9 tips for night driving

This weekend we will turn back our clocks again, winning one hour of sleeping, but losing light on the evening in change. This light loss affects to most drivers that use their car both when going to work and when they come back since, especially when coming back, having little to no natural lightning and being tired deeply affect our driving reactions.

Here at Wiber we want to take care of you, and not only when you are renting a car during your holidays at Palma, Alicante or Málaga, but also when you are back at home. For this reason, we are listing here a few recommendations for you to take into account if you are going to be driving by night.

Nine recommendations for night driving

1. Decrease your speed. Depending on the visibility of the road you find yourself at, it’s recommended to adapt your speed and increase the safety distance between the vehicles nearby, so you have more reaction time in case of an accident.

2. Constantly check your rear-view mirrors. If you keep vigilant, it will be harder for you to get startled if another car gets near. It’s important to keep them properly positioned, to avoid being blinded by the lights of other cars.

3. If you get blinded, keep calm: keep a steady trajectory and decrease your speed, but don’t brake out of a sudden because you could cause an accident, while if you just decrease your speed you will have more reaction time. If another car is facing you because it’s a two-way road, keep as close as you can to the right line on your lane and turn your head right, so you have a better sight in less time.

4. Use your car’s night mode or keep every interior light off. This way you will avoid high contrast between the inside and the outside of your car, improving your sight.

5. Keep your lights aligned so your sight field is correct. Remember to switch on your dipped headlights at sunrise or sunset, and if the vision is very narrow and the road allows it, use your main beams without a doubt.

6. Keep your car clean. If dust and dirt are set on your lights, your visibility can decrease up to 50%. If you are going to drive by night, it’s very important to keep them clean and, if it’s raining, your may have to even stop to clean them. If you run into rain, we wrote an article with tips to drive safely with rain and fog that maybe you should read too.

7. If your eyes are itchy, you are tired or feel drowsy, make a stop and take a rest. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Ideally, you should make these trips well-rested, but if you can’t, shorten the time between stops to an hour.

8. Turn on your radio and air out your car. Fresh air and lively music will help you not fall asleep while driving.

9. If you are taking minor roads, don’t trust your sight. The lights of the cars you see in the distance could be lying to you: the road layout could be uneven and don’t look like it, so it’s better to trust your own lights and follow their mark to avoid accidents.

Here at Wiber we hope our nine recommendations for night driving are useful and can help you on future travels. If you are going to rent with us for your next night trip, we recommend you choose here one of our safest car models. Remember you can also reach for our Customer Serve advice without a compromise.

Safe travels!