When you have mastered or feel comfortable driving during the day, now it’s time to talk about starting your night driving journey. Knowing how to drive safely at night can be essential for many, therefore it is important to learn. Sometimes it can be scary driving at night because you don’t have the visibility you typically have driving during the day.
Here we will go over five tips that you can use to drive safely at night and reduce some of that stress.
- Be Attentive
Driving at night is when you need to be extra attentive to your surroundings because, as mentioned, your visibility is reduced. After all, there isn’t as much light. Some of the things you have to pay extra close attention to are motorists, cyclists, and people.
Sometimes they don’t have their lights on if they’re in a motorized vehicle or are wearing dark clothing that may be hard to distinguish.
- Check Your Headlight
One of the first things you should do before you even drive the vehicle at night is to make sure your headlights work properly. You don’t want to have a headlight that may be broken because you won’t be able to see half the road.
This may cause you to get into an accident or damage your car because you might not have seen things such as potholes. In some states, if a cop catches you with a burned-out headlight, it may warrant a ticket. So be careful and check your headlights.
- Pay Attention to the Street Signs
When you begin to drive at night, you may be concerned about seeing street signs in the dark. Don’t worry too much, as long as your headlights are working properly, you should still be able to see the signs which are meant to be reflective at night. However, you should still pay extra attention to road signs when driving in an unknown place.
- Drive Slower
Remember that while driving at night, it is especially important to avoid driving above the speed limit. Even with your headlights on, it can be challenging to see what’s ahead of you at any time during the night. So, if you drive slower, it will give you more time to react and respond.
- Don’t Get Distracted.
Try your best to keep distractions to a minimum when you start to learn how to drive at night. This means avoiding playing the radio too loud or talking. While you don’t need to do this every time you drive. When you begin driving at night, it’s recommended to do this until you feel safe and comfortable behind the wheel.
If you have someone with you driving, you can ask them to assist you in driving by having them put away their cell phones and keep their eye on the road as well.
By implementing these steps, you will be able to get comfortable behind the wheel faster. If you want more additional help, click here to book a driving lesson with A1 Driving School.
