Driving at night can be an enjoyable activity, without the hot sun and heavy traffic you see in the day. However, driving at night has its own risks too. I’ve compiled some of the key points to take note while driving at night.

Night Driving Danger

There are fewer car accidents at night due to the fewer cars in the road. However, due to less traffic, drivers tend to travel at high speeds and this increases the rate of fatality. The major causes of night accidents are exhaustion, lost of focus, drink driving and reduced visibility. Low light level also reduces depth perception and can cause delayed reflex actions.

Night Vision

Our eyes take time to adapt to brightly-lit places. It can take up to 30 minutes before our eyes function at 80% efficiency. Short-sightedness and night-blindness would further affect night vision.

When driving at night, glance around at different distances and focus on objects on the edge of your headlight beam. Refrain from focusing at a single distance as this increases eye fatigue. A poorly-lit object is easiest to see if you focus slightly to one side of it. Peripheral vision is less affected by poor light than central vision.

Watch your Speed!

Never drive beyond your range of vision. Singapore is generally well lit at night with plenty of street lamps. However, if you are driving with low or dipped beams you must reduce your speed commensurably. Following distances should also be increased, and the car ahead should be kept in the far limit of light from a dipped beam.

Don’t blind other drivers

Always dip your headlights before an approaching car comes within range. If the other driver fails to realize you are approaching, flick the beam back to high for an instant before dipping it again. Do not keep the high beam on - having two blinded drivers instead of one just doubles the risk. When approaching a car traveling in the opposite direction on a right-hand bend, remember to dip the beam early. Otherwise it will sweep across the curve and blind the other driver. Conversely, on a left-hand turn your headlights shine away from approaching traffic. However, it is good road manners to always dip your lights when another motorist approaches.

Point your headlights the right way

Headlights should be adjusted periodically, especially when your car is loaded more heavily than usual - this adjustment can be done at a garage. Having passengers in the back seat or heavy items in the boot can cause a dipped beam to shine too far ahead. This has the double disadvantage of dazzling oncoming drivers and failing to properly light the road. Always remember to reconfigure the beams when driving with a normal load again. Likewise, always adjust your tyre pressure before loading your car before holiday traveling.

Adapted from Robert Wood’s Article