Driving in the dark is something that a lot of us really don’t look forward to doing. Especially if our night vision is failing us, driving at night can not only be an inconvenience, but a dangerous venture. If driving at night is unavoidable, however, here are some tips and tricks for driving at night that’ll keep you safe as well as the other drivers on the road.

First, if you’ve ever bought “night driving glasses” that are tinted and marketed as aids for driving at night… well. Throw those right out, because the most they’re doing is impairing your vision even further. You need as much light to reach your eyes as possible, because when it’s dark, you can’t see! Light is the magic ingredient to seeing things better, even at night. The only glasses you should be wearing while driving at night are your regular prescription eyeglasses.

If you have problems with the headlights of approaching cars, especially when you’re on a two-lane road, a good trick is to watch the white line on the side of the road as the oncoming car passes you. This will help make sure that you stay in your lane and not burn your retinas with the bright light of the oncoming car, especially if the driver has forgotten to turn off their high beams.

Speaking of high beams, you should use yours whenever you can. If there is a car in front of you, either on your side of the road or on the opposite side, you shouldn’t have them on… but if you’re alone on the road, high beams are your friends any time of year. Just make sure that you turn them off if you encounter another car on the road!

Finally, if you truly cannot drive at night, arrange a ride for yourself if you know you’ll be out of the house past sunset. If that fails, public transportation or a taxi are good choices. Otherwise, plan your schedule so that you will not be in danger of having to drive at night, or have a friend with you who can drive if they need to.

We hope these tips help you! If you are more of a video person, check out this one about driving safely after dark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WbYpgn6T4c