Tips to drive better at night

Driving at night requires some knowledge to avoid specific risks that arise in those traffic conditions. We give you the keys to improve your safety during nighttime travel.

When traveling at night, we must be aware of the limitations we have. While there are those who prefer to travel during those hours and feel more comfortable, there’s no denying that the risk is greater than during the day and the reason is clear: we see less. Visibility is essential for our driving safety and the worse the visibility conditions, the more risks we take. For this reason, although traffic density is lower at night, the proportion of crashes is higher.

Knowing the key risks of driving at night can help us improve our safety and be better drivers.

The main thing to avoid an accident is to see it, and at night we have a smaller field of view. It is essential that when driving at night we have both the headlights and windows of the car in the best possible conditions. A dirty or insect-infested windshield increases fatigue and reduces visibility. It cleans all windows well, inside and out, and has well-adjusted headlights and no burnt-out bulbs both front and rear.

Another important factor is that we have to adapt the speed to our field of view. If our headlights have a range of 70 meters in low beam, we have to take into account that an average car needs about 80 meters to stop at 120 km/h. In other words, if a truck were to roll over in the middle of the highway, even if we hit the brakes with all our strength as soon as we saw it, we’d be hitting it at about 20 mph.

Another risk of driving at night is drowsiness. It’s important to start the journey rested, bring fresh water or a caffeinated drink that will keep us hydrated and wake us up a bit, and have a drink every now and then. However, the most important thing is to stop as soon as possible if we find ourselves falling asleep.

There is no cure for sleeping while driving. Don’t lower the window, don’t pet us, and don’t eat pipes. As soon as we notice that we are sleepy, we should stop and sleep for a few minutes. Microdreams while driving at night are real killers. Standing still and sleeping for a few minutes is the only effective remedy to prevent an accident from unconsciously falling asleep at the wheel.

There are many animals that have nocturnal habits. This, together with the fact that there is less traffic and noise on the roads at dawn, means that the presence of animals on the road is much more frequent than during the day. Many of these animals are small and do not pose much risk to us apart from the disgust of knowing that you have run over and killed a poor rabbit or vole, but others are large enough to cause an accident such as wild boars, foxes , roe deer, etc. Pay special attention to the shoulder and edges of the road to anticipate the crossing of one of these animals and adjust your speed to your field of view.

Most gas stations and gas stations remain closed at night. Avoid emptying the fuel tank as you probably won’t find another place to refuel for a few miles. It’s better to fill up when you have ¼ tank left and you can do at least 100 km more than waiting for the spare light to come on and having to stop at the gas station to open them or, worse, be left stranded without fuel . The latter also implies an economic sanction by the DGT.

Source: La Verdad

Ida

I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.