Although many of us drive every day, it's never a bad idea to brush up on driving safety tips -- especially when it comes to driving at night, when visibility is lower. This is particularly important if you have any eye conditions that can further affect your vision when you get behind the wheel.
Now that the days are getting shorter and it's getting dark earlier, it's the perfect time to ensure that you and your vehicle are prepared for nighttime driving. Not only will these tips keep you and your passengers safe, but they can also help protect your fellow drivers on the road.
Here are a few simple ways to reduce vision problems when driving after dark.
Glare can increase when your windshield is dirty, as dirt disperses light. Certain treatments, like rain repellent, can also increase glare on your windshield at night. Keep your windshield as clear as possible to minimize glare and enhance visibility. AAA says a dirty windshield can also obstruct your field of vision, and it recommends cleaning your windshield at least once a week.
You can help increase visibility by ensuring your headlights are free from dirt and debris. Checking for clean headlights is especially important if you live in a dusty region or frequently drive in areas where hitting bugs is common.
Be sure to use your high beams on rural roads near forests or fields and, as the National Safety Council recommends, on longer or wider stretches of road. High beams can help you see deer in these instances, but avoid using high beams in rain or fog, as they can reduce visibility. Turn off high beams when going up hills or around bends to avoid shining high beams in other drivers' eyes.
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.
The Mayo Clinic 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 NBC News. The result can be devastating glare for other nighttime drivers, plus reduced visibility for you.
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.
Like dirt on a windshield, smudges on your glasses can disperse light and add to glare problems. Clean your eyewear properly, using a cloth specifically designed for eyeglasses, warm water or a mild, moisturizer-free 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.
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.
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.
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.