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Car Safety
How to improve night vision for safer driving
Night blindness, as well as difficulty seeing at night, can be a major problem if you need to drive after dark. This guide offers tips to improve your vision and stay safe while driving at night.
Despite less traffic on the road, driving at night has always been more dangerous than driving during the daytime. Data from the National Road Safety Partnership Program (NRSPP) reveals that that 40 per cent of all crashes occur at night, even though only 25 per cent of all driving occurs during nighttime hours.
While fatigue and increased wildlife can contribute to an increased risk of crashing at night, the dangers of reduced visibility at night cannot be overstated.
According to the NRSPP, 90 per cent of a motorist's ability to react depends on their vision, which can be greatly impacted at night (as well as in other low-light environments).
The good news is there are ways to improve your visibility when driving at night - here's what you need to know.
More: Tips for driving safely in fog, rain, snow, and poor-visibility conditions
In this article
If you're having trouble seeing at night, it could be an issue with your car, or your eyesight. Image: Getty
Tips for seeing better when driving at night
Clean your windscreen and mirrors
Dirty windscreens or mirrors can impede driving visibility at all times of the day, including at night. You can improve your nighttime driving visbility instantly by cleaning your windscreens and mirrors. Keep your car's wiper fluid level full so you can address dirty windscreens that may arise while driving.
Service your car regularly
A regular car service typically includes checking your headlights, with mechanics able to replace or realign the bulbs where necessary. There are many additional benefits to regular car servicing, including limproved safety, maintaining a higher resale value, and a better chance of avoiding costly breakdowns.
Old, dying or dirty headlights
If you only have trouble seeing while driving at night (but not at night in general), then your car could be the cause.
Even the best working headlights only provide around 76m of illumination in front of your vehicle. If those headlights are reaching the end of their life or have become dirty, it can greatly impact your ability to see well while driving at night.
High beams roughly double the illumination distance of regular headlights but shouldn't be used on roads with a lot of oncoming traffic. High beams should also be dimmed at least 200m from other cars to prevent potentially blinding oncoming drivers.
Drive to the conditions
Driving to the conditions means adjusting your driving behaviour to account for the driving environment. This can include measures like reducing your speed and increasing your following distance to account for external factors like low visibility - such as experienced at night.
Don't look directly at lights
Looking directly at oncoming headlights, not to mention highbeams, can temporarily dazzle you and make it even harder to see at night. Focus your eyes to the left side of the road to minimise the chance of being blinded by headlights.
Visit the optometrist
Having trouble seeing at night or in other low light environments is a major sign to visit an optometrist. Even if you don't have noticeable vision problems, Transport Victoria recommends having your eyesight check by an optometrist every two years, with those over 65 or with pre-existing eye conditions encouraged to be checked more often.
Other signs you may need to have your eyes checked include:
- Blurry vision
- Glare or halos, especially when looking at lights at night
- Eye strain
- Double vision
- Squinting
- Trouble focusing
- Headaches
Wear your glasses or contacts
It's commonsense, but if you're prescribed glasses or contact lenses to wear while driving then you must use them.
While you shouldn't store glasses in the car, bringing a spare pair with you is a good idea in case you break or lose your regular pair.
Poor night vision can make headlights look blurry and distances hard to determine. Image: Getty.
What is night blindness?
Night blindness, also known as nyctalopia, is when you have trouble seeing at night or in other low-light environments. You may or may not also have vision problems during the day.
Night blindness isn't a condition in itself, but rather a symptom that can be caused by many other conditions. If you are having trouble seeing at night, you should consult an optometrist or GP, and avoid driving at night until given medical clearance.
What eye and health conditions can impair night vision and make driving at night unsafe?
Common causes of poor night vision, night blindness and increased difficulty driving at night include:
Myopia
Myopia refers to people who are short-sighted, as they can also suffer from poor night vision, according to the Better Health Channel. This is because myopic eyes tend to be longer than the retina, meaning the retinal pigment can be stretched, leading to sensitivity to low light.
Age
As we age, our eyes can deteriorate. The NRSPP states that a 50-year-old needs twice as much light to see clearly compared to a 30-year-old. Conditions that can affect eyesight, such as glaucoma and diabetes, also become more common as we age.
Cataracts
Cataracts are one of the major causes of vision impairment, according to the Better Health Channel. Cataracts are caused by changes to the lens of the eye, causing it to take in fluid. Cataracts slowly cloud the lens and your vision, impacting on the light that enters your eyes.
Overexposure to sunlight can accelerate the formation of cataracts. Wearing sunglasses protects the eyes from harsh damage by preventing the lens of the eye from absorbing more sunlight and UV rays.
Are glasses better than contacts for driving at night?
There are no contact lenses specifically designed for driving at night. If you’re someone who wears monovision or multifocal contact lenses, you may find that your distance vision, especially at dawn and dusk, is compromised due to the changes in light with the sun rising and setting. Using distance-only contact lenses or swapping to glasses for nighttime driving can help address this problem.
Be mindful that air conditioning in cars can also cause eye irritation and dryness for those wearing contacts. If you don't want to swap to glasses, consider repositioning your air con vents and keeping eye drops handy.
Tips for safe driving at night
- Avoid driving when tired
- Clean your windscreen and mirrors
- Check headlights are clean and at correct angle
- Don't look directly at oncoming headlights
- Maintain a safe following distance
- Drive according to the road conditions
- Watch out for wildlife
