4 Tips to Driving Safely at Night

Driving on the road at night can be very different to driving in the day. We have to take extra precaution. During the night it’s much harder to see pedestrians, cyclist and so on. We’re not built to be out there in the darkness!

In this blog I’m going to give you 4 tips to help ensure that you’re safe on the road at night.

Stay alert

Now it’s obvious to say that you should be alert whilst driving, but this is especially so at night. As I said, your vision is going to be impaired so you need to be on full alert. Avoid foods that are high in carbohydrates as they’ll probably make you feel sleepy.

The majority of us avoid drinking coffee at night, but if you’re going to be behind the wheel for the long haul, get that hot cup of Joe down you. It’ll help you stay awake and alert.

Another way to stave off tiredness is to take a friend along with you. At the least their conversation should help you stay alert (unless they’re extremely dull) or they could share the driving responsibility with you giving you time for that much needed nap.

Check your lights

Your headlamps are the most important safety feature on your vehicle when driving at night. This is why you need to ensure that they’re in complete working order before you hit the road.

You should always make sure that they’re providing adequate lighting, and if not replace both of the bulbs. One brand new bright light and one dull one can not only affect you, but can be detrimental to other drivers on the road too.

You should also make sure that they’re clean. Dirty headlamps aren’t going to shine bright enough to illuminate your way so if need be give them a complete clean.

The same goes for your brake lights.

Make a roadside emergency kit

Unfortunately road safety isn’t just down to you. It’s also about other road users and how they’re driving. One wrong move on their part could spell disaster for you. In case of an accident like this or any other road side accident you should prepare an emergency kit.

In this kit you should put things like:

  • Jump cables
  • Flares
  • First aid kit
  • Flashlight
  • Bottled water
  • Blanket

Don’t hold back when using creating your kit, if you think there’s something you need then throw it in there.

Common sense

You know that alcohol can seriously impair your driving abilities and you know the risks you run when drinking and driving so I don’t need to preach to you in that department.

Just make sure that you use your common sense when out on the road at night. If you’re tired then don’t drive, don’t have full beam blaring out at all times, keep under the speed limits and so on.

Too many accidents occur because of people not putting what they’ve learnt into practice.

Stay safe