Most motorists, including experienced ones, find it more difficult to drive at night. This is because the lack of light not only limits vision, but also affects depth perception, colour recognition and peripheral vision.
Dangers of the night
A person's field of vision is reduced in the dark, and it's worse if he suffers from night blindness. Reduce vision can impair judgement and delay reflex actions. And after a hard day's work, fatigue and drowsiness compound the dangers of driving at night.
A familiar stretch of road will look different at night because certain landmarks may not be visible, and road signs are not so obvious. In dimmer areas, you have to look out for pedestrians, joggers and cyclists.
Older drivers have it worse. By age 60, our eyes can only absorb about one-third of he light compared with those of a 20 year old. This is due to physiological changes occurring within the eye; conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration also impair vision.
Staying safe on the road
You can take several precautions to minimise the dangers of night driving:
- Switch on your headlights
Being seen is as important as seeing, so switch on your headlights to make it easier for other drivers to see you as soon as the sky darkens. This is particularly important if you have a dull-coloured car that does not stand out very well in the dark.
- Keep the windows clean
The windshield should be kept clean of grime as dirty windows increase the glare from oncoming vehicles' lights, making it more difficult for you to see your surroundings properly.
- Minimise glare
Being blinded by the high beam of another vehicle can temporarily affect your ability to see clearly. If an oncoming vehicle's headlights are on high beam, divert your eye to the left side of the road to avoid the glaring light. Use the edge of the road as a guide.
Most cars had a mirror that can be tilted to deflect glare. If the high beam is coming from a car behind you, reposition the rear view mirror or use the "night setting" to deflect the glare,
- Keep the interior dark
Turn off all interior lights in the car. Any source of light inside the car will appear extremely bright, making it more difficult for the driver to see clearly.
Source: The Straits Times Saturday, March 5 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment