Archive for June, 2011
Motor Vehicle Driving At Night
Too many times, I have driven home from class at night and have had to keep an eye out for deer in the roadway. Because of where I live geographically, it is not uncommon to find deer roaming around once the sun has set. Especially if you are exiting onto a ramp off of the highway, this is a popular place for deer and other wild animals to hang out (depending on how frequently that particular ramp is used). On more than one occasion, I have had to swerve to avoid hitting several deer who were just hanging out on the exit ramp.
Whenever you are getting ready to go anywhere at night, always make sure that you turn your headlights on. This should be the first thing that you do once you are seated inside of your car and have fastened your seatbelt. If you make a habit out of it to follow this pattern, then you should never have a problem remembering to turn your lights on. The same applies for when there is inclement weather outside such as rain, snow, sleet, etc. Too often, I drive and see people who don’t have their headlights on despite the fact that it is dark outside! Just last night, I was waiting to turn when I barely saw a Jeep drive by me. The reason that I ‘barely’ saw it was because it was a dark colored Jeep that didn’t have any of its lights on. I only saw it because there was another car that was following behind it.
If you want to avoid trouble with the law, make sure that you remember to turn your lights on. For instance, many of us have vehicles that have something often referred to as ‘daytime running lights’. These are lights that illuminate automatically whenever you turn your vehicle on. However, they are not the same thing as headlights.Daytime running lights are completely separate from parking lights and headlights altogether, but it is not uncommon for people to become confused and naturally assume that by having these lights on, it is enough. It is not. Most police officers will not hesitate to pull you over if you don’t have your headlights on when you are supposed to have them on. One of the main reasons for this is due to the fact that most people who drive drunk at night usually forget to turn their headlights on (for whatever reason), thereby cluing police officers in that something is awry.
Another thing that you want to be careful about is making sure that you reduce your speed when you are driving at night. Remember, because your visibility is not as great or as clear as it is during the day, this is all the more reason to reduce your speed so that you are more prepared to make an evasive movement, if necessary.
