5 Tips to Drive Safely At Night
As the days end quicker during fall season and darkness fills up the sky, you find yourself heading back home when it’s usually dark. Driving back home from work is still considered safe because you have all the traffic lights beaming and guiding you towards the roads. But if your work shift ends in the wee hours of the morning/late night when its completely dark and every store or building has got its lights off, then its gets harder to navigate through the dark empty roads.
If you follow these 5 important tips, you won’t end up becoming a nightly statistic:
Use Headlights
Using headlights is important if you are driving at night. This is not only important for you to see the road but also for others to be alerted of your car’s presence on the road. Your headlamps should be switched on at least an hour before the sun sets. This should also include times when the weather is bad or too cloudy.
Don’t use high beams because they are counterproductive while driving. You might think that you are helping yourself or everyone around you by giving off more light, but it is actually the opposite because you are blinding the other drivers with too much light.
Don’t Get Too Close
Driving too closely to a car is always something to avoid, but this should be done especially at night when it is pitch dark. It’s understandable that you want to drive close to a vehicle that you can navigate the road with but tailgating has never been the right option any time while driving. You will only look like a creepy driver who is on the hunt for a new prey at night. It is not only rude but also dangerous to do so; therefore, maintain at least 4-6 feet distance between you and the other car in front.
Check Your Mirrors
Driving at night makes you less aware of your surroundings, so you must check the mirrors frequently for any animal, person or car on the side of the road. Ensure that your mirrors are positioned in such a way that other people’s car headlights won’t cause a glare towards you and obstruct you from seeing anything.
Stay Alert
Before hitting the road, it is important you are alert and awake. Drowsy driving has caused thousands of accidents and it’s the second reason after drunk driving that causes fatalities. Have some coffee or splash some water on your face before you drive, so that you don’t end up dozing off. Put on some music to make you stay alert for a longer period.
Use a GPS
People are more likely to lose their way at night as opposed to daytime. So, if you don’t want to waste hours by searching for the road that will lead you back to your track then just use a GPS. It’s nothing embarrassing to take the help of it even if you know the city by heart, because one wrong turn can take you down the rabbit hole.
