Get advice from lawyers who understand the hazards of driving at night.
Did You Know: According to the National Safety Council, vehicle death rates are three times higher at night than during the day.
This statistic is especially mind-boggling considering fewer drivers are on the road at night. A large number of these accidents can be attributed to the reduced visibility of night driving.
In addition to reduced visibility, nighttime tends to be when more drunk drivers are on the roads, placing lives in danger. However, there are several steps and night driving safety tips you can use to protect yourself. Continue reading to learn a few top night driving safety tips from the experienced auto accident attorneys at Ashenden & Hollingsworth, P.C., in Atlanta, Georgia.
Avoid Distractions While Driving
While you should always be focused on the road whenever you operate a vehicle, nighttime driving presents a different set of risk factors. Simply put, any type of driving distractions should be avoided, especially the use of mobile phones.
If you receive a text or an email, it’s best to pull over at a rest area or to the side of the road to answer the message. On the other hand, you can simply wait until you arrive at your destination to respond.
Drive Alert and Focused
Driving at night on long road trips can be especially dangerous. Without the benefit of daylight, your color recognition, depth perception, and peripheral vision plummets. All of these factors combined with fatigue can result in an accident.
For long road trips, it’s best to take regular breaks to get food, snacks, and stretch your legs. If you feel fatigued or sleepy at any point, you should pull over or simply spend the night in a hotel. Sleepy driving has been proven to be just as dangerous as drunk driving.
Keep a Safe Following Distance
When traveling down the road at night, it can be more difficult to determine how far away a vehicle is or how fast it’s traveling. It’s best to simply slow down and always keep a safe following distance.
Keep Your Vehicle Clean and Up-to-Date with Maintenance Checks
Ensure your headlights are clean and free of debris that may hamper your vision. Use newspaper to clean and remove streaks from your windshield and windows. After your auto glass is clean, avoid wiping or touching it with your bare hands.
Your skin is loaded with oil, which can smear and create a glare on your windshield and windows anytime light shines on them. The best solution is keep a clean cloth in the center console or glove box, so it’s handy whenever you need it.
Don’t Look into the Light
As you approach other vehicles, avoid staring into the bright lights. It’s especially easy to become distracted by bright billboards or by a large truck’s high beam lights. If you are ever blinded, look quickly to the right edge of the road. Then simply steer along the white line until your vision is restored.
Contact the Auto Accident Attorneys at Ashenden & Hollingsworth, P.C.
Even if you are a perfect driver, you can still be the victim of someone else’s distracted driving or gross negligence.
The team at Ashenden & Hollingsworth, P.C., brings decades of experience holding those responsible for catastrophic driving accidents accountable. Our Atlanta personal injury attorneys are highly skilled at extracting key elements to determine if the other driver was at fault.
If you or a loved were injured in a nighttime driving accident, the personal injury attorneys at Ashenden & Hollingsworth, P.C. may be able to recover your losses. Contact us today for a free case analysis.
