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Making it through the night safely begins with preparing
ourselves and our car.
Ask yourself how well you can see. Are glasses or
contact lenses needed? Our eyesight deteriorates as we get older.
If you're leaving a brightly lit building before
driving, our eyes need time to adjust to the darkness. If we're
driving as dusk falls this is another need to allow our eyes to
adapt.
A clean and clear screen inside and outside cuts
down dazzle. Are our wipers working effectively? Has the water
level in the screen wash bottle been checked recently? Are all
the vehicle's lights working, clean and set correctly ? Do you
have a set of spare bulbs? Having lights that don't work is illegal,
and that includes number plate lights.
Headlights
Get yourself seen. When driving in town use
dipped headlights.
On country lanes you must use
dipped beam, but where the road isn't lit and there's no approaching
traffic you'll need full beam.
Judging speed and distance of other road users correctly
is less easy in the dark. So is getting your own speed and following
distance correct ! Can you be sure that you pull up safely in
the distance that can be seen ? Depending on the quality of the
street lighting, at night, that distance is usually the distance
lit by the headlights.
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Do you use the light from oncoming vehicles to give
you valuable clues? If you're dazzle by oncoming traffic, don't
retaliate. Two dazzled drivers are twice as dangerous as one.
Move your eyes away to the left side of the road away from the
dazzle. Reduce speed and be prepared to stop if necessary.
Fatigue
Night driving is tiring, especially
on long journeys. You have to concentrate harder and may get tired
more quickly, so ensure good ventilation in the car and take enough
refreshment breaks.
Overtaking
Be extra careful about overtaking at
night. There may be something out of the range of your lights.
If in doubt - don't !
Noise at Night
Keep this to a minimum, especially in built
up areas. It is an offence to use your horn between 11.30pm and
7am, except to avoid danger from a moving vehicle. If you need
to warn of your presence at night you should flash your headlights.
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