06 Safe driving tips at night
When driving a car at night, whether a new or an experienced driver. It is important to note the following 6 safe driving tips to avoid unnecessary collisions.
Statistics from the National Traffic Safety Commission show that: The number of accidents happening at night – between 18 p.m. and 6 a.m., is usually 2-3 times higher than during the day. Therefore, it can be seen that driving in the dark always poses many dangers, requiring the driver to be sure of the steering wheel as well as be more cautious when in traffic. In addition to the basic factors to ensure the vision while driving such as: cleaning the headlights, cleaning the surface of the car glass, adjusting the rearview mirrors,…… 6 safe driving tips below are extremely necessary to help you ensure safety when driving at night.
1. One of the most safe driving tips – Reasonable use of headlights, at night while driving
Car lights usually have 2 modes of headlight and core. The low-beam headlight is a low beam headlamp that helps the driver to see more clearly the road surface, and to easily avoid foreign objects. The downside is the short range, so if the driver moves at high speed on the road, you will see less and difficult to deal with situations early.
In contrast, the headlights have strong light intensity, range at a certain height, creating favorable conditions for drivers to handle on the road. However, drivers do not abuse high beam headlights because high beam headlights with high intensity will obstruct visibility. It can cause discomfort for vehicles going in the opposite direction or even vehicles going in the same direction in front of.
Many cars today use high intensity HID headlights and LED headlights. These lamps are aesthetically pleasing and offer superior illumination compared to traditional halogen lamps. These new types of headlights can cause blinding and inconvenience for oncoming drivers.
In some situations, headlights can be the cause of an accident because the oncoming driver cannot observe the traffic to respond promptly. Therefore, if you drive on inner city roads or in densely populated areas, switch to low-light mode to keep your headlights on. This helps to prevent people traveling on the opposite side from being blurred and to minimize the chance of collisions.
2. Avoid looking directly at the headlights of the vehicle on the opposite side
Although in the road traffic law, there are also regulations on the use of high beams, along with an administrative penalty for violations. However, in reality, some unconscious drivers still use the headlight mode when traveling on inner city roads.
When facing on the opposite direction, turn on the headlights, strong light can make you momentarily dizzy. Therefore, you should not look directly at the headlights of the oncoming vehicle.
If you feel dazzled, you should blink immediately in combination with slowing down, observe the road ahead or look towards the curb to ensure safety. This helps you to quickly regain safety vision
3. Keep the windshield clean and check the headlights for yellowing
Once a dirty windshield can impair visibility during the day, at night this is a serious problem. Dirty windshields can distort visibility, making it more difficult to observe signals on the road.
Therefore, always keep the windshield clean by wiping it through once if necessary before departure. This will make the night trip safer and more convenient.
In addition, a survey found that yellowed headlights produce up to 20% less light than new headlights, thus severely affecting long visibility on dark or low-light roads. Reduced visibility at night means lower safety.
4. Don’t forget this safe driving tip – Check the headlights are deflected before driving a car
Over time, car headlights can go awry. Just a small collision can cause the headlights to be skewed, affecting the lighting range. You can refer to the car’s manual that will provide exactly how to properly adjust the headlight’s beam.
If you are unsure, look to the dealer who will have experience to fix the problem.
5. Do not leave too much light in the car
Always keep the light source in the driver’s instrument cluster as well as at other positions in the cabin moderately. If there is too much light inside the car, the pupils of the eye will shrink as if they were traveling in the sun, making it harder to see the road in the dark. This is very noticeable when many models are equipped with large infotainment screens with bright lights.
Besides, you also need to keep your eyes from drying out, by adjusting the air conditioner not blowing directly to the face.
6. Stop driving and rest as soon as you feel tired or sleepy
Drowsiness and fatigue while driving are arguably the biggest causes of many drivers’ misery when driving at night. So, if you feel sleepy or tired while driving, park your car in a safe place, take a nap and rest until you are alert enough to join the traffic.
You should also bring a reflective sign to use if you have to park on the side of the road.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why you choose to go on a long night trip or early morning. However, driving at night is potentially more dangerous than driving during the day because of limited visibility, distraction and fatigue, etc.
In addition, the driver should also take care of your vehicle and regularly check your vehicle. You should also keep the driving speed and distance with the vehicle in front to ease handling situations. Hopefully, the above 06 safe driving tips will help you drive safe at night.Wish you safe driving!
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