Problems With Night Driving? Five Safety Tips to Help

On November 4, 2018 daylight savings time came to an end. While it provided an extra hour of sleep that weekend, it also meant it is getting dark earlier. This could impact your drive home from work or school, your schedule of errands, and your social events, particularly if you are one of the many people who has difficulty seeing and driving at night. Unfortunately, the fact is those car accidents and injuries are more common after dark. The following are tips might help you protect yourself when driving at night.

How Setting the Clocks Back Impacts Your Safety

Setting the clocks back each fall to reverse daylight savings time can have a significant impact on your overall health. According to the National Safety Council (NSC), many people find it throws off their sleep schedule, making them more tired throughout the day. Combined with seasonal changes that increase the hours of darkness. It can also wreak havoc on your driving abilities.

The NSC reports that potentially fatal car accidents are more than three times as likely to happen after dark than at any other time of the day. The following play a key role in increasing your nighttime driving risk:

• Reduced visibility, which makes it harder to see your lane, other vehicles, or obstacles in the road;
• Driver distraction as the result of glare from the dashboard instrument panel, street lamps, and other motorists’ headlights;
• Increased likelihood of drowsy driving or falling asleep behind the wheel;
• Increase in the number of drunk drivers on the roads.

Protecting Yourself When Driving at Night

If you do not get home from work until later in the evening, have important errands to run, or social obligations to fulfill, you may not be able to avoid driving at night. In these situations, Popular Mechanics recommends the following five safety tips as a way of protecting yourself and others on the road:

• Make sure your headlights are clean and aimed directly forward;
• Wash and polish your windshield with newspaper to eliminate film and reduce streaking;
• Dim the lights on your dashboard panel;
• If you wear prescription glasses, consider investing in anti-reflective lenses;
• Avoid looking directly into other driver’s headlights, which can cause temporary blindness.

Our Illinois Car Accident Attorneys Are Here to Help

In the event you are involved in a crash or collision, contact Sabuco, Beck, Hansen, Massino & Pollack, P.C. immediately. We can arrange a consultation with one of our experienced Illinois car accident attorneys, who can advise you on how to get the compensation you need to recover.