Driving at Night, Always Pay Attention to This!

it's dark you can't see a thing you're tired and any street light or headlight coming your way feels like it's about ten times too bright yep driving at night really does test your might but it's no laughing matter being behind the wheel at night is a lot riskier than during the day since it's not like you can restrict yourself to only daytime trips it's best to follow these tips so that you can be safe out there on the roads number 14 keep a safe distance not keeping enough distance is never a good idea but at night and in bad weather it's especially important to leave enough space between your car and the one ahead of you first of all you're only human so when your vision is limited so is your reaction time if the car in front of you suddenly has to stop you'll break faster during the day when you can see better at night however less light is entering your eye which in turn worsens your vision so you don't have time to react also you have to remember that your headlights can blind to the driver ahead of you if you're following too close most experts recommend following the four second rule at night when the car ahead of you passes say a road sign your car should pass it four seconds later if you're going 55 miles per hour number 13 don't look at the light from oncoming cars let's talk more about that blinding effect bright lights at night seriously disturbed concentration sometimes without the driver even realizing it with only the dashboard lighting the car your eyes become very relaxed at the same time you unconsciously start to pay attention to bright road signs so oncoming headlights and even like coming from the cars behind you the best thing you can do is to stay alert and don't let yourself get distracted by moving your eyes away if the driver behind you hasn't adjusted their headlights appropriately or if they're following too close and their lights are blinding you just stay calm and if possible adjust your mirrors so that their light doesn't hit your eye speaking of which number 12 clean and adjust your mirrors the mirrors reflect the light from the cars behind you in a wider more scattered way which can cause unnecessary glare but that doesn't mean you should just keep the glass dirty so that it's not so reflective you need to see so always keep your mirrors clean their position is also key it's best to point them down a bit so that you have to tilt your head slightly forward to see the cars behind you also if your rear-view mirror doesn't have an auto dimming feature then you need to push the little Knight mode tab at the bottom in order to dim the light from cars behind you just don't forget to pull it forward again when the sun's out number 11 adjust and polish your headlights this is the first thing to check before driving at night especially for long trips sometimes even in brand-new cars the headlights aren't properly adjusted or they're too dim the good news is that you can fix this all you need is your car's owner's manual and probably some tools if you have no time for that or you're nervous about messing with your headlights then you can always take it to the dealership or a garage and have experts check it out for you are your headlights angled perfectly but still shining too dimly that usually happens because of dirt and dust so the best solution would be to buy a headlight polisher and don't forget to clean them regularly during your trip whenever you stop to rest on that note number 10 stop periodically for light snacks or a nap of course if you're anything like me you want to get to your destination as fast as possible but do take time for stops during your trip you need rest in order to stay vigilant besides driving is really strenuous on your eyes so they get tired really fast your body needs a break to try some stretching to relax the muscles that get stiff from being in the same position for so long number nine avoid two-lane highways two lane highways usually have sharper curves and more Hills than freeways add to this lower overall light and almost constant glare from oncoming cars and you've got a recipe for extremely stressful nighttime driving so plan your trip beforehand and choose a safer route if you can number eight use the fog lights even if it's not foggy fog lights can be useful not only in poor visibility conditions because of the weather like fog smoke snow or rain but also at night in combination with a low or high beams just make sure you don't blind other drivers number seven look out for animals even if you're going through calm country roads surrounded by scenic forests and fields you still need to be on high alert collisions with deer often happen at dusk or at night and are more common than you think but your high beams can help you spot an animal's glowing eyes when you see them the safest way to avoid an accident is by slowing down and stopping not by swerving number six drive only in glasses with anti reflective lenses if you wear glasses you gotta have a special pair for driving at night because ordinary glasses reflect oncoming lights and create an obscuring glare that reduces your visibility another option is to wear contacts it's also a good idea to get your vision checked every year since glare becomes more problematic for people as they get older number five don't travel alone you'll definitely need some company for a long nighttime trip take a passenger with you to chat with on the way this will help you stay awake and keep driving fatigue at bay just don't get into any heated debates or in prompt to karaoke competitions this might distract you from the road besides having an extra pair of eyes and hands is a good idea when driving over long distances for example your travel companion can answer your phone or send a text for you change the radio station or even take your place behind the wheel if you get too tired number four minimize the brightness on your dashboard some cars are equipped with a special dashboard brightness control and that's where a good reason if you drive with maximum brightness it takes your eyes much longer to adjust to the poorly lit road in front of you when you look up from the dash and of course don't leave any other electronic devices on such as a cell phone or a tablet light from any screen inevitably throws a glare which also creates an unwanted distraction number three use GPS the most difficult thing while driving at night is trying to figure out where or when to turn your field of vision is limited and you can only see within the range of your headlights that's when a GPS is a real lifesaver it gives you better Road awareness in low visibility conditions at night and especially during bad weather night driving a GPS will show you an upcoming turn or exit long before you can see it giving you a preview of what's ahead it'll also tell you which lane to be in if you're driving on a multi-lane freeway number two be careful when passing oversized vehicles if you see colorful or flashing lights up ahead it means that there's either a road service vehicle or a semi on the road big vehicles carrying heavy loads are really tricky if you decide to pass them because they can turn out to be much longer than you expected so do it only in well-lit areas number one don't drive at high speeds not to be Captain Obvious here but a lot of accidents at night happen just because drivers don't follow this rule driving at night is already enough of a challenge just because there isn't much traffic on the roads doesn't mean speeding up is a good idea stay within the posted speed limits or better yet go even slower at night and definitely during bad weather and be ready for your journey to take a bit longer than you planned but hey it'll be safer and that's what's most important what other tips were driving at night do you know leave them down in the comments don't forget to give this video a like share it with your friends and click subscribe to always stay on the bright side

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 712,713

Rating: 4.8085504 out of 5

Keywords: driving mistakes, driving tips, driving hacks, car, driving habits, safe trip, driving lessons, driving safety tips, drive like a pro, driving course, recommendations for drivers, how to avoid a car accident, rearview mirror, safe distance, two-lane highways, fog lights, deer on the road, anti-reflective lenses, GPS, driving at night, night driving

Id: 0KriR_8W5VE

Length: 10min 19sec (619 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 14 2019