If you are someone who does not like to drive after dark, then you are not alone because many people feel this way. One of the reasons for this is probably because you do not feel safe. This is completely justified since the National Safety Council states that the most dangerous time to drive is at night.
While this risk is the biggest concern when Daylight Savings Time ends and days get shorter, it is still something worth paying attention to for the rest of the year. Even though the majority of driving happens during the day, half of all accidents happen at night.
The factors
There are a couple of reasons why driving at night increases your safety risk. To begin with, the human eye does not do well in low light. Its design is not one meant for seeing in the darkness, so you automatically have impaired vision when driving after the sun goes down. You have a limited field of vision that can prevent you from seeing hazards early enough to avoid them.
Another issue is fatigue. The dark hours of the day fall at night or in the early morning, which are both times when people often feel most tired. Fatigue by itself is a risk for a driver, so when you combine that with the vision limitations, it makes sense that driving at night is hazardous.
Another risk
In addition to the main factors that play a role in making night driving dangerous, there is also an assumption you may make that could put you at a higher risk of a nighttime accident. It is important to recognize that driving in the dark makes even familiar roadways more dangerous. It is easy to think you know the road and therefore the risk is minor, but this is a false sense of security that could result in a car crash.
