Driving at night is one of the most dangerous activities for those behind the wheel and for those on foot or on bikes. Our AAA headlamp performance comparison shares that more than one-half of driver fatalities and nearly three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occur after dark. This is a staggering figure considering only one-quarter of driving is done at night. Keep reading to find our 13 tips for driving at night.

1. Avoid Driving While Tired

Driving in the dark is draining, as your brain connects nighttime with sleep and relaxation. Without the daytime brightness, you might feel yourself dozing off as you drive.

To avoid fatigue from impacting your driving, you should:

  • Think about your biological clock and when you usually feel sleepy.
  • Schedule a break in your drive.
  • Get a full night’s sleep before getting behind the wheel.
  • Drink caffeine or something bubbly to keep alert.
  • Play music that energizes you.
  • Roll down the window for some fresh air.
  • Turn on cold air conditioning.
  • Sing along to music or have a conversation with a passenger.

While these tips can be part of your strategy to stay alert, they’re not a substitution for sleep itself. If you’re starting to feel drowsy behind the wheel, pull over or book a nearby hotel to get some sleep before continuing on your drive.

2. Be Alert and Drive Defensively

Even if you’re not feeling tired, it’s important to stay alert and keep an eye out for other cars while driving at night. Other drivers can be sleepy and drift off while operating their vehicles. Or, they can be aggressive and speed with fewer people on the road.

In either case, it’s important to be alert and drive defensively at night. If you get into an accident or need to pull over, be sure to have a stocked car emergency kit prepared.

3. Clean Your Windshield and Mirrors

Driving in the dark makes smears and streaks on your windshield and mirrors more noticeable. These can be distracting and limit your visibility during a time when it’s already more difficult to see.

Clean your windshield and mirrors regularly, especially before a long road trip, to increase visibility as much as possible.

4. Avoid Unlit Roads and Two-Lane Highways

To ensure you’re as safe as possible, common tips for driving at night include being mindful of the type of road you’re traveling on. Taking other drivers into account, it’s best to avoid unlit roads and two-lane highways. Unlit roads can be dangerous if other drivers don’t turn on their headlights, making it difficult to see pedestrians, bikers and wildlife. Two-lane highways can also be dangerous, as it’s more difficult to avoid fatigued drivers and those who travel at high speeds if they swerve into your lane.

If these roads are unavailable, it’s best to look for alternate routes that include multi-lane highways or well-lit roads or to save travel until the morning.

5. Slow Down

Driving slower at night can help you to avoid potential disaster. Other drivers may be unsafe – either they’re notably tired, speeding or swerving – so reducing your speed allows you more to react, stop or avoid a collision.

Beyond other drivers, driving slower at night also allows you to see and react to any people, animals or obstacles near the road. However, it’s important that you don’t over-adjust and drive too slowly, which can be equally as dangerous when other vehicles are on the road.

6. Limit Interior Light Distractions

While there are many ways you can keep yourself awake and alert while driving at night, one thing you shouldn’t do is turn on any lights inside your vehicle. This includes interior and device lights, which can provide a distraction where you take your eyes off the road.

If one of your passengers is using their phone, ask them to turn the brightness down as low as possible to avoid light distractions that take your focus off driving.

7. Maintain Your Headlights

A less often thought-of tip for driving at night is something you can regularly do as part of your car maintenance: maintaining your headlights. Foggy headlights limit the forward illumination from your headlights as you drive at night.

You can clean foggy headlights at home and should do so regularly to make sure you can clearly see the road while driving in the dark.

8. Test and Use Your Lights

Even with clean lights, deficiencies in headlight performance in the U.S. is an issue. Low-beam headlights on most vehicles do not provide an adequate amount of light when driving at moderate speeds like 40 mph. High beams do improve forward illumination by 28 percent in comparison and are much more effective at providing the proper amount of light when traveling at higher speeds.

Test your lights at nighttime to see what your visibility level is with low-beam, high-beam and fog lights so you can use the appropriate level at the right time.

9. Use High Beams Appropriately

When driving at night, you should use high beams to drastically increase visibility, as long as you use them appropriately and switch them off when there’s oncoming traffic to prevent blinding them. However, if drivers do not regularly use their high beams at night, their visibility may not be optimal, and a motorist will likely not have enough time to react to something or someone in the roadway.

Even with the increased visibility, high beams can obstruct the views of oncoming motorists. To alleviate this, some newer U.S. vehicles are equipped with technology that automatically switches between high and low beam, which does help to address this issue and increase visibility, but only when other vehicles aren’t present.

10. Be Aware of Pedestrians

The Federal Highway Administration reported that 76 percent of pedestrian deaths happen at nighttime. Even with advanced safety features like pedestrian detection systems, the dark of night can limit functionality and not alert you to the presence of people near your car. It’s even more difficult to see people if they’re dressed in dark colors, posing even more of a collision risk.

While you can’t always control where pedestrians walk, you can be alert and aware of your surroundings to limit the chances of hitting them.

11. Look Out for Wildlife

As with pedestrians, wildlife also poses a risk of causing accidents. Many larger animals are more active when there are fewer people and cars on the roads. Therefore, it can be harder to see them on the side of or crossing the road. Part of being alert while driving at night is watching for wildlife and doing everything possible to avoid colliding with them.

12. Avoid Being Blinded by Oncoming Traffic

While you should always keep your eyes ahead while driving, avoid staring at one particular spot on the road. Rotate your gaze through multiple locations to be aware of your surroundings and continually monitor the road ahead.

As other vehicles approach, you should avert your eyes to avoid staring directly into their headlights so they don’t cause temporary blind spots that limit your vision. Even causing spotty vision can inhibit your visibility and cause you to miss important signs or obstacles.

13. Monitor Your Eye Health

You should have your eyes examined annually, especially as you age, to diagnose and treat any vision issues immediately. As we get older, our vision changes and deteriorates, which can negatively affect nighttime driving abilities.

In addition, night driving can be difficult for people whose eyes are strongly affected by headlight glare. Having your eyes checked and getting glasses with prescription lenses to limit glare can help.

Use These Tips for Driving at Night for a Safe Journey

Having a vehicle with the best car safety ratings will only do so much if you’re not prepared for the difference between driving at night versus during the day. Consider the tips above for driving at night the next time you’re out in the dark to make your trip as safe as possible.

If you get stuck or encounter any issues on your nighttime adventure, contact roadside assistance for 24/7 help with your AAA membership.