Can I please ask for driving in the dark tips

[Witchofzog]

I passed my test in April so have been fortunate enough to get to grips with things in good weather conditions and in daylight.

However it is getting darker now and my drive from work involves an A road with no lights and a crossroads junction where it is really hard to see if it is safe to make a right turn across oncoming traffic in the dark. Some cars seem to have really bright lights too which are not full beam which I find to be quite dazzling on the A road

So can anyone share any driving in the dark tips please to help me acclimatise?

Thank you

Yellow night driving goggles are my BFF now. Love them. About £8 from Amazon, go over my normal glasses. Make me look a wally but I don't care as they solve the dazzle and glare problem.

Give yourself time to observe the junction as you approach. If you use that road already you’ll be familiar with it to a certain degree but just give yourself a bit more stopping time to observe the junction as you approach.

You’ll get used to it in the dark and light if you use it regularly.

Use your headlights

Ensure that your car's windscreen & windows are clean & streak-free, inside & out.

If you wear glasses, make sure they're clean & smudge-free too.

If you don't wear glasses or contacts, consider having an eye test and mention that you're finding night driving to be a challenge.

And check that your own car headlights are correctly adjusted so that you're not inadvertently dazzling others.

get an eye test if you haven't had one in the last two years.

modern cars are really badly designed and dazzle is just a fact of life, along with indicators that you can't see. All you can do is wait until you are sure it is safe to go.

Thank you people. I don't wear glasses currently but I am due an eye test soon so I will fast track that. I am off to research yellow night goggles now

If the car dazzling you is behind you, press down the little button on the bottom of your rear view mirror. It changes the angle of the mirror so you can still see what's behind you but without the glare.

I second a PP's tip about making sure your windscreen is clean, particularly on the inside. That makes such a difference.

I was also told many years ago by my driving instructor that when driving at night or in low visibility, I should focus on the white line at the edge of the road - NOT the middle - to help me keep a straight trajectory. That came in quite handy when driving in heavy rain the other night.

Make sure your headlights are angled correctly. Every car has a control for adjusting the dip. I regularly hire cars and the number of times I’ve switched the lights on to find that they’re pointing right down and only illuminating a tiny distance in front of the car. This is one of the reasons why some oncoming lights will appear very bright and others will appear very dim.

I have the night driving goggles that fit over existing glasses - so whether you wear glasses or not, you can get some to suit. They really do work.

Also make sure the glass on all your lights is clean too. It's amazing how much dirt sticks to them if you've been following a lorry on a wet road, for example.

Don't look directly at the headlights. Look to one side of them. You can still see everything but you won't be so dazzled.

Try to look ahead on unlit roads, you can get clues to where the road is going if you see oncoming cars from far away, or seeing the lights from cars ahead of you.

Remember to dip your headlights if you're using high beams.

Judging distances in the dark gets better with practise.

So I have found some night glasses online which I will order soon and I got the car cleaned today. Tomorrow is the first properly dark drive so wish me luck

Good luck :)