For obvious reasons, you can drive all night you want. Busy life, works, business, emergency, etc. – there are plenty of reasons for night driving. Now, if you are wondering why should you drive slower at night – the most common reason is restricted visibility.
Nothing changed since the invention of headlights. You can see at night as far as your headlights let you. Shortly after reading this article, you will understand why you should not overdrive your headlights too. When driving at night you should limit your speed so that everything is within your control.
6 Reasons To Drive Slower At Night
For several reasons, night driving is challenging. To prevent a deadly accident, the reaction time is an important factor. But your reaction time is directly correlated with your visibility. Lower visibility means lower reaction time and vice versa. In comparison with daytime driving, you will have less time to take control.
There are plenty of more reasons you should slow down while driving at night. Have a close look at them:
You Are Tired
Our biological clock tells our body it’s time to sleep NOT driving. So, we feel tired at night. When you are tired, you are not mentally alert that much. Now, there is a visibility restriction and you are not alert, what do you expect to happen while driving fast?
Every other road hazards increased at a higher rate when you drive tired. What if you are not tired? Well, you should still drive slow because you don’t know the status of other drivers, right? When you are prepared for the worst, half of the potential risk will be simply gone!
Play the radio or crank up the air conditioner to keep you up if you feel sleepy. There is no point in putting yourself or others at risk.
Wandering Animals
We have seen this in the movie, right? Well, the danger is a real thing. Whether you are driving on the highway or empty country road, you gotta be extra careful of such wandering animals like deer.
This is what you should do while driving on empty roads…
Turn on the high beam lights to increase your visibility so that you can see them from a far distance. But the high beam headlights must not be used within a few distances when another driver comes from the opposite direction.
Increased Drunk Drivers
When driving at night you should be beware of drunk drivers. We love to drink all the time but drunk driving is never a good idea. The situation gets worse at night because at night you will find more drunk drivers around you than in the daytime. Even if you drive safe and do everything right, these drunk drivers will put your life in potential danger.
Increased Arrest Rate
Speeding at daytime will get you a ticket but you will most probably get arrested for that at night. Or at least, your car will get impounded if it involves any accidents. Empty roads are tempting to drive fast and it is a statistically proven fact that drivers get arrested mostly at night for fast driving.
Car Damages
Every worst thing starts to get increased at night; the increased car damages is no exception. Due to the visibility restriction, potholes, glass, nails, etc. become totally non-visible if you drive fast at night. So, you have a higher risk of damaging your car at night. Only slow driving will give you enough response time to avoid such bad road conditions.
Little To No Help
Apart from 911, you will have little help in case an accident happens. The situation will get worst if the accident happens on the highway or on an empty country road. There will be almost no one to offer you a helping hand. Also, if you damage your car, you will have less chance to fix it because it will be hard to find any repair shop nearby you at night.
How To Stay Safe At Night Driving?
Night driving requires special attention. There is no way around it. But probably the most important thing to understand all the dangers of fast driving at night I just mentioned above. That should keep you alert. However, to stay safe, you should keep in mind the following points:
- Headlights play an important role to keep everything visible at night. But over time, they tend to collect dirt and gunk. These also reduce the power of your headlights. So use a pressure washer to keep them clean always. Similarly, keep the windshield clear too.
- You must pay attention to the surroundings and vehicles nearby you. Switch to low beams when oncoming traffic is within your range to let other drivers see you clearly. No one is telling you to stop driving at night. Just stay alert.
- Avoid distractions anytime while driving. You should keep it to a minimum to none level at night and stay fully focused. No radio, no cellphone, and if you have a passenger; tell him/her not to talk to you while driving.
- If you feel sleepy or fatigue, tell someone else to drive. If there is none, stop driving immediately. There can be nothing more important than saving your own life.
- Beware of drunk drivers. You will encounter more alcoholic or drugged drivers at night.
- When driving in fog you should clean the windshield repeatedly to see everything clearly ahead of you.
- While driving in an unfamiliar area, read street signs clearly. All street signs are reflective, so you should be able to see them clearly at night. Pay special attention to these signs.
Conclusion
Driving at night is treacherous; so you should not be wondering why should you drive slower at night. Think about your family or anyone else who cares about you while driving at night. You can always reach your destination as long as you are safe and sound.
