5 tips to reduce risks of accidents when you drive at night
- Care about glare. One important trick is to keep your windshield clean. "Make sure it's clean inside and out," says Muttulingam Thambirajah, owner of Above the Best driving school in Ottawa*. "Even if you don't notice it in the daytime, at night you'll be able to see the dust and small particles. When you clean your windshield on the outside, your wiper blades aren't enough. Once a week, use a special glass cleaner and wipe it clean". Another trick that's easy to do is to dim your dashboard's lights, so they're not distracting or too bright.
- Glare can also come in the form of oncoming cars. "If there's a glare that hits your eyes, it can blind you for a short amount of time," says Thambirajah. "Avoid looking into the other car's lights - better you look over on the other side, so normally what would be the right side." If a car from behind is blinding you with its lights, tilt your rear-view mirror to avoid having the reflection of the light pointed right at your eyes.
- It goes without saying, but it's the mother of all prevention tips: don't drive when you're tired! And don't think chewing gum or chugging an energy drink will magically make you more alert.
- Maintain your lights. It's possible your headlights are pointed in the wrong direction, which means they could be bothering other drivers and not lighting the road in front of you. Regularly check that your lights are properly aligned.
- Slow down. You can only see as far as your headlights at night if you're on an unlit highway, and if you're driving on the highway at the speed limit, your low beams won't cover the distance needed to brake if you need to stop quickly. It's called over-driving your headlights, and accidents can happen when you don't see potential hazards in time. "It's like bad weather - at night drive slower according to your situation," Thambirajah says.
Learn even more about driving in Canada and how you can protect yourself with car insurance.
*belairdirect is in no way affiliated with Above the Best driving school.
