Night Driving Tips to Help Keep You Safe in California
Driving at night is not just more difficult; it is also a lot more dangerous. In the darkness, the ability of the human eye to see color, accurately perceive depth, and utilize peripheral vision is greatly diminished. Even top-of-the-line, high-quality headlights with the high beams turned on will only light up the roadway for approximately 350 to 500 feet in front of your vehicle. In addition to handicapped eyesight, other hazards can festoon our highways at night. Drunk drivers, distracted drivers, and fatigued drivers, each present their own unique set of threats to those with whom they share the road.
According to data compiled by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, the highest number of drivers who are under the influence are on the roads between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. Deadly vehicle collisions also occur at four times the rate at night as they do during the day. Nevertheless, we realize that people still have to drive at night. With that inevitability in mind, there are a few tips that you can follow in order to ensure that you reach your destination unharmed, even after sundown.
Realistically, most people are not able to simply decline to drive anywhere one the sun goes down, especially just for the purpose of avoiding a potential car accident. Understanding these tips, however, can aid you in becoming a safer driver at night.
If you are involved in a car accident at night for any reason, make sure that you contact an experienced car accident attorney as soon as you possibly can.
Angle Your Headlights
Has it ever occurred to you that you have had difficulty seeing your surroundings at night because your headlights seem to be aimed straight down, lighting up the bit of road directly in front of your car, leaving everything else in darkness? That is because headlights shift over time, slowly lowering their focal point until they are no longer properly aligned. This is an easy repair that can be accomplished either by a mechanic, for reasonably little money, or by yourself, should you so happen to be mechanically inclined. Taking the little bit of extra time to see that this small adjustment is taken care of can make all the difference in the world when you are depending on your headlights for safety by expanding your field of vision, increasing your visibility to other drivers on the road, and reducing your probability of being involved in a car accident.
Dim the Lights on Your Dashboard
Exceptionally bright LED dashboard arrangements and the harsh white electric glow of your car’s navigational system will not only divert your attention away from driving but can also reduce your ability to be able to see your surroundings. Dimming the lights on your car’s dashboard to their lowest reasonable setting will serve to reduce reflections from oncoming cars, as well as any glares on your windshield, both of which can be very dangerous when you are driving at night. Turning these lights down also enables your eyes to adjust more fully to the surrounding darkness so that you are more capable of seeing if anything is in the road ahead of you.
Keep Your Windshield Clean
It is not uncommon for a car windshield that seemed absolutely spotless during the daytime to suddenly appear cloudy, dingy, and covered in streaks once it is dark outside. Street lights, oncoming headlights, and brightly-lit business signage could all potentially create glares and streaks that only become visible when driving at night. These glares and streaks will considerably lessen the capability of the driver to fully see the road around them.
Cleaning your windshield daily with just a page from a newspaper works miracles for eliminating spots, streaks, and smudges that can hinder your full field of vision. If you want to properly remove these blemishes from your windshield, a mixture of water and white vinegar is more reliable (and cheaper) than any commercial glass cleaner.
If you realize that you are having a hard time with any particular part of driving at night, be certain to deal with it as soon as you reasonably can. Make certain that your vehicle is pulled off of the road and is securely parked before employing minor solutions, like calibrating your side view mirrors to cut down on the glare from the headlights of the car right behind you. Attempting to fix this while you are driving can quickly lead to the exact car accident that you were working to avoid. Driving is no place for irony.
If you are ever involved in a nighttime collision, please remember to move your car as far off of the roadway as you can and turn your hazards lights on so that any other drivers are alerted to your presence. As soon as you are able to do so safely, you will need to get in touch with a Los Angeles car accident attorney.
If you or someone you love has been involved in a traffic accident in the Los Angeles, California area, it is essential that you contact a practiced car accident attorney as soon as you possibly can. The Los Angeles Injury Group is here to ensure that you have someone advocating for your rights. For a no-obligation consultation with one of our auto accident attorneys, get in touch with us by calling at (310) 954-7248 today.