Driving your car or suv at night

When driving a car or and SUV, generally one of the main rules to staying safe is being able to stop your car or suv within the distance that you can see. Driving at day time is more safe then driving at night. According to a survey, death rate due to accident fatalities at night is three times more than that in the day.

Driving a car or SUV at night is not all bad! But there are many hazards associated with driving at night and most of us are not aware of with the ways to deal with them.

The primary reason why night driving is so dangerous is darkness. Alcohol plays a leading role in fatal traffic crashes and leads to maximum deaths due to accidents. Any eyesight problems that you may have can become worse when driving in the dark.

Ninety percent of a driver’s reaction depends on vision which is severely limited at night. The more your age, the lesser is your viewing capability at night. Fatigue and Weariness adds as major contributors towards danger when driving car or suv at night and lowers concentration levels.

More fatal crashes take place on weekends than at any time during the week. Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision are compromised after sundown. So please try to put in use these basic hints and suggestions that would make a night time driving safer for you and all around you.

1. Prepare your car / SUV for night driving. Clean headlights, taillights, signal lights and windows once a week, more often if necessary.

2.Have your car’s / SUV’sheadlights properly aligned. An ill-aligned light beam will blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road.

3.Don’t drink and drive. Not only does alcohol severely impair your driving ability, but it also acts as a depressant. Just one drink can induce fatigue.

4.Avoid smoking when you drive your car/suv. Nicotine and carbon monoxide hinder night vision.

5.Do switch to the main beam whenever in doubt about something on the road.

6.When following a vehicle, make sure that you do not use high beam as it can blind the driver you’re following.

7.Reduce your speed and increase your following distances. It is more difficult to judge other vehicle’s speeds and distances at night.

8.Do switch to the main beam whenever in doubt about something on the road.

9.If the oncoming traffic does not lower its beam then to avoid the glare, watch the left edge of the road and use it as a steering guide.

10.Make frequent stops for light snacks and exercise. If you’re too tired to drive, stop your car / suv and get rest.

11.If you have car trouble, pull off the road as far as possible. Warn approaching traffic at once, Stay off the roadway and get passengers away from the area.

12.Observe night driving safety as soon as the sun goes down.

13.Twilight is one of the most difficult times to drive because your eyes are constantly adjusting to the changing and dying intensity of light which ultimately results in darkness. Practice utmost caution while driving during this period.