Over the years, nighttime driving has earned a reputation for being far more dangerous than driving during the day. This has also been backed up by numerous cases of road accidents and researches, all pointing towards its potential danger.
What makes nighttime driving so dangerous? One of the reasons is that visibility is generally poor due to the lack of light and many are not used to driving in those conditions. It could also be because fatigue levels may generally be higher in the latter part of the evenings, making a driverless alert and more prone to being careless with road safety. Other factors may also be age-related or simply due to a lack of training on nighttime driving specifically.
We tend to agree with the last reason. While many of us get used to driving during the daytime, we often never find ourselves out on the road at night. This is why we may not be prepared to take on unexpected challenges or take suitable precautions. This article will shed light on some of the critical ways you can prevent accidents while driving at night.
Remember To Check All The Lights
Vehicles are fitted with various lights, bulbs, and fuses at the back and front. Each serves its unique purpose in ensuring road safety. Headlights, brake lights, turn signals, you name it, are all present in a well-functioning vehicle and are meant to illuminate the roads as we drive. Without proper lighting, it is easy to miss potholes, road signs or even traffic channelizers or barriers so it is extremely important but often overlooked.
Typically we may tend to ignore the health of each light while driving during the day, but this should never be overlooked at night. Before leaving for your journey, make sure to check if all lights are properly working. Any that have gone dim need to be immediately replaced so that they don’t go out during the night.
You also need to ensure that your vehicle has the right kind of lighting fitted into it. For example, if you drive a truck, especially in hazardous situations, you need to install amber LED flashing lights for trucks. This way, you can make your way through the dark with the right illumination and prevent accidents.
Make Sure That You Are Fit To Drive At Night
One of the leading causes of road accidents at night is a lack of driver fitness. This could be due to two reasons – poor vision and overall fatigue. Let’s talk about vision first. Many drivers may suffer from weak eyesight or even night blindness and never realize it because they don’t get their eyes tested. This is where the problem lies, because when such drivers are put in a situation where they need to drive at night, they may experience a foggy and unclear vision. They may not see the road signs or warning signals in time, leading to accidents.
To prevent this, before going out to drive at night, make sure to get your eyes tested and get a green signal from your doctor. Having the right prescription lenses and glasses for night driving can make all of the difference in the world. Another great tip would be to switch to contact lenses as some glasses can fog up or even become smudgy. Even if you can still see clearly through them, those smudges continuously distract the eye and can make your eyes tired, more quickly. And more importantly, glasses can so easily be mislaid. Forgetting them on the kitchen counter or even at the restaurant could hamper your ability to drive and see clearly. So ditch those specs, search Google for the best contact lenses uk and ensure that you stay safe.
But, remember, when it comes to driver fatigue, accidents often occur because drivers may fall asleep on the wheel or not be alert enough to think fast in case of an emergency. To prevent this, drivers should travel in a pair and switch seats, especially for long drives. If this is not an option, they need to take proper breaks to rest and stay alert.
Be Ready For An Emergency
Our cars are often equipped for a personal emergency by keeping full health kits but not when it comes to road accident emergencies. This is an important consideration when driving out at night. You may suddenly be faced with a situation where you have to alert others or ask for help, but you might not have the right tools to do so. For example, if your car gets stranded on a dark road, you will need the right tools to alert other drivers, or they may crash into your vehicle.
For this purpose, always pack an emergency toolkit for the car. This should include LED flashlights, a roadside flare kit, a warning sign flasher, and a GPS location tracker. All of these will enable you to ask for help and protect your car if it breaks down on the road and will help prevent further damage. You should also have a list of emergency helpline numbers handy for an area or country you are driving in.
Your toolkit should also include backup communication devices like a ham radio that would let you ask for assistance even without internet or mobile reception. This is especially handy if you find yourself in a remote area with no people, homes, or establishments in sight. Talking over a ham radio is like transmitting a distress signal to anyone tuning in. Make your location known, be as specific as possible, and remember to mention landmarks to let responders find you quickly.
Parting Thoughts
While many experienced drivers may feel that driving at night is just as easy as, during the day, ample evidence proves otherwise. Due to many reasons, such as poor visibility and lack of training, more accidents occur at night that is often fatal. So, take our advice and be safe rather than sorry. Follow all necessary protocols and precautions to ensure a smooth nighttime drive.