Night Driving

If you're like me, you probably dread driving at night. This is because night vision is significantly impaired at night, and your eyes don't help much anymore. From defensive driving classes, you'll understand that one of the most important senses needed for driving is sight, so when driving in the dark, you're at greater risk of having a car accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, road fatality drastically increased at night.

Another issue that comes with night driving is falling asleep while driving. One research showed that 20 percent of car accidents in the UK are caused by people falling asleep behind the wheel, and there has been a rise in teen crashes.

Although the headlights illuminate the road, people still find it difficult to judge speed, distinguish colors and determine distance. Hence, you must be well prepared for the night. Here are a few tips to help you go through the night while driving.

Clean your windscreen

This a very basic but important tip that should not be ignored. During the daytime, a dirty wide-screen might do little harm to you, but at night it can be very dangerous. The dirt on your windscreen can build up, causing light to scatter and potentially increasing glare. A way to keep your windscreen clean is to avoid touching it because the oil from your body can smear it. An old trick used to clean residue on the windscreen is a newspaper.

Check your headlights

Always make sure your headlights are in perfect working condition. Make sure they are aimed in the right direction. If your headlight beam tilts down or up too much, you might need proper road illumination. People have discovered that even the headlights of brand-new cars are sometimes not pointed at the right angle. You can consult a car professional to help you aim the light properly or use the car manual to do it yourself. Apart from aiming the light in the right direction, dirt could also be blocking the light from shining properly, thereby casting a glare. Therefore, it's also important that you clean your headlights properly.

Keep your eyes healthy

Since your eyes are most important in driving safely, you must check your eyes regularly. This could help you detect any eye defects on time to easily fix them. Doctors recommend that to reduce eye fatigue, it's better to keep your eyes moving than for them to be focused on one spot. Avoid wearing dark glasses while driving at night. You can have the cleanest windscreen and the brightest headlights, but if your eyes aren't healthy, it could all be for nothing.

 

Notice your level of fatigue

Driver fatigue is said to be one of the major causes of teen crashes at night. This is because more people are prone to tiredness or fatigue at night, significantly affecting driving ability. Once you notice that you're tired, pull over and take a break for about an hour. You could also arrange for someone to take over the driving or take caffeine to keep you alert. If you have someone to talk to, talk to them or turn on the radio and listen to some music.

For many drivers, driving at night is inevitable, and because of the statistics on teen crashes, the thought of driving at night only makes them scared and reluctant. But following these tips, there's no reason why night driving should be unsafe.

The Wiser Diver Driving School is a driver's education program in Powder Springs, GA.  Our mission is to mitigate risks of driving through awareness..   www.thewiserdriver.com  info@thewiserdriver.com

Teen Driving And Distractions

 

TEEN DRIVERS AND PASSENGER DISTRACTION

Nowadays, they have been a series of teen crashes. These crashes have been caused mostly by distracted driving, which involves the driver participating in an activity unrelated to the driving process. Some of these distractions involve cell phones, but most are due to the actions of passengers.

Passenger distraction has cost the lives of many teenagers, and the death toll keeps rising. To curb this menace, the Graduate Driving License Program was created. This program ensures teen drivers have restrictions on the number of passengers in the car and require teen drivers to carry a family member.

According to research, compared to male teens driving alone, those with peer passengers were more likely to have been driving aggressively right before they crashed. In a study, 198 teen drivers were examined, and it was found that teens who are most likely to drive with multiple passengers consider themselves thrill seekers and view their parents as not being strict with rules or monitoring of their whereabouts, and also lack understanding of the risks involved in driving in general. However, this study established that these teens were in the minority. The study showed that teens generally understand the risks of driving, have a low frequency of driving with passengers, and believe that their parents discipline them well.

Another study analyzed a national sample of 667 teen drivers involved in car accidents to compare the possibilities of driver distraction and risk-taking behavior before the crash when teens drive with passengers. The study shows that male and female teen drivers with passengers are more likely to be distracted before a crash than teens who drive alone. According to the study, 71 percent of males and 41 percent of females were directly distracted by the actions of their passengers. It is also known that with peer passengers in a car, teen drivers are more likely to perform illegal maneuvers and two times more likely to act aggressively just before a crash.

The role of parents in supporting safe driving

Parents play a vital role in ensuring teen drivers are safe while driving. Since a family is the smallest unit of society, and parents are the first point of contact for teenagers, it is recommended that parents set out rules of no non-family member passenger for the first six months of driving and only one non-family member for the second 6 months. Parents must stay involved with teenagers beyond their Learner's Permit stage until they have gained adequate experience in driving. With the Graduate Licensing Laws that restrict the number of passengers for the first year of driving and the help of parents by disciplining their teenagers, the risk of teen crashes will be greatly reduced.

Much attention is being paid to teen drivers, but a huge part of the problem is the passengers. Although it is advised to allow only family members during the first year after getting a permit, even siblings can be a distraction. Therefore, passengers need to understand the risk involved and act accordingly when in a teen driver's car. Here are tips for passengers with teen drivers:

• As a passenger, you should pay attention to the road
• Be alert for road hazards.
• Put all electronics away during the ride.

The Wiser Driver Driving School is a full-service driver veteran-owned driver education company located in Powder Springs, Georgia.    www.thewiserdriver.com  info@thewiserdriver.com