Most of us are aware that night driving demands greater concentration and is more stressful than driving during daytime hours. While we make allowances for these more testing conditions it's a fact, nevertheless, that more road accidents occur at night than during the day.
All the more reason, then, that as a driver you should take vision care very seriously. Ask yourself: 'Can I really see as well as I would like?' Night driving might be highlighting the need for an eye examination.
Here's a quick self-test to show how far you can see at night. Find a suitable place to test yourself, and see if you can stop by the time you reach an object that falls within the range of your lights. This is a surprisingly difficult task to do with dipped headlights on an unlit road even if you have 20/20 vision. If you can't stop in time you should get an eye check.
Perhaps you're beginning to notice that things are getting a bit blurred when night driving. Of course, road lighting levels are lower than those during the day. This has the effect of dilating the pupil of the eye and allowing the maximum amount of light to fall on the retina at the back of the eye.
This increase in pupil size will highlight any smaller refractive errors you might have which remain unnoticed under normal lighting conditions. These minor focusing errors will result in blurred vision at night, however. If blurring becomes more noticeable, your glasses or contact lenses might need changing or perhaps an optical correction is required. Ask for advice from your eye doctor.
If you've had your lenses checked, but your eyes feel uncomfortable as you're noticing haloes and reflections round lights and headlights, the problem might well be lack of "vision care" of your auto. When night driving, your auto lights are the most important source of information both for you and for other road users.
The principal reason for haloes and reflections is a dirty windscreen, both inside as well as outside. They can also be indicative of eye disease, macular degeneration, for instance, or post-operative symptoms of corrective vision surgery. In these cases, however, it would be unwise to attempt any night driving. You might find ,anyway, have restrictions placed on your licensure.
What, besides a clean, condensation-free windscreen, makes for good vision care of your auto before night driving? The following are very important:
- Your mirrors and windows should always be kept clean and clear (no dangling objects to distract your attention).
- Keep your washers topped up and wiper blades efficient.
- Keep the mirror and glass inside the auto mist-free.
- Icy weather and heavy rain at night exacerbate the problem of low light levels.
In icy weather, wait until your demister and heater have cleared the whole of the screen and rear window before starting off.
Rain can also drastically reduce your view through the windscreen and windows, and in the outside driving mirrors. In dirty weather conditions, clean your windscreen, windows, indicators and lights as often as necessary.
As you clean your auto's windscreen, so you should clean your glasses before night driving. Dirty lenses can contribute to a scattered light effect, and reflections from the surfaces of lenses can sometimes cause multiple images of lights at night. Anti-reflective coatings will eliminate this scattered light problem.
Unfortunately, as we age, a number of changes in the eye can give rise to contrast and glare sensitivity. We have already mentioned how important a clean windscreen is, but if you are an older driver with cataracts, a cloudy retina will produce the same effect as a dirty windscreen.
Glasses will be of no use in overcoming this visual impairment, and it may be best if night driving is minimised or eliminated altogether. If oncoming headlights are a problem, you could try focusing on the nearside kerb as you drive. Don't forget, though, you'll need to slow down if you adopt this compensatory technique.
You might not have cataracts, but you might be considering amber-tinted lenses or a windscreen tint as a solution to the glare problem. Blue night driving lights for use in your auto are also on the market and advertised as a vision care aid for night driving.
Neither of these will improve vision on the road. In fact, they are likely to make matters worse. When tinted lenses are worn, or blue lights used in the auto, the pupils of the eye dilate. This reduces glare but also makes it much more difficult for the eyes to adjust and keep a clear view of the road ahead.
For the same reason the use of the amber-tinted lenses for computer work is not recommended. A reduction in glare is achieved, but at the cost of the eyes' focusing muscles. They are constantly having to make adjustments as you look back and forth between the monitor and keyboard, and, as a result, they become fatigued and you get blurred vision. Use an anti-reflective coating on your lenses instead.
Safe night driving requires good vision care both for yourself and your auto. If you have any doubts about your fitness to drive at night you should get an eye check up. Your safety, and the safety of others, could depend on it.
About the Author:
© 2006 Maureen P Cook In this article, Maureen Cook shows you why good vision care for the auto is as important as your own vision care for safe night driving. To read more, go to Vision Care
Article Submitted On: August 09, 2006
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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