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Here
are some tips on night driving.
0
Drive defensively.
0
Don't drink and drive.
Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
Since you can't see as well, you may need to
glare from headlamps behind you.
slow down and keep more space between you and
other vehicles.
Slow down, especially
on
higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only so much road ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you're tired, pull off the road in
a
safe place
and rest.
Night Vision
No
one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the
same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision. For example, if you spend the day in bright
sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But
if
you're
driving, don't wear sunglasses at night. They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching lights.
It can take a second or two, or even several seconds, for
your eyes to readjust to the dark. When you are faced
with severe glare (as from a driver who doesn't lower
the high beams, or
a
vehicle with misaimed headlamps),
slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into the
approaching lights.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean
--
inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and
flash
more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it's easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness -- the inability to see in dim light
--
and
aren't even aware of it.
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