Drivers given advice on driving safely in the dark during winter months

THE nights are drawing in and it’s not long until the clocks go back and things start feeling even more wintery.

Darker mornings and evenings mean more night-time driving and motorists are being offered advice on doing it safely.

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Motoring experts at Leasing Options have offered their top tips for uneasy drivers to prepare for their dark night drives this winter.

Ensure your headlights aren’t misaligned

Before your journey in the dark, make sure your headlights, taillights and indicator lights are clean and working properly.

It’s also important, when your car is in for its service, to ask the mechanic to check the alignment of your headlights.

Headlights that are misaligned can blind other drivers and reduce your ability to see the road. 

Clean and adjust your mirrors so you aren’t blinded by other drivers

Dirty exterior mirrors can distort light in the reflection, so keep them a thorough clean. 

Even when clean, the position of your mirrors is extremely important during the darker months.

Headlights of those overtaking you can catch the reflection in your exterior mirror and beam into your eyes, temporarily blinding you.

Turn on your lights at the RIGHT time

By definition, ‘night time’ starts half an hour before sunset.

To avoid blinding fellow road users, when driving at night you should switch from full beam to dipped headlights when other road users are driving toward or in front of you. 

However, if you overtake a vehicle in front of you, you can then put your full beam lights back on to better illuminate the road ahead, provided there is no oncoming traffic or other vehicles in front.

Keep the inside of your car dark to avoid distracting other drivers

While there’s no specific law that says you can’t have interior lights on in the car, it can still cause a distraction to other users.

Always keep your interior lights turned off while you’re driving at night time to avoid confusing other drivers and if you can, dim your dashboard lights too. 

Clear windows of dirty air-con film build up

Whether they’re steaming up or dirty, there’s plenty of barriers between you and having clear visibility in winter nights.

It’s important to regularly clean your windows, as car heaters can blow dirty air at the glass and cause a hazy and distracting film.

Have regular eyesight checks 

The human eye naturally adjusts to the darkness, but it can take up to 30 minutes for your eyes to adapt fully.

Driving at night puts strain on your eyes to see more in the dark and handle bright lights from oncoming traffic.

What’s more, is when the roads are wet and icy the reflections can cause us to miss important signs or traffic lights.