How to drive at Night?

bundygil

The main thing with night driving is not to look at oncoming car lights. Look at the road in front of you and the lights will be in your peripheral vision and won't worry you as much. The rest is just practice.

John McCain is My Grandson

try focusing more on the medians and the reflective thingamabobs and not in the oncoming cars headlights, you might freak out and lose control, keep you eyes on the ROAD

~Les~

Try not driving at night until you are comfortable. Look at the white line on the outside instead of at the lights, use the dimmer flip on the rear view if yours has one. Practice! We can't help you drive, it takes time and practice. Maybe put off getting your license until you can if you are that unpracticed at it.

-Not saying you don't know how to drive, just saying that if it is better for you putting off instantly getting your license until you have night time practice might be a good option. I drove mostly at night with my permit and had to wait for my own comfort because I wasn't as adjusted to day. Just needed practice time in the opposite setting.

The Mr. Pine

Don't look directly at head lights and watch the right line for lane position. Its a matter of experience. Your eyes will adjust from force of habit and conditioning. I drive a truck and it takes a while to get re-accustomed to night driving if I have not been doing so for a while but its no longer a big deal.

sugarbdp1

Maybe you need night vison glasses or talk with your eye Dr.
I don't drive at night but early morning I do @3am so it's tough I keep a window rolled down alittle bit & keep my eyes on the road.Be very careful of others

butterfly

make sure your windshield is clear. it tends to fog up a bit at night which reduces your visibility. I just throw the defrost on for a bit to clear it.
I also don't look directly in front of me or I would be blinded by the oncoming headlights- mostly from people who forget to turn their highbeams down when there is oncoming traffic! [ one of my pet peeves] I look off to the right side just a little and watch the line.
If it is foggy, use your fog lights- it really helps.
Some rear view mirrors come with a flip switch so you can see people behind you, but the glare from their lights is gone.
I hope this helped. good luck and be safe!

doubledeuce44

so, you're on your learners permit, right?

Driving at nights a lot different than day driving. some tips:

1. drive more slowly
2. always put your blinkers on for turns, as the daytime visual cues, like eye contact, are absent
3. watch for pedestrians on smaller roads
4. be generally vigilant about stopping completely at stop signs, as you can't see cops. and they hide in the weirdest places.

pdsmonki0809

that is a really common problem actually... so don't feel bad. the key is to train yourself not to looking into oncoming headlights. It is natural to look at the car that is coming toward you... but as the car approaches look to the right (if you drive on the right side of the road) at the far solid line. this will allow you to make certain that you are staying on the road and in your lane without being blinded by the headlights.

Mopar Muscle Gal

dont stare into oncoming traffic's lights
be more observant to the surroundings

It takes time, you'll learn

constantreader

Good answers in here...to which I'd add one more: No matter how familiar you are with a route or a road, distances & landmarks are quite different after dark. Therefore, and depending on other traffic around you, notch your speed down around 5mph lower than your daytime speed on the same route or road. This adds "freak-out" time so you won't miss a turn, give you a little leeway about other drivers' actions, and -- above all, on country roads, don't over-drive your headlights! Even good high-beams won't go farther than their listed distances...save yourself [and others] by going at lower speeds at night so you can watch for surprises out in front of you. Where we live, there are deer and other critters [including nice expensive wandering cattle and horses on occasion] and even a practiced driver going too fast is going to have a calamity out there.

Best of all...until you're totally comfortable with the car and its operation during darkness, take a Consultant with you who's been driving a longgggggg time.

tabulator32

Do not look directly at the oncoming headlights.

Watching other cars and where they are headed is every bit as important as watching the traffic lights. (Other cars don't always obey the traffic lights. Be prepared to stop.)

If you're not sure if you have room to do it or time to do it, DON'T DO IT. Its always better to have angry people honk from behind than to have a collision in an intersection.

Go slower at night and allow your eyes to adjust. You DO NOT have as good a vision at night as you do in the day time. Allow extra time to go places just as if you would if it were raining.

Dr. O'Pinion

Driving at night can be fatiguing and even more so when it is raining due to the increase of reflective glare off the roadway. When driving at night against oncoming traffic it is important not to stare into the lights of oncoming vehicles but to keep your sights on the road in front and off to the right. If it is necessary you can lift your left hand to block the sometimes blinding lights some which are higher than others as with trucks. Some vehicles equipped with halogen lamps can be especially hard to overcome and sometime people forget to turn off their high beams. One important issue concerning high beams is not to use them all the time because your eyes will get accustomed to the lighted road and then when you need to brighten up more you wont have anymore brights to put on. Get a set of fog lights or secondary high beams if you need to.

Leprechaun of Jupiter

keep ur windshield clean cause the gunk mixes with light. Also practice as much during day as possible til u get comfortable. If possible avoid dangerous roads at night, Been driving for years and there are ceratain roads round here would avoid at night cause thee is no light and very windy. Use bright lights ( make sure to dim when car approaches ) drive at speed u feel comfortable with don't try and be cool. Been there done that with the tickets to prove it
If someone tailgating pull over let them by. Have fun driving is awesome as you get used to it

slipstream

turn on your light,s!

stankravets

dont drive at all you cant drive or get your licence lol

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