Take precautions and drive safe late at night.

Driving safe on the road is becoming more difficult as the number of vehicles driving late at night increase.

With more people driving to work in the early morning and back home late at night, driving safe is more important than ever as there are more cars on the road than ever.

The average working person now spends approximately seven hours and 50 minutes traveling every week. This is according to the CSO’s National Travel Survey, which travel patterns across Ireland. So be sure you are driving safe in the dark.

Driving in the dark is already more difficult than during daytime but when there are an increasing number of people also driving, safety precautions must be taken into place.

Here are some top tips on staying safe when driving late at night or during early mornings.

1. Make it bright again

Use your headlights when possible, if there is no danger to shining your light at another car then light up the road ahead. Be cautious when using headlights for possible cars ahead but using your head lights in the dark can majorly improve your view of the road. It not only shows a clearly picture of the road but can make you feel more awake and alert while driving.

2. Take a break

Driver fatigue is a serious issue on the roads. The RSA highly advise people to ‘stop, sip, sleep’ for those who feel sleepy while driving. This is where you pull over your car somewhere safe, sip a caffeine drink and sleep for 15 minutes. Driver fatigue is a contributory factor to 1 in 5 driver deaths in Ireland every year. According to a survey done by the Road Safety Authority, over 1 in 10 motorists have actually fallen asleep at the wheel.

3 Check your journey

There are often weather warnings and accidents on the road so prepare your journey. Even if your just going to work listen or check weather and news updates to ensure you will get to your destination safely. The Road Authority advise listening to sources such as the Department of Transport, local radio stations, Met Eireann, AA Roadwatch and the Garda updates.

4 How is your night vision?

When it comes to driving safe, have a regular eye test. It is extremely important if you are driving at night. Some people struggle more then others at seeing in the dark and an eye test will recognize this. This way your eye care can protect you on the roads.

5 Making your car safe

Having your car fully serviced is very important when tackling the roads at night. Regular checks are also key to ensuring road safety. Your car cannot run without the right amount of oil so make sure you check your oil level by simply pulling out the dipstick and seeing where the oil level is. You should take your car in for an oil change on a regular basis. A tire pressure gauge is an affordable and easy to use tool that can prevent a flat tire or worse. Tires that are improperly inflated can cause blowouts that lead to accidents. We depend on our brakes even more during dark roads so don’t wait until they start making noise to have them checked. See more on how to have your car winter ready HERE.