Driving properly is often important– especially at night. Driving at night is usually more hazardous than during other periods, and not just because it’s lighter. You’re dealing with dangerous vehicles, lowered presence, the risk of deer on the road, stress, astigmatism and more. There’s a lot that can go bad, which is why it’s important to exercise caution.
Some newer vehicles have better headlights, which sounds fine on papers, but can also cause much more light and afterimages. This can interfere with your evening perception while driving and keep you disoriented. Then there’s the notion that more and more individuals are on the road. That shouldn’t be a concern, but older drivers and those with perspective issues such as refraction, glaucoma or astigmatism may even have a hard time seeing on the street.
These problems can influence people, but there’s good news: There are plenty of ways to make your day driving safer, such as keeping your car clear and using large columns. Read on to learn more about our top 10 tips to help you be protected, whether you’re driving house at night or on a daytime summer road trip.
10 recommendations for safer traveling at night
Here are a few easy ways to reduce eyesight problems when driving after dark.
Preserve your windshield clear
Glare is boost when your car is unclean, as dust disperses light. Certain remedies, like rain repellant, can also increase light on your car at night. Keep your car because clear as possible to minimize glare and support visibility. AAA says a filthy car can also hinder your field of vision, and it recommends cleaning your car at least once a year.
Keep your lighting fresh
Cel/Cea/Cei/Cele Clinica Mayo even suggests that you can help improve rankings by ensuring your lamps are free from dirt and debris. Checking for fresh lighting is particularly essential if you live in a dusty area or are in an region where hitting insects is common.
Apply high beams when needed
Be sure to utilize your high beams on rural roads near trees or fields and, as the National Safety Council recommends, on longer or wider stretches of road. High beams can help you see elk in these situations, but avoid using great columns in rain or cloud, as it can lower rankings. Turn off high beams when going up hills or around bends to avoid shining high beams in other drivers ‘ eyes.
Avoid looking at headlights
It may be instinctive to look directly at a flash of oncoming headlights coming over the hill or around a corner but practice averting your gaze. Looking into bright headlights can temporarily impair your vision and may also leave afterimages, making it harder to see once the vehicle has passed.
Check headlight alignment
Cel/Cea/Cei/Cele Clinica Mayo also recommends working with your mechanic to ensure headlights are correctly aimed. Wear and tear on your car can cause misalignment and some cars are manufactured with misaligned headlights. US laws don’t require manufacturers to test alignment after the headlights are installed, according to Știri NBC. The result can be devastating glare for other nighttime drivers plus reduced visibility for you.
Dim your interior car lights
Interior lights should always be off or dimmed when driving at night. They make your eyes more used to light, which can reduce your night vision ( our eyes typically take a few minutes to adjust to darkness ). If your interior lights are on to help you or a passenger ) see something inside your vehicle, it may add to the existing distractions. Interior lights are also another source of light to reflect off your windshield.
Keep your eyeglasses clean
Like dirt on a windshield, smudges on your glasses can disperse light and add to glare problems. Clean your eyewear properly, using a cloth made for eyeglasses, warm water or moisturizer-free mild dish soap, according to Heartland Optical. Wiping your glasses on your shirt may be a common practice but it can also introduce dirt and scratch lenses, obscuring vision further.
Read more : Best Places to Buy Eyeglasses Online
Wear the right eyeglasses
Keep up on optometrist appointments so your doctor can confirm you’re wearing the correct prescription. Also, you can look into antireflective lenses, which have a coating that decreases reflective light. Avoid eyeglass styles that obstruct peripheral vision.
Other options include night driving glasses, which usually have yellow lenses designed to reduce glare from headlights. However, be sure to consult your doctor before using them. Some professionals believe they could compromise your night vision instead of improving it.
Read more : Are You Squinting? Time to Get Your Vision Checked
Keep yourself alert for driving
Even small time changes can leave us feeling jet-lagged. Daylight saving time can disrupt your circadian rhythm ( the internal clock that tells you when to go to bed and when to stay up ), according to Northwestern Medicine, and fatigue can lead to blurred vision.
Increase your following distance
When driving at night with lowered visibility, it can be difficult to see and quickly react to hazards in the road as quickly as you would in the daytime. Headlights only illuminate so far ahead, and drivers who are tired will likely react slower to unexpected obstacles.
Whether it’s a deer running out in the road or a large object that has fallen out of another vehicle’s truck bed, these obstacles may require drivers to quickly brake or swerve to avoid a collision or damage to their vehicle. Increasing your following distance will give you more time to react and adjust if the driver in front of you needs to stop or swerve unexpectedly to avoid an obstacle.