Navigate the Night: Updated Tips for Safe Driving After Dark

Driving at night comes with additional hazards. Low light conditions reduce visibility and make it hard to spot potential hazards, giving you less time to react when they come into your sight.

Young and older drivers can be at greater risk of car crashes at night. Young drivers aged 16-24 may not yet have enough night driving experience, and older drivers aged 50 and up may struggle with poor night vision.

Learn more about the risks of night driving and practical tips for safe night driving.

The Latest Statistics on Night Driving Accidents

Several factors contribute to an increase in car accidents at night.

Driving on weekends. Fatal nighttime car crashes are more frequent on weekends, especially on Saturdays. According to Youth Topics Factors Increase Risk Crashes Youth.gov Youth.gov, 53% of deadly crashes involving teens occurred on weekends, peaking between 9 p.m. and midnight.
Driving during the holidays. The holiday season brings an increase in road traffic and impaired driving. In 2022, 37% of fatal car crashesMotor Vehicle Holidays New Years Day Injuryfacts.nsc.org involving alcohol occurred over the New Year period compared to an annual average of 32%.
Driving in bad weather. Approximately 21% of car crashes per yearWeather Q1_roadimpact.htm Ops.fhwa.dot.gov (about 1,235,000) are weather-related. Learning defensive driving techniques can help you drive more safely when visibility is lowLow Visibility Driving Techniques Blog.
Driving during rush hour. Rush-hour driving, especially at the end of daylight saving timeHow Drive Safe After Daylight Savings Time Dst Blog (DST) when the clocks turn back, can mean driving in the dark much earlier. The week after DST typically sees a spike in road accidents as drivers adjust to driving in lower light.
Driving at a certain time of night. During the winter months, from November through March, fatal crash rates increase between 4 p.m. and 7:59 p.m.
Driver fatigue at night. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety2023 03 Asleep At The Wheel Drivers Unaware Of How Drowsy They Really Are Newsroom.aaa.com, 16%-21% of fatal car crashes involve a drowsy driver. The risk of an accident increases if you're driving tired at night and have drunk alcohol or taken medication or illegal drugs.
Poor night vision. Vision naturally deteriorates as we age, making driving harder for older persons at night. Visual field loss can increase the odds of a car crash by 84%Aao 2023 Visual Field Defects Linked To Higher Risk Of Car Crashes View.

Practical Tips for Safe Driving After Dark

Here are the top driver safety tips to reduce your risk of an accident when driving at night.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Generally, most healthy adults need at least seven hours of sleep. Getting enough sleep will help you stay alert when driving at night. If you decide to get behind the wheel while you're tired, be aware that drowsy driving is as dangerous as drunk drivingDrowsy Driving Vs Drunk Driving Drowsy Driving.

Check Your Headlights

Make sure all your vehicle lights work. Adjust your headlight beams to point slightly down towards the ground to properly illuminate the road without creating a glare for drivers.

Use your high beams if you're driving on roads with poor lighting and minimal traffic. Just be sure to turn them off when other cars are approaching so you don't blind drivers.

Keep Your Vehicle Well Maintained

Besides headlights, check that the wipers and interior dashboard lights work. Keep the exterior of the vehicle clean, especially the windshield. A dirty windshield scatters incoming light and makes the glare from oncoming headlights worse.

Drive Slowly

At night, you're dealing with poor visibility. This can mean you won't spot hazards, like a deer running onto the road, until you're about to hit it. Slow down, even if it takes longer to arrive at your destination. Arriving alive is better than not arriving at all.

Use Your Hazard Lights in an Emergency

If your vehicle breaks down at night or is involved in an accident, turn on your hazard lights so that your car is visible to other drivers and call for roadside assistance immediately.

Using Technology to Improve Driver Safety

Modern vehicles have safety features like blind spot monitoring and automated emergency braking. Adaptive headlights will automatically adjust the direction and intensity of headlights based on vehicle speed, steering angle, and road conditions.

Some vehicles have night vision systems that use infrared cameras to detect objects beyond what the headlights illuminate. These systems will display an image of the object on the dashboard. This helps drivers see pedestrians, animals, and other obstacles ahead.

You can also download navigation apps that will provide updates on weather and road conditions and recommend an alternative route.

The Importance of Driver Education and Defensive Driving

Many states require driver's ed students to log more daytime driving hours than nighttime. For example, they may require 50 hours of behind-the-wheel practice, with 10 being at night.

Once you've completed driver's education, consider improving your driving skills by taking a defensive driving courseDriving. You'll learn advanced driving skills that include:

Planning your route, especially if you're taking a road trip that will include night driving.
Learning about basic vehicle inspections and maintenance.
Driving tips, like how far behind you should be from the car in front.
Using your central and peripheral vision to scan the environment so you can react faster to an unexpected hazard and prevent an accident.
Remaining vigilant at intersections, which are common accident zones.

Stay Safe in the Dark

Night driving requires extra vigilance and enhanced driving skills to stay safe on the roads. If you're driving during high-risk times of the year, such as over the holiday season, stay alert and rest overnight rather than driving when tired.