Enjoy the Stars: 5 Critical Tips for Safe Night Driving



※ Download: New drivers driving at night

Curfew No curfew, but must be accompanied by a qualified trainer. It's very easy to become distracted and stare into a bright road sign or the headlights of an 18-wheeler headed your way without even realizing it. Hold your lane, keep the wheel straight, and apply the brakes as firmly as possible while still maintaining control. Teen Driver and Passenger Safety, Teens Ages 15 to 19 Years What are the leading causes of crashes and injuries involving teen drivers?


It is actually a good idea to get in the habit of having your headlights on more often than not. Staring at the headlights will impair your night vision, even after the vehicle has passed. This now includes the use of sat-navs for independent driving during tests with further plans to introduce motorway training from later this year.


Enjoy the Stars: 5 Critical Tips for Safe Night Driving - Combine less visibility with any other factor —such as poor weather conditions or being tired, and this could increase the risk factor involved.


Driving at night is the most dangerous time to drive, no matter what weather condition is present. The most dangerous time to drive on any roadway is between the hours of midnight and 6am, especially on the weekends. Luckily, there are some things you can do to improve your safety when driving at night. Your headlights should illuminate the road ahead of you for approximately 4 seconds of headway. Use High Beam Headlights Wherever Possible Make sure you utilize your high beam headlights brights. High beams should be used as often as possible, especially during clear conditions. During adverse weather, use your best judgment. Be sure to dim your lights for oncoming traffic. The last thing you want to do is blind an oncoming driver, increasing the risk of a head-on collision. Again, blinding the driver only increases the chance of a traffic accident. If an oncoming vehicle does not dim their lights, look towards the right side of the road and try not to look directly at the oncoming headlights, rather, use your peripheral vision. Look away from the lights! If you can safely do so, look towards the right shoulder as the vehicle approaches. Staring at the headlights will impair your night vision, even after the vehicle has passed. Educational Video About Driving At Night Obviously animals and humans! But some animals are also more active during the twilight hours. Thousands of people are injured and many deaths occur when people either strike or try to avoid striking an animal. It is almost always better to hit an animal in the roadway, rather than trying to swerve to avoid it. Hold your lane, keep the wheel straight, and apply the brakes as firmly as possible while still maintaining control. Check for damage and call your insurance company. Insurance companies are usually a bit suspicious of claims on animal strikes, because the evidence is long gone when the driver reports it. To avoid any issues with your insurance company, call them from the scene of the accident. They may or may not want you to call the police to file a police report. Drinking and driving is much more prevalent during the overnight hours and peaks between 1am and 3am most bars close at this time, and most parties are winding down as well. It could be very difficult to distinguish a distracted driver or fatigued driver from a drunk driver. The problem is, many drunk drivers who appear to be driving normally, are at an extremely high risk of missing a stop sign, red light, or swerving into an oncoming lane unexpectedly. In most drunk driving related accidents, the victim had no indication there was a problem until it was too late. A large number of drunk drivers are at risk of falling asleep at the wheel, too. Make sure you are looking both ways at intersections, even if you have a green light. Make sure nobody is going to run that stop sign! If you have been sitting at a red light and it just changed to green, look both ways…this is very important! Most people know that reaction time for drunk drivers is vastly decreased, so the chances of them running a light soon after it changes to red is quite likely. Look both ways, then proceed. Many times, drunk drivers will unknowingly drive on the wrong side of the divider or median. They most often drive in what they believe is the right lane, which would be your left lane. To help avoid a head on collision, try to keep right whenever possible. Driving at night, many drunk drivers will turn on their high beam headlights, and forget to dim them for oncoming traffic. This is extremely common among drunk drivers. It may blind them, further increasing the risk of a head on collision. Drunk drivers have a habit of driving towards bright lights while driving at night. Driving at night poses many more challenges than day driving. Leave more room than necessary. Fatigued Drivers Are Dangerous Too! Fatigued driving has some of the same effects as drunk driving and is most prevalent driving at night. Many drunk drivers are also fatigued drivers. Not only is their driving risky, but driver fatigue is the cause of many fatal accidents either due to the driver falling asleep, or due to the negative effects of fatigue. If you find yourself becoming fatigued, get off the road. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to quickly become a safe driver once fatigue has struck. Many people believe caffeine helps, and it might, but there is no sound proof that caffeine reduces the driving risk of a fatigued driver. The best option is to find a place to pull off the road, such as a gas station or rest area, and walk around. Stretch your legs, get some air, and re-evaluate if you can continue. Getting just 20 or 30 minutes of sleep can have remarkable effects on fatigue and is much more effective than any caffeine product. A micro sleep is virtually undetectable by a fatigued driver. If you feel sleepy and continue to drive, you very well could make it to your destination. You are putting your own life, as well as the lives of everyone around you at risk. Is it really worth it? Best advice, take a nap. Driving At Night Is The Most Dangerous Time To Drive Remember, driving at night is the most dangerous time to be on the roadways. Quite simply, people do more dumb things at night than any other time of the day. If you are driving on a Friday or Saturday night, you are in even worse shape. Clear all intersections and drive safe! Drunk Driving Happens During The Day, Too While drunk driving mostly occurs during nighttime hours, there is another time of the day when drunk drivers are out in force — early mornings. Yes, in the early morning, many people wake up from a long and late night of drinking. In addition to the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, this site maintains additional ongoing affiliate partnerships as well as on-site display advertisements through 3rd party services such as Google Adsense. Any and all product endorsements on this site may be paid endorsements.

 


Put the phone down. In the UK, one in five new drivers is involved in a crash in their first year of driving. Is it really worth it. New drivers could also be restricted from driving with larger engines, while they could be forced to take a second test at the end of their probationary period. Combined with limited visibility and drowsiness driving at night is dangerous, especially for teens. Just as you should not swim alone, avoid driving alone for long distances. Try not to touch the inside surfaces of your windshield, side windows, or mirrors with your hands, even if it's to wipe off mist. There are several reasons this is a terrible rule to break during night driving. The best fix is to buy a headlight polish kit to so your lights shine through brightly.