Night Driving Safety – for nocturnal drivers!!

Nocturnal driving is highly accident prone. Driving gets vulnerable during nights and impairs driving safety to a higher degree. In spite of fewer vehicular movements on roads and highways, most deadly mishaps occur during nights. According to National Safety Council, Traffic death rates are three times greater at night.

Here are the reasons for such hampered road safety.

 90% of the driver’s instinct depends on the degree of visibility. Because of the limited lighting in the nights, the vision is impaired to greater extent. Drivers tend to loose the advantage of color and contrast that is available during the day. Levels of perception and peripheral vision also weaken.
 Our ability to see the road ahead is impaired at night. Darkness can alter the driver's ability to cope with even the most normal driving conditions.
 Alcohol and drugs added with frolics and joy riding is another major setback
 Seniors are at major risk for problems with nighttime driving as aging affects ability to focus and reduces depth perception and reaction times. Did you know that a 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year old
 Fatigue is another serious hazard for night driving. Drowsiness makes driving more difficult by pulling down the concentration and slowing reaction time
 Climatic changes like a varying temperature, colder air, moisture on surface and surface breezes also affect the night driving.

Here are few driving tips to enhance your night vision and driving ability during night times.
• Prepare your car for night driving
• Clean your windshield and lights regularly.
• Watch for pedestrians and cyclists - they are harder to see at night
• Increase your following distance at night.
• Keep your speed lower on dark roads to avoid overdriving your headlights.
• Reduce your speed. Do follow the DMV prescribed and posted speed limits meant for night drives.
• Try to stick to roads with sufficient lighting.
• If oncoming vehicles fail to lower their headlight beams avoid glare from light by focusing on the right edge of the road as a steering guide.
• If cars behind you are following too closely or if glare from their headlights is bothering you, pull over and allow them to pass you.
• Defensive driving is highly recommended to deal the aggressive drivers who go hay wire at nights.
• Make sure headlights are properly aimed. You may blind oncoming drivers and reduce your ability to see the road properly.
• Misaimed headlights blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road.
• Never wear dark glasses and if are conditioned to wear, then do opt for anti-glare coating on your spectacles.
• Get your eyes tested yearly to evaluate for conditions such as cataracts that can affect night time driving.
• Move your eyes constantly by looking for flashes of light at hilltops, curves and intersections that may indicate the headlights of other vehicles
• Stop and rest if you are sleepy
• Try to avoid fatigue by taking regular refreshment breaks to give your eyes a chance to recover. Take a short nap or a brisk walk, or have some caffeine to help you stay alert
• If you have an older car that does not have daytime running lights, be sure to put on your headlights as soon as twilight occurs. This makes it easier for other drivers to see your car.
• When it becomes too difficult to drive safely at night, try to limit driving to morning times.
• Most of the 18 wheeled giants, the trucks; operate on highways post sunset. Hence forth the truck drivers are suggested to take up truck driving classes to ensure night driving safety.

Be watchful of the twilight as it the most difficult time to drive. Do follow the above quoted driving tips which should make night time driving safer for you. For the latest updates on night driving safety & driving laws, do visit driving safety news.

By; Crystal

Want to Drive in Texas? Defensive Driving Tips

Want to drive in Texas? Then pay attention because ignorance is never an acceptable excuse for the law. And in Texas defensive driving skills are highly regarded. Whether you are a licensed driver in Texas or are simply using an out-of-state license, the laws of the state apply. Remember, laws vary from state to state and there are some traffic laws in the state of Texas that can leave drivers scratching their heads or worse breaking the law and ending up with a traffic ticket.

Buckle Up

This law is pretty straightforward. Everyone in a car should be wearing a seatbelt. Where children are concerned, Texas law strictly requires that children under 15 years of age should be properly restrained no matter where they are sitting in the car. When it comes to getting pulled over by the police in Texas – keep in mind they do not give warnings for not wearing a seatbelt – they give traffic tickets.

Right On Red

Texas is a right on red state. For a lot of out of state drivers this can be very disconcerting. Right on red means that unless it is otherwise posted, it is legal to make a right turn at a red light after coming to a complete stop and verifying that lane of travel you are turning into is clear. However, be aware that the signs posting No Right On Red are usually rectangular and hung near the traffic light itself. Failure to obey can lead to a stiff fine and a traffic ticket.

Don’t Mess With Texas

When it comes to driving in the state of Texas, nothing is more familiar to local drivers and many visitors than the Don’t Mess With Texas signs that decry against littering and damaging the local beauty. Many cities also post signs requesting that drivers not treat the road like an ashtray. There is more to Don’t Mess With Texas than just not littering – Don’t Mess with Texas also means don’t mess with the laws and proactively adopt defensive driving techniques to manage around careless drivers and in unsafe driving conditions.

In Texas, you are required by law to carry proof of automobile insurance on you at all times when you are behind the wheel of a vehicle. If you are pulled over for any reason, the police officer will request the proof of automobile insurance along with your driver’s license. If you cannot provide proof of insurance, the officer will issue you a traffic violation and you will have to provide proof of insurance to the court on your assigned date.

Don’t drink and drive is strictly enforced in the state of Texas. A recommendation: when you know you’ll be drinking, assume strong personal defensive driving values and hand your keys over to a designated driver.

It’s also important for drivers to understand that drinking and driving is not the only issue with regard to alcohol law in the state of Texas. It is illegal to be publicly inebriated and in recent months, police raids on several bars in the Dallas Fort Worth area have resulted in arrests of individuals who were drunk.
State law in Texas says Texans who are over the age of 21 have the right to buy alcohol and the right to consume alcohol. Individuals in Texas however do not have a right to public drunkenness or inebriation. It’s not just about being too drunk to drive – it’s about being too drunk period.

Understand that traffic laws and laws governing behavior intersect in the state of Texas. Don’t drink and drive, public sobriety at all times is required, carry proof of automobile insurance, wear your seat belt, obey the traffic signs and remember: ignorance of the law is not an excuse. If you still have any questions, consider signing up for one of the online defensive driving courses in Texas; not only may it help your insurance premiums – it may give you the edge you need to avoid a traffic ticket. Don’t Mess with Texas and Texas won’t mess with you.

By: Drose