Nighttime driving + car accidents: What to know
Brandon J. Broderick, Personal Injury Attorney at Law
Many people hate driving in the dark, but is it more dangerous to drive at night than during the day? Studies by the?National Safety Council?show that although we typically only do about 25% of our driving time during the night hours, 50% of fatal traffic deaths happen at night.?
So, is driving at night more dangerous? It would appear so, but why?
Why Is Driving at Night More Dangerous?
Driving at night is more dangerous for various reasons. Reasons such as decreased visibility,?drowsy drivers, and?people driving under the influence of alcohol?are all common factors.?
Decreased Visibility
Driving at night is difficult because you rely on street lights and headlights for your complete road visibility. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology,?night vision?is almost entirely in black and white, and seeing colors at night is highly challenging.?
Seeing the yellow lines on the road proves to be difficult at night, and knowing exactly where you are on the road is challenging when you can’t properly see the lines.?
You’ll also be much more likely to crash into an inanimate object or a hazard that unexpectedly enters the road. For example, animals that run onto the road without warning are much more likely to cause an accident when the incident happens at night because you won’t see the hazard until it may be too late.?
Once you see the hazard, you don’t have as much time to react as you would have had the incident occurred during the day.?
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Drowsy Drivers?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,?drowsy driving?crashes most commonly occur between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. This statistic means that when driving at night, whether you’re drowsy or not, you are still more likely to come in contact with another driver who is.?
Drowsy driving can be dangerous because sleep deprivation primarily affects your brain and its ability to make quick and careful decisions. According to the?Sleep Foundation, operating a car while drowsy is similar in danger level to driving while drunk or high.?
Drivers Who Are Driving Under the Influence
It’s no secret that people who drive while drunk or under the influence of drugs are reckless and dangerous. According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, one person every 48 minutes is killed by a?drunk driver.?
That statistic proves driving under the influence is a significant problem and causes more accidents than any other form of impairment. A 2017 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that 32% of all?single-vehicle crashes?involving alcohol impairment happen at night.?
Since drunk driving is much more likely to occur at night than during the day, naturally, that makes driving at night a more dangerous choice.?