Car accidents happen more frequently at night – this will not be a surprise to anybody who drives a car or watches the news. We deal with a lot of accident damage and handle a lot of insurance claims so we thought we’d share some of the reasons for why this might be, and what you can do to stay safe on the road at night.

1: It’s dark.

This may seem obvious, but it’s one of the major contributing factors to accidents at night! Our eyes are clearly not designed for great night vision, so darkness adds an extra layer of difficulty to everything we do. Little things that you compensate for (e.g a dirty windshield) or neglect to do (e.g. checking your blind spot when changing lanes) during the daytime are a lot more risky at night, because there’s a significant impairment on the sense you normally use to assess your surroundings – your sight. The best way to stay safe in the dark is to make sure that your car is always in good condition and that you’re that little bit extra alert and courteous to other drivers.

2: Bright lights.

If you’ve ever been blinded by someone else’s high beams you’ll understand how disorienting and dangerous it can be. Consideration for other drivers in this regard is an important part of staying safe – ideally you should have your lights on low-beam if there are vehicles ahead of you within 200m. It’s important not to look directly into the other car’s headlights if you do get dazzled, as you run the risk of your car following your line of vision.

Other sources of bright light can be equally distracting and dangerous, for example if you’re driving towards the sun at dawn or sunset. Looking quickly from darkness to brightness and vice versa pushes the ability of your eyes to adjust, and can leave you temporarily unable to see much at all. In conjunction with the darkness, bright lights can actually hamper your ability to see properly. This includes having bright lights inside your car, like the LED screens on a lot of handheld devices.

If you’re driving in an area without a lot of streetlights, anything outside the light of your headlights may be all but invisible for the same reason. You may not see people or animals approaching the road until they’re right in front of you, so it’s always a good idea to reduce your speed to give yourself time to react to anything unexpected.

3: Hitting the town.

Human behaviour is another big factor in night-time accidents. People driving at night are usually not driving to work or dropping the kids off at school; they’re heading out for recreational or social reasons. Friday and Saturday nights see a lot of accidents for this reason, particularly among young and inexperienced drivers. Alcohol consumption, distractions inside the vehicle (like passengers, music and phones) and a more relaxed, less vigilant approach to driving are all much more likely to occur at night – and any of these can increase your risk of an accident.

Always stay alert when driving at night, even on empty roads, and if you’re planning to drink at your destination, make other arrangements for the return trip.

4: Night owls.

A lot of night driving occurs at times when we would normally be sleeping. This means increased levels of fatigue, slower reaction times and, by extension, greater risk of having an accident. If you’re yawning, feeling drowsy or restless, or if you find yourself veering out of your lane or making larger, slower steering adjustments, you’re already too tired to drive and should pull over as soon as you can.

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