Motorists should always respect the dangers of driving and observe best practices when it comes to safety behind the wheel. However, drivers should be increasingly diligent as the sun lowers. Traveling safely at dusk and into the night requires that you maintain your vehicle and manage your behavior to minimize distractions. Doing so allows you to maintain a heightened awareness of your surroundings. These five tips will help.
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1. Clean Your Windshield
You have to be able to see clearly out of your front windshield in order to drive safely anytime, but especially at night. The headlights of approaching vehicles can be distracting enough, but when penetrating a dirty windshield, the light can scatter and cause harmful glare. If you’ve recently purchased that new Cadillac for sale, don’t hesitate to use the windshield cleaner often.
Any chips or cracks in the vehicle’s windshield should be repaired immediately. Similar to dirt and grime, these blemishes can turn the lights from oncoming traffic into distracting bursts of color. A clean, blemish-free windshield is an important key to driving safely at night.
2. Use High Beams Appropriately
When traveling at night, try to avoid back roads if possible, as they are often narrow and poorly lit. If you must take these less-traveled routes, utilize your high beams when no oncoming traffic is present. Your high beams will provide much better visibility than your standard headlights, and they will better illuminate animals and other potential roadside hazards.
3. Minimize Distractions
Driving at night requires more focus and attention than day driving. Therefore, it’s not the time to fuss with the radio dials or attempt to retrieve an item from the back seat. Before embarking on a dimly lit drive, be sure that everything in the interior of the vehicle is secured appropriately and any items you may need during the trip are within easy reach. Program the route into your GPS navigation system before departing and if you need to make adjustments, pull over and stop while you do so.
4. Adjust Interior Lighting
Many people don’t realize how distracting their interior dashboard lighting can be. When traveling at night, dim these lights as much as possible so that you can still see the information you need without stressing your eyes. You can focus better on seeing through the dark outside without fighting the distraction of interior lights.
5. Slow Down
Perhaps the most important tip for driving safely at night is to slow down. Hazards appear quickly out of the dark and you’ll have a better chance of avoiding them if you aren’t speeding. Lower your speed even more than usual on narrow, two-lane roads. Slowing down will allow you to better navigate curves and stops that you encounter unexpectedly.
Respect the Challenges of Night Driving
The first step to driving safely at night is to understand and appreciate that the practice requires greater attention and more focus than driving during the day. If you respect the additional challenges, you can better prepare yourself for success by maintaining your vehicle, minimizing distractions, and adjusting your speed appropriately.