Five Tips to Avoid a Car Accident While Driving at Night

Driving at night is completely different from driving during the day. It is much more dangerous. In fact, road fatalities triple during the night according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A large part of the problem is human eyes. Depth perception, peripheral vision, and the ability to distinguish color greatly diminish at night. Headlights help but when low beams stretch 160 to 250 feet in front of the vehicle and high beams shine about 350 to 500 feet ahead, there is not much room for error since it takes 200 feet to stop. The following are five tips to help avoid a car accident while driving at night.

Check Your Headlights

Sometimes a car’s headlights are uneven or pointed lower than necessary, even on brand-new cars. It will greatly help when driving at night to have your headlights aligned. You can do it yourself using your car’s instruction manual. It may take a few tries before you have them pointed perfectly but it’s worth it. Just make sure your newly aimed headlights are not blinding oncoming traffic.

Glasses

If you wear glasses, prescription or otherwise, they will add another reflective surface between the driver’s eyes and the road. Choosing the correct glasses to wear is crucial to improve nighttime visibility. Prescription lenses with anti-reflective coating is typically the best option. This anti-reflective coating stops additional, and unnecessary light from reflecting in your eyes.

Don’t Stare at Oncoming Lights

The bright lights of oncoming traffic can disrupt your concentration on the road. It’s easy to become distracted and stare into a bright road sign or headlights of an oncoming semi-truck driving the opposite direction. Instead, turn your gaze away and focus on your driving.

Keep Your Windshield Clean

Keeping your windshield clean will help to reduce any potential glares when driving at night. A good trick is to polish the glass with newspaper to remove any residue. It is also a good idea to avoid touching the inside surfaces of your windshield, side windows, or mirrors with your fingers. The oil from your skin will smear causing light to glare when it shines through at night.

Maintain Good Eye Health

To avoid a car accident at night, the best thing you can do is keep your eyes healthy. The American Optometric Association recommends an eye exam every three years if you’re under the age of 40, every two years under 60, and annually after that. To reduce the effects of eye fatigue while driving at night, keep your eyes moving. Scan all around your field of vision and avoid focusing on one area.

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident, motorcycle accident, semi truck accident or other personal injuries, contact the experienced and knowledgeable personal injury lawyers at Parke Gordon Law Firm. Our law firm believes every client deserves fair representation against big insurance companies with deep pockets. Call the law office of Harvard law grad Mat Parke today for a free consultation. We can usually tell you over the phone if you have a good case. You pay nothing until we win your case. Call now!

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