Driving at Night

As summer slowly ebbs away and we have longer hours of darkness, driving on Irish roads can come with its own set of hurdles and challenges. Whether you're travelling the countryside or navigating the bustling city streets, mastering the art of night-time driving is essential for a safe and enjoyable journey. 

So let's shine a light on how to drive with confidence during the change of season, low winter sun and longer spells of darkness safely and with confidence, prioritising not only your safety but the safety of other road users too

Tip 1: See Clearly In The Dark

Keeping visible is vital to a safer drive and making you a better driver at night. Darkness can obscure hazards and make it more difficult to see the road ahead. Here are some easy things you can do to help you focus on the road ahead:

Adjust mirror — By tilting the angle or switching your rear-view mirror up to the ‘night’ setting to cut down the brightness from the headlights of the car behind you. Some lights may not have their beam alignment set correctly, some have a blow light so are driving with high beams on and can blind and dazzle you. And some are just driving with high beams on regardless! As lighting conditions change, your eyes adjust, which can impact your ability to see obstacles and judge distances.

Change your driving position — By raising or lowering your seat you can minimise the glare from oncoming traffic and also traffic behind you.

Keep your windows clean — Sometimes you only notice that the inside of your windscreen actually has streaks of cleaning marks that only become visible when the sun hits them in the right way and your field of vision becomes completely obscured. Dust particles on the inside of your windows can scatter light from outside sources and reduce you ability to see the road ahead.

Keep your windscreen fluid topped up with not only water but washer solution. This helps remove debris from the outside of your window.

Turn lights off inside — We all remember our parents telling us driving with the lights on was illegal, now we know they were just avoiding the battle to get you to turn them off so they could see!! Bright lights inside can hamper your ability to see the road ahead. You can dim dash lights to reduce glare from these, instructions can be found in you cars handbook.

Never wear dark glasses — Sunglasses are for sunny conditions, the tint will restrict your ability to see properly at night. Keep sunglasses for daylight hours.

Understanding Vision Changes

Driving during twilight/dusk or when the sun is low on the horizon can feel like someone has turned a lamp straight into your eyes. As the setting sun shines directly into your eyes, sun glare can make it difficult to see the road ahead, oncoming traffic, or even other road users. This sudden change in light can affect your peripheral vision and depth perception, making it harder to judge distance and spot hazards in time.

To reduce glare and keep your vision sharp, use your car’s sun visor or wear polarized sunglasses during the day (but remember to take them off at night). If you find yourself squinting into bright lights, slow down and increase the distance between you and the vehicle in front. This gives your eyes more time to adjust and helps you react safely to any changes in traffic, being aware of how your vision changes in different lighting conditions—and taking steps to compensate—can make all the difference in keeping you and other road users safe.

Tip 2: Be Seen By Other Road Users

Being a safe driver takes confidence both during the day and at night. And knowing how to drive with the appropriate lights to avoid blinding other road users is one sure way to stay safe on the road.

Know when to use dipped headlights — having your lights set to auto or keeping your dipped headlights on during the following:

How to use high beam - High beams are there to light the road ahead on unlit roads and when there is no traffic approaching, so inter county motorways, country roads etc. Your dashboard will illuminate with a blue symbol to let you know your high beams are on.

Here are some helpful tips on high beam usage:

Use high-beam assist: If your vehicle is equipped with high beam assist like the Suzuki Swift, take advantage of it. This technology automatically adjusts the headlights from low to high, based on the presence of other vehicles.

Adjust for heavy loads: When carrying a heavy load or lots of passengers, your vehicle’s headlights may point upward more than normal, distracting other drivers. Check where your beam hits before you set off to avoid having to adjust mid journey. Look over your vehicle’s instruction manual on how to adjust your headlights if you have a manual levelling function and it doesn’t have the auto-levelling feature.

Wait till the car passes: Allow the oncoming driver to fully pass by you, as switching back to high beam too quickly can blast them with your headlights unintentionally.

Look to the side: Avoid looking directly at the oncoming car, when a driver hasn’t dimmed their high beam or their headlights are too bright. Lower your speed and briefly glance towards the left-hand side of the road, such as the white line or the verge, giving yourself more time to react to any potential hazards.

Short sharp warning flashes: Forgetting to turn down your high beam can happen to anyone. It is common practice to warn oncoming drivers by giving one or two quick, momentary flashes of your high beam to let them know. Don’t keep your beam on full, as you may surprise them and cause them to react in an unexpected and unsafe way. Other road users flashing you is a sure sign you have forgotten to dip your lights or have not turned them on. This is especially true when you are leaving shopping centres or well lit car parks.

Approaching intersections or pedestrian crossings: Dip your lights at junctions and at pedestrian crossing to avoid blinding other road users and vulnerable pedestrians.

On well-lit roads or built-up areas: Turn off your high beam sin areas that have street lighting and are well lit. ng.

