If your vehicle starts to slide, ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and quickly steer the way you want the
vehicle to
go. If you start steering quickly enough, your
vehicle may straighten out. Always be ready for a
second skid
if it occurs.
Driving at Night
Of course, traction is reduced when water, snow, ice,
gravel or other material is on the road, For safety, you’ll
want
to slow down and adjust your driving to these
conditions. It is important to slow down
on slippery
surfaces because stopping distance will be longer and
vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with reduced traction, try
your best to avoid sudden steering, acceleration or
braking (including engine braking by shifting to
a lower
gear). Any sudden changes could cause
the tires to
slide. You may not realize the surface is slippery until
your vehicle is skidding. Learn to recognize warning
clues
-- such as enough water, ice or packed snow on
the road to make a “mirrored surface” -- and slow
down when you have any doubt.
Remember: Any anti-lock brake system
(ABS) helps alcohol or drugs, with night vision problems, or by fatigue.
avoid only the braking skid. Night driving
is more dangerous than day driving. One
reason
is that some drivers are likely to be impaired -- by
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Here are some tips on night driving.
Drive defensively.
Don't drink and drive.
Adjust yous inside rearview mirror to reduce the
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glare from headlamps behind you.
Since
you can't see as well, you may need to slow
down
and keep more space between you and other
vehicles.
Slow down, especially on higher speed roads. Your
headlamps can light up only
so much ro8ad ahead.
In remote areas, watch for animals.
If you're tired, pull off the road in a safe place and
Night Vision
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But as
we get older these differences increase. A 50-year-old
driver may require at least twice as much light to see the
same
thing at night as a 21)-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your night
vision.
For example, if you spend the day in bright,
sunshine
you are wise to wear sunglasses. YQU~ eyes will
rest, have less trouble adjusting
to night. But if
you're
driving, don't wear sunglasses at night. They may cat
down ol-i glare from headlamps, but they also make a lot
of things invisible.'
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps.
It CZUI take a sec'ond or two, or even several
seconds,
for your eyes to readjust to the dark When you
are faced with severe glare (as
horn a driver who
doesn't lower the.high
beams, or a vehicle with
misaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring
directly into the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle ". ' ' ''
clean -- inside and out. Glare at night is'made much
worse by
dirt on the glass, Even the inside of the glass
can
build up a film caused by dust, Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more
than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyqs contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less
of a
roadway
when you are in a turn or cur&. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it's easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just
as your headlamps- should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be exmined regularly. Some drivers suffer from night
blindness
-- the inability to see in dim light -- and
aren't even aware of it.
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