The Days Are Getting Shorter! Safety Tips for Nighttime Driving
With cooler temperatures comes shorter days, and with shorter days comes more time driving in the dark. Whether it’s an early morning commute before the sun comes up or getting home from dinner after the sun sets, driving without daylight presents a number of risks.
Fatigue, rush hour, compromised vision, impaired drivers, and harsh headlights all come together to make it more difficult to operate behind the wheel. In fact, more than 40,000 people were killed on the road in 2016. By taking some extra precautions over the next few months, you can help to keep you, your loved ones, and other drivers on the road safe.
How to Combat Darkness
Drivers can take a number of steps to prepare for their drives in the darkness. First, it’s important to make sure your personal car insurance is up to date and gives you enough coverage on the road. Local insurance providers, such as Hartford auto insurance provider Byrnes Agency, will be able to supply the right amount of personalized car insurance coverage to keep you at peace behind the wheel.
Next, take these steps to make sure your eyes and attention aren’t compromised:
- Dim your dashboard lights
- Clean the windshield to get rid of streaks
- Slow down to compensate for limited visibility
- Look away from oncoming lights
Compromised Night Vision While Driving
As we age, our difficulty to see at night grows, so driving at night or early mornings before the sun rises becomes even more of an issue. It’s important to take care of your eyes to make sure you can operate well enough in the darkness.
Start by reducing your speed or limit driving to daytime hours if necessary. You can also take care of your eyes with regular eye exams, less screen time, and checking with your doctor about any side effects of prescription drugs.
Most importantly, it’s important to limit distractions while behind the wheel at night. This can go for any time of day, but such distractions as texting, talking, watching videos, or searching the Internet on your phone can only increase the difficulty that’s already baked into driving in the darkness.
Fatigue
Fatigue plays a huge role when it comes to increasing risks during night time driving. If someone is already lacking sleep and they’re driving at night, they may find it more difficult to stay alert and focused on the road.
Drowsy driving can put everyone on the road at risk, or even those nearby, such as pedestrians. Losing two hours of sleep has the same effect as having three beers, and tired drivers are more likely to be in a car crash if they are sleepy.
Driving During Rush Hour
Rush hour usually lasts from 4 pm to 7 pm, depending on your location. Major cities might even see that extending past 7 pm, well after the sun has set and it becomes dark. It’s important to be a patient driver and slow down while also staying in your lane.
Also, people tend to turn on their own version of autopilot because they tend to drive the same route on the way home. One way to do this is to stay alert, even if you’re making the same twists and turns, or try to take a new route home.
About Byrnes Agency
At Byrnes Agency, we offer insurance solutions that can be tailored to meet your specific needs. Whether you’re looking for personal policies or commercial coverage, we have the right coverage for you. To learn more about our products, contact us today at one of our two locations.
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Phone: (860) 774-8549
394 Lake Rd
Dayville, CT 06241
United States
info@byrnesagency.com
Hours of Operation: Monday- Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Phone: (860) 886-5498
6 Consumers Avenue
Norwich, CT 06360
United States
info@byrnesagency.com
Hours of Operation: Monday- Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Tags: auto, Auto Insurance, Byrnes Agency, car, Car Insurance, Driving at Night, Hartford auto insurance provider, personal insurance, Road Safety