Driving at Night

Whether you're planning a road trip across Europe, driving back from work at night or even popping to the shops for a few essentials, it's guaranteed that you'll be driving at night at least some point during your week. Due to reduced visibility and potential fatigue, driving at night requires extra care and attention at all times.

Forward thinking

Before you set off, make sure you've planned your journey and you are fully aware of whereabouts you are going. This will save you time; you won't be pulling over every 15 minutes to try and read a map in the dark!

If you've planned a considerably lengthy journey, yet there are people travelling with you who can legally drive, contemplate sharing the driving and swapping drivers whenever one of your gets tired. It's also a good idea to mark places you can stop along your journey, whether it's for a bite to eat, a coffee break or even a quick nap.

Fight fatigue

Research suggests that almost 20% of road accidents are sleep-related. This is why driving at night can be really quite dangerous and extra care is required. If you happen to experience a sudden feeling of fatigue while driving then pull over in a safe and appropriate place for a 15-20 minute nap. Drinking two highly-caffeinated drinks can also improve your concentration; just make sure you don't repeat this method consistently. As previously mentioned, if you're travelling with other passengers who have a pink license, consider swapping drivers and letting them take the wheel for an hour or two. You can then take the opportunity to have a quick nap in the back of the car.

Improve visibility

It's important that you check that all of your car's lights are completely clean and full of any dirt or debris. Besides, if the visibility of the road is already reduced, how are you supposed to see when the efficiency of your headlights is dramatically reduced? It's also advised that your clean your windscreen, ensuring maximum visibility.

Driving around Europe?

If you're driving around Europe then you won't just have to become accustomed to driving on the right-hand side of the road, but you'll also need to adjust your car's headlamp beam pattern (this is also compulsory).

Above all, when driving during the night it's important to expect the unexpected. Revise all road signs and make sure you're ready for upcoming bends in the road, animals that may potentially jump out unexpectedly or anything else you may not be expecting to encounter.

By Toby Holmes