Driving in the dark – does it fill you with fear? Many drivers panic when they are forced to drive in the dark. It’s thought that at least half of drivers don’t feel as safe driving at night as they do during the day. And yet, it can be considerably easier to drive in the dark and, with practice, you should have no issues.
We’ve put together this handy article on driving at night, covering the following:
- General tips for driving at night
- Laws on driving at night
- Taking driving lessons at night – what to be aware of
- Night blindness
Driving whilst it’s dark doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Read on to find out why along with our top tips and advice on how to tackle it safely.
General tips for driving at night
Here are our top tips for driving at night:
- Be alert: It’s important always to remain alert while driving, but even more so at night when visibility is reduced. Be aware of your surroundings. Watch out for hazards, from animals running into the road to potential drunk drivers. Always be on the lookout for sudden tight bends, so you are prepared and can slow down in advance.
- Keep your car clean: A dirty windscreen or even mirrors can reduce visibility for you and other drivers. They are also more likely to steam up and experience glare from another driver’s headlights.
- Look out for pedestrians: Unless they are wearing reflective clothing, which is unlikely unless they are cyclists, pedestrians can easily be missed at night. Take extra care while driving through busy areas such as town centres, especially at the weekend near open venues such as pubs, clubs and restaurants.
- Use your main beam on unlit roads: Country roads are rarely well-lit, so if dipped headlights prove unhelpful, switch over to your main beam (see our driving in the fog page for a guide to the correct full-beam symbols). Always switch back to dipped headlights if you see another car approaching, otherwise your lights will dazzle the driver.
- Increase your stopping distance: Increasing your stopping distance will help you stop in emergencies. Always leave a gap within the range of your headlights.
- Switch off headlights when stationary: Switching off your headlights when stationary will avoid confusing other drivers.
Laws on driving at night
As unlikely as it sounds, there are few laws on driving at night. Yet, there are a couple of important ones you should be aware of.
- It is illegal to sound your car horn in a built-up area between 11:30 pm and 7:00 am unless another road user poses a danger. If you are caught using your car horn illegally, you will be fined with a fixed penalty notice of £30, which could increase to up to £1,000 should you fail to pay it in time.
- If you are a learner, you must still display an L plate at night, even if you are taking lessons or practising in a deserted area.
Taking driving lessons at night – what to be aware of
You’ll likely have a driving lesson in the dark at some point, especially if you take driving lessons in the winter when it becomes dark from as early as 4 pm.
Although taking a driving lesson at night might feel nerve-wracking, it’s great practice for the future. Your surroundings dramatically change in the dark. Practising manoeuvres will feel different, you’ll need to carry out more detailed 360-degree observations, and this will help to increase your driving confidence. It will also help you get used to using full-beam lights correctly on country roads.
We spoke to Nathan Clarke, who provides driving lessons in London about taking driving lessons at night and he said, ‘I think it’s very important for pupils to try, even just once, taking a driving lesson when it’s dark. You’d be surprised how much easier it actually is. The roads are quiet and there are fewer people around, meaning you can concentrate purely on your driving skills.”
Night blindness
Everyone experiences some difficulty seeing and driving in the dark, but it is on a whole new level if you have night blindness.
What is night blindness?
Unlike its name suggests, people who have night blindness (also known as nyctalopia) are not blind, but they find it hard to see in low light conditions.
Are you finding that you are blinded by lights when driving at night or do you struggle to see things in dimly lit places? If so, then you may have the condition. The following are night blindness symptoms:
- Being unable to see stars in the night sky
- Blurry or cloudy vision
- Constantly finding yourself squinting or straining your eyes in low light
- Difficulty seeing things far away
- Difficulty reading or seeing objects and faces in low light
- Discomfort when moving from a bright place to a darker one or losing the ability to see for more than a few minutes
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Problems looking at bright lights
- Seeing glare
- Seeing halos around lights
- Sensitivity to light
- Stumbling or tripping in dimly lit places, even if they’re familiar
Night blindness and driving
Driving with night blindness can be very dangerous. The glare and halos from lamposts and car headlights can irritate and reduce your reaction time, making nighttime driving in cities such as Glasgow a nightmare. Switching from well-lit built-up areas to dark country lanes can make it harder to see. You may even struggle to read road signs or spot hazards as you can’t see distant objects. All these eyesight problems make you much more likely to crash.
What causes night blindness when driving
Night blindness occurs when the rod cells at the back of your eyes have been damaged or affected so that they don’t work as they should. This can be caused by several different conditions, including:
- Astigmatism: A condition where the eye’s lens or cornea has an irregular shape, causing problems with vision.
- Cataracts: Where the eye lens looks cloudy. This condition is more likely to affect older people, as well as those with diabetes or high blood sugar levels.
- Glaucoma: A condition causing too much pressure in the eye damaging your vision.
- Laser vision corrective surgery: In some instances, the surgery changes the shape of the cornea and night blindness can be a side effect.
- Nearsightedness (also known as short-sightedness or myopia): This causes distant objects to appear blurred in any light.
- Rare genetic diseases: These include cone-rod dystrophy, retinitis pigmentosa (which causes dark pigment to collect in your retina and creates tunnel vision), and Usher Syndrome (a condition affecting both hearing and vision).
- Vitamin A deficiency: This stops your eyes’ photoreceptors from working correctly. It’s a particular risk for people who have had weight loss surgery, or those with pancreatic insufficiency, such as people with cystic fibrosis.
- Zinc deficiency: Zinc helps the body to absorb vitamin A, and if you don’t have enough of it you can get vitamin A deficiency.
Some medications can also affect how light enters your eye. If you have any concerns about medication side effects, talk to your GP and they can work with you to find alternatives.
Can you drive with night blindness?
Night blindness mainly affects your eyesight during low light conditions so you should be safe to drive during the day. If you are sensitive to bright lights you can wear sunglasses to prevent this from being a problem. However, until the cause of night blindness is treated, it is important to stay away from driving in low-light conditions. This will keep you safe and others too.
If you are concerned you have night blindness, book an appointment with an optician who can check what is going on in your eyes and give advice. They can help treat many causes of night blindness. Getting the problem diagnosed quickly can stop any eyesight problems from getting worse.
How to help night blindness when driving
Many forms of night blindness are treatable and treatment depends on the reason for the night blindness. For example, cataracts can be treated by surgery, vitamin A deficiency can be corrected with supplements, and nearsightedness/astigmatism issues can be improved through corrective glasses. Many opticians sell night driving glasses for night blindness driving, which reduce glare and blur.
However, some conditions, such as the rare genetic conditions listed above, can’t be treated. If this is the case for you, avoid nighttime driving and take the following steps to keep yourself safe on the roads:
- Always take your mobile phone with you when driving. That way, if you ever find yourself struggling with your vision, you can pull over and call someone for help.
- Keep your windscreen and mirrors clean to reduce glare.
- If you need to travel at night or in low light conditions, get a lift, take public transport or book a taxi.
- Plan journeys to ensure that they happen during daylight conditions. Check in advance traffic levels and the sunrise/sunset times to ensure you’ll depart and arrive at your destination whilst it’s full daylight outside.
- Plan regular breaks to reduce the risk of your eyes getting tired.
- If you are driving in bright conditions, wear sunglasses to reduce glare and help ease the transition to darker environments, such as tunnels.
Informing the DVLA
If you suffer from night blindness, you must inform the DVLA. You could be fined up to £1,000 if you don’t or even be prosecuted if you are involved in an accident due to night blindness, so it’s worth doing. You can report it on the DVLA website or complete form V1 and post it to them.
