Driving at NightNight driving is more dangerous than day driving.One reason is that some drivers are likely to beimpaired — by alcohol or drugs, with night visionproblems, or by fatigue.Here are some tips on night driving.• Drive defensively.• Do not drink and drive.• Adjust the inside rearview mirror to reduce the glarefrom headlamps behind you.• Since you cannot see as well, you may need toslow down and keep more space between youand other vehicles.• Slow down, especially on higher speed roads.Your vehicle’s headlamps can light up only somuch road ahead.• In remote areas, watch for animals.• If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe placeand rest.No one can see as well at night as in the daytime.But as we get older these differences increase.A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as muchlight to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.What you do in the daytime can also affect your nightvision. For example, if you spend the day in brightsunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyeswill have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you aredriving, do not wear sunglasses at night. They may cutdown on glare from headlamps, but they also makea lot of things invisible.You can be temporarily blinded by approachingheadlamps. It can take a second or two, or even severalseconds, for your eyes to re-adjust to the dark. Whenyou are faced with severe glare, as from a driverwho does not lower the high beams, or a vehicle withmisaimed headlamps, slow down a little. Avoidstaring directly into the approaching headlamps.Keep the windshield and all the glass on your vehicleclean — inside and out. Glare at night is made muchworse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glasscan build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makeslights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.Remember that the headlamps light up far less of aroadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your eyesmoving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly lightedobjects. Just as the headlamps should be checkedregularly for proper aim, so should your eyes beexamined regularly. Some drivers suffer from nightblindness — the inability to see in dim light — and arenot even aware of it.4-19
