3 Hazards of Driving Overnight
Days are getting longer and although the nights are getting “shorter”, there are still many reasons to try and get the bulk of your driving done at night.
Days are getting longer and although the nights are getting “shorter”, there are still many reasons to try and get the bulk of your driving done at night. If you choose to go the nighttime route, you will need to be especially vigilant when looking out for potential hazards. Here are 3 things you will want to keep a close eye on.
Unpredictable Traffic Patterns
In most areas that you’re driving on a highway, you can usually predict that the hours from four to seven in the evening mean there will be heavier traffic. With overnight driving, it’s not always as predictable. One of the main reasons for this is road construction. It is often easier for crews to perform construction later at night when there is less traffic. Unfortunately, that can sometimes mean that the traffic that is on the road gets backed up much faster.
Not Enough Light
It may sound like overstating the obvious, but nighttime can be extremely dark. If you happen to be driving in a more rural setting as opposed to a city or suburban area, there could be little to no light on the road outside of your headlights. If there are other vehicles on the road with you, their headlights can shine in your eyes and temporarily impair your vision. It can also get more difficult to perceive depth and distance, which makes driving a large vehicle like a truck dangerous.
You want to give yourself as much helpful light as possible. One relatively simple way to do that is to keep your headlights cleaned off. A clean windshield can also help reduce glaring. If you wear glasses, you can have an anti-reflective coating put onto the lenses. If you don’t wear glasses, you can purchase anti-reflective glasses without corrective lenses for relatively cheap online.
Vision Impairments
One of those unfortunate side-effects of aging is that your eyesight almost always deteriorates with age. Not only does lower lighting affect your ability to see when driving at night, biology also plays a role. Cataracts can cloud your vision and make it fuzzy. Diabetes can have a negative effect on eyesight as well.
To keep vision impairments from compromising your safety, keep your speed down. This way, you can stop much more easily. Be sure to keep your annual eye exams, and get new glasses whenever they are recommended.
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