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 20-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. Your eyes will
have less trouble adjusting to night. But if you’re
driving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cut
down on glare from headlamps, but they also make
a
lot
of
things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes
to
readjust to the dark. When
you
are faced with severe glare (as from
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 eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less
of
a
roadway when
you
are
in
a turn or curve. 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 examined 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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