It goes without saying that driving at night is riskier. However, there are ways you can mitigate those risks and stay safe even if you drive at night often.
Why is driving at night dangerous, does it influence your car insurance, and how can you stay safe? Keep reading to find out.
Why Should You Be Careful When Driving At Night?
You should be careful when driving at night because visibility is often very limited, even with headlights on. You may also encounter other drivers who don’t drive safely, increasing your likelihood of getting into an accident.
How Night Driving Influences Your Insurance Rates
As long as you drive safely, night driving shouldn’t influence your auto insurance rates. Insurance companies will still cover accidents while driving at night as normal since there’s no different treatment, whether you get into an accident at night or during the day. However, you must be more careful driving at night because it’s often riskier.
That said, you should always strive to drive carefully because reckless driving, regardless of the time of day, will raise your insurance rates. Plus, your insurance rates may increase after getting into an accident.
Hazards of Night Driving
It’s common knowledge that night driving is more dangerous than driving in the daytime. But it still helps to understand what hazards you’ll face when driving at night. Here are hazards you should be aware of while driving during the night:
Essential Tips for Night Driving
When driving at night, you must be more vigilant to keep yourself safe. That’s why we’re here with essential night driving tips that can help you get to your destination safely:
If you want to learn how to drive safely in other circumstances, we also have a guide for safe driving in freezing rain.
Night Driving Checklist
It’s the evening, and you’re planning to drive somewhere. Whether your destination is just around the corner or you’re anticipating a long drive, it’s a good idea to ensure that you take every measure to keep you (and others) safe. Here’s a quick checklist you can go over before embarking on a night drive:
- Your essential documents, like your driver’s licence and proof of insurance, are with you. Remember, getting caught driving without a licence will result in legal consequences.
- You’re not tired or impaired.
- Your headlights are in perfect working order.
- Your brake lights and turn signals are working properly.
- Your windows and mirrors are clean.
- Your interior lights are off.
- You have a route planned out.
If everything’s checked, you’re ready to go!
Key Advice From MyChoice
Now that we’ve learned about the hazards of driving at night and how to mitigate its risks let’s go over a few top tips:
- Drive slower since driving at night means your visibility is low. Driving slower gives you extra time to react to road incidents, reducing your risk of getting into an accident.
- Keep your lights in perfect working order so you have maximum visibility and can signal other drivers properly on the road. You should also observe proper night driving etiquette, like dimming headlights while approaching oncoming vehicles to keep other drivers safe.
- Keep your windows and mirrors clean to ensure maximum visibility while driving.
- Never drive while tired or impaired. If you’re tired, you should take a break before driving to ensure your concentration and focus are at their prime.