their lives in auto accidents in 2020. We can all help lower these numbers by being a little more cautious.
How can you make it home safely during rush hour?
- Don’t be an impatient driver; slow down
- Stay in your lane and beware of drivers who dart from lane to lane
- Even though the route may be familiar, don’t go on autopilot; stay alert
- In unfamiliar areas, consult a map before you go and memorize your route
- Don’t touch your phone, eat, drink or do other things that are distracting
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Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN. For more, please consult with your doctor
