With the loss of Daylight Saving, many commuters are now returning home in the dark.
In addition, during the holidays, many families drive to or from relatives' or friends' homes late at night.
Personal Injury Attorney Craig Swapp joined us to talk about the dangers of driving at night, and to offer some tips to keep you and your passengers safe.
Swapp says despite 60 percent less traffic on the roads, more than 40 percent of all fatal car accidents happen at night.
The National Safety Council says there are several factors that contribute to making night driving more dangerous, including fatigue, driving under the influence and compromised night vision.
Swapp offered some tips to combat fatigue. He says it's important to be alert to the signs of being too tired to drive. According to the National Sleep Foundation, those include difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, trouble remembering the last few miles driven, or feeling restless and irritable.
If you are experiencing any of those things, do the right thing and pull over at the nearest exit and take a nap.
When it comes to driving under the influence, Swapp says the reality is that more people are more likely to drink and drive at night. If you've been drinking, he says it's pretty simple, don't drive.
Swapp says all drivers suffer a drop in depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision while driving at night, and he says the National Safety Council explains that a 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light to see as well as a 30-year-old driver.
In general, if you feel you are having a difficult time distinguishing shapes while driving at night, it’s time to get an eye exam and consider limiting night driving.
Swapp recommends that older drivers and drivers with degenerative eye diseases have annual vision exams and if necessary, limit driving to daytime hours.
If you want more information you can call Craig Swapp & Associates at 1-800-404-9000 or visit their website craigswapp.com
