Driving At Night For The First Time

You are not alone if you consider driving at night to be a little intimidating. While most people do the majority of there driving during the day some people do have to drive during the night, night driving is significantly more complicated and actually accounts for half of all incidents that happen on the roads.

Tips For Driving In The Dark

Keeping to the same traffic laws as during the week is common sense. However, you may take some more steps to get ready for your first nighttime driving. Here are a few suggestions to assist you.

• Always keep your headlights on when driving but don’t use fog lights unless your vision is impaired by heavy rain, snow or fog.
• Remember you should only drive at what you consider is a safe speed. If its pitch black there is nothing wrong with slowing down some. Especially if your vision is being effected.
• Utilize your high beams. These are best used on country roads where there are no road lights. Its also really important that we turn these off the second we see any oncoming cars. As you will experience high beam lights will blind you for a few seconds and hurt your eyes. As i’m sure you will agree this is not helpful when trying to drive a vehicle. Also remember never flash anyone in the dark especially not to say thank you. “I have let you go through a meeting traffic situation so to thank you me you blind me on the way through. Thanks a lot.”
• Don’t stare – Keep an eye on what is going on in your immediate surroundings. Avoid keeping your eyes on one thing for a long time and don’t ever stare into lights
• Like a rabbit in headlights – You risk losing vision if you stare directly into oncoming headlights. If your vision is poor, you should halt or slow down.
• Space is free so use – It Always put more space between you and the vehicle in front of you when its dark. You need the extra braking room should the car slow down.
• Plan rest stops if you have a long nighttime travel ahead of you to reduce risk of falling asleep.
• Practice makes perfect – It requires more expertise to drive at night than during the day, but practice makes perfect so remember to get out there and practice. Avoidance is the worse thing you can do although is a whole bunch easier.

Driving at night is not fun for anyone. I have am a driving instructor who has been driving for over 15 years and i still do not enjoy driving at night. I do however focus on these 3 things to try keep myself and others as safe as possible.

1. Use your lights properly

If its standard weather use dipped headlights only, but if there are no street lights you might want to use full beams which are the blue light on the dash. If weather is sever like fog or heavy rain you will want to use fog lights. These will help other drivers spot you form further away helping prevent any accidents. You should also check your car’s lights regularly, and make sure they are working properly. If a bulbs go, have it changed immediately.

2. Watch the road, not the oncoming traffic

It is unpleasant and, if you stare into lights you wont be able to see which becomes dangerous. Avoid this by keeping your eyes on the left side of the road and moving along the white lines. If the glare becomes so intense that you cannot see, you should slow down but avoid coming to a sudden stop since you do not want to get hit by the car behind you.

3. Do not drive if you are tired; go to bed

At night, there is a greater chance of falling asleep behind the wheel, and 20% of significant accidents on busy UK roads are thought to be caused by exhaustion. You put yourself and other drivers in danger when you drive when tired. It may even be more dangerous than drinking and driving!