In traffic: Never drive behind another car with your high beam on. Turn off your high beam when there is oncoming traffic.

In poor weather conditions: When driving in rain, fog, or snow, use your dipped headlights to reduce glare. In dense fog or heavy rain, turn on your fog lamps (if fitted to your vehicle), and switch them off when no longer needed. Fog lights can dazzle other road users when driving conditions are not foggy/rainy.

During dusk and dawn: Switch your headlights on 30 minutes before sunset until at least 30 minutes before sunrise. 👉🏻 Its a good idea to always drive with your lights on. Most modern cars automatically turn on your DRL’s (Daytime Running Lights) but driving with your normal lights on makes you more visible especially when the sun is behind you. In winter, low sun angles can make it harder to see and be seen, so using your headlights during these times is especially important.

Tip 3: Control Your Speed in Traffic

Roads you have driven countless times during the day suddenly become strange at night. This is especially true when the days are suddenly much shorter, you have been driving them for months in the long Irish summer days. Its can be an adjustment to drive on them in darkness. Being able to judge your speed and navigate bends and lanes can become difficult. . Here are a few things to put in to practice:

Adjust speed to match conditions - Coming up to corners and junctions, reduce your speed. Also when navigating from unlit to well lit roads, this is especially true when exiting motorways as the speed limit has reduced significantly. Also reducing speed when the weather conditions change gives you more time to react to traffic that might slow down etc.

Leave a safe following distance - increase the space between your car and the one ahead, to give you more time to react if the vehicle in front suddenly stops or slows down. You cannot see what is ahead of them and what they might react to. Remember the 2 second rule and double this for poor driving conditions.

Use road markers as a guide —-utilise the reflective road markers and cat’s eyes (road studs) to ‘read’ the road at night and stay comfortably in your lane. Watch out for signs that indicate a sharp turn, these are roadside and are yellow and black chevron signs, the longer they are the longer the turn is. Keep an eye out as well for signs on poles that will advise if there are severe turns, S bend turns etc. And always approach turns with caution, on some country roads there can be people or cyclists just beyond the bend or even animals, slowing down will give you more time to react.

Tip 4: Monitor Driver Fatigue and Stay Rested

Driver fatigue is a major issue and one of the leading factors for accidents. It can come on suddenly and impairs you ability to react, it impairs your judgement and also significantly reduces your ability to control your vehicle. Paying attention to how you are feeling is important to not only your safety but the safety of other road users.

Take regular breaks - Plan to stop at regular intervals in service stations or well lit road rest areas. In service stations take advantage of being able to freshen up, stretch your legs and have something to eat.

Stop, Sip, Sleep - if you start feeling drowsy take a 15-20 minute power nap, drink water, chew gum or eat a light snack to boost your energy. Find somewhere safe to rest and don't consume a heavy meal that can make you more drowsy. Visit RSA for more tips and also during busy holiday periods keep an eye out for services that offer free coffee and places to rest. It might just save your life or someone else’s.

Listen to the radio, podcast or playlist - Upbeat tunes, tunes with a good beat, an engaging podcast that keeps your mid active on roads that seem endless and are boringly straight forever (we are looking at you M6!) can keep your mid focused just make sure you focus on the road ahead too. Also open the window if you feel sleepy with some upbeat tunes, they can waken you up enough to find a service station to pull over and rest.

Nominate a driving buddy - If you are travelling with others who are competent drivers, arrange to spilt the driving duties so no one becomes fatigued,

Lane safety assist systems - Most new cars will alert you when you weave or depart your lane with a rumble of the wheel or some audible sounds. These features can help you stay within your lane and be a warning you need to stop as you are showing signs of drowsiness or distraction.

Tip 5: Be Mindful of Weather Conditions and Surroundings

Driving at night presents drivers with another challenge, but by staying alert and observant, monitoring the road ahead and adjusting speed a good driver can arrive safely at their destination. Below are some tips for driving during not only dusk/night but also different weather conditions:

Watch for pedestrians and cyclists - pay close attention to pedestrians and cyclists, especially in poorly lit areas, corners of country roads and around intersections. They may be less visible at night especially if they are wearing dark clothes or non-reflective clothing. Some may have a torch in hand but the beam may not be visible as you round a bend etc.

Be on the watch for animals- Animals can be more active during the night and are a dangerous hazard when they appear suddenly, in Ireland this can be anything from foxes and badgers to Deer. Hitting a deer on a dark road can cause extreme damage to your car and lead to injury not only of the animal but also you.

Heavy rain and snow - It's one thing to drive in adverse weather during the day, at night it presents another obstacle. Rain reduces the grip between your wheels and the road and snow can make the grip disappear. Setting our prepared for the weather conditions will make all the difference. In both rain and snow reducing your speed and maintaining distance between you and other road users will reduce the odds of an accident but not make them disappear altogether. Keep observing, use the correct lights, know how to steer out of skid and never enter water that you are not sure of.