Why Driving Is Most Dangerous at Night

 Posted on October 18, 2017 in Personal Injury

With the cold, winter months approaching, the days are getting shorter.When the sun comes up later and sets earlier, normal driving hours are growing progressively darker and more dangerous. According to the National Safety Council research, drivers’ risk of being involved in a deadly car crash triples when driving at night. That increased risk isn’tjust a matter of your own decreased capacity to safely operate a vehicle in dimly lit conditions, it’s a matter of getting on the road with other drivers who will be as impaired as you are, if not more. The top reasons for driver impairment at night include:

• Fatigue: Lack on sunlight causes the body’s melatonin levels to rise, there by signaling the brain that it is time to sleep. Regardless of a driver’susual bedtime, darkness still creates a level of lethargy and tiredness that slows reaction time and puts drivers at risk of nodding off at the wheel.
• Impaired Vision: Even if your eyesight is 20/20, your ability to see clearly is diminished in the dark. Vision also tends to dwindle as people age, but this doesn’t mean that only senior citizens are at risk of accidents while driving in the dark. All drivers are at an ever-increasing risk of nighttime car accidents as they age, which is why drivers of any age should have regular checkups with an optometrist to receive updated prescriptions for contacts and glasses.
• Drunk Driving: This one has more to do with the time of day than the level of light, but the darkness certainly doesn’t help. Even if you are not driving drunk or driving while buzzed, there are people on the road who are, and your ability to identify and avoid a drunk driver is diminished in the dark.You can avoid deadly nighttime accidents involving drunk drivers by reducing your speed and maintaining greater distance between your vehicle and others’when driving at night.

Changing your schedule to avoid driving in the dark is probably not an option. However, there are steps you can take to minimize the risk and protect yourself from being another casualty of a deadly, nighttime accident or experiencing a serious injury. Make sure you are able to see properly on the road by checking and cleaning your headlights, wearing non-reflective glasses, maintaining clean windows and mirrors, and driving at a decreased speed.

If you have been involved in a nighttime car accident and have suffered significant personal harm, legal action could be thebest way forward. Our Greenwich personal injury lawyers at Ivey Barnum& O’Mara, LLC are ready and willing to be your advocates in court and help you obtain appropriate compensation. We are committed to helping you move forward.

Call us at 203-661-6000 or schedule your complimentary consultationtoday.