Safe Night Driving
According to reports from the National Safety Council, traffic deaths occur at three times the daytime rate during the after-dark hours. Today, we want to give you some tips for how to stay safe at night while driving. These tips apply whether you’re a seasoned driver or just getting started, and we hope they help you be more conscious of ways you can improve the safety of our roadways – for everybody.
We’ll get the big one out of the way first: Don’t drink and drive. We know that alcohol consumption is a big part most of our social lives, and we certainly don’t want to deny anyone safe, responsible fun with friends, but there’s no excuse good enough for getting behind the wheel after drinking to the point of impairment. Plan ahead, don’t do it. The Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department plans on stepping up traffic safety enforcement during the month of March, so even if you don’t encounter the worst case scenario on the road, you could be looking at appropriately steep penalties for creating such a hazard for yourself and others.
Next up: Make sure all your lights are in good working order. That includes seeing to it that they’re clear of snow and debris – in other words, clean them off regularly! Replace bulbs that aren’t in good condition. Also, clean your windshield inside and out to reduce glare and improve visibility.
If you’re traveling by highway or another busy roadway, decrease your speed and following distance. It’s much more difficult to accurately guess how fast another vehicle is going at night, so you need to account for that by taking extra precaution.
If you’re on a more isolated roadway, be cognizant of your high beam use when you do encounter another vehicle. Make sure you’re turning your low beams on whenever you encounter another vehicle, either head-on or from behind.
In the event that you do experience car trouble, pull as far away from the road as you can and use your hazard lights. Likewise, if you approach a car pulled to the side, move into another lane whenever possible to give them plenty of clearance.
If you see one deer, there could very well be more where that came from, so stay alert.
We hope everyone in our area is driving safely at all hours of the day and night, but it never hurts to remind ourselves of some safety measures. Best of luck, and drive safely!