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 dlmly
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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