Quest for Zero: Safe driving between dusk and dawn Published May 26, 2016 By Steve Serrette 72nd Air Base Wing Safety Office TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- There are no "bad cars," only "bad drivers." There are more drivers on the roads than ever before in our nation's history and many of them are traveling all hours of the day and night, all across the country, and in good and bad weather conditions. It's up to the vehicle operator to remain alert, especially at night, when road dangers wax and alertness wanes. According to the National Safety Council, vehicle death rates at night are three times higher than during the day, yet many of us are unaware of the hazards that night driving poses or effective ways to handle them. This ongoing night-time death rate is an especially mind-jolting statistic considering fewer drivers occupy the roads after dusk! If you plan on driving after the sun goes down, it's important to remember that driving at night presents different challenges than driving during the day. One of the main issues is that sunlight provides the strongest light source. After it goes down at night, there are a variety of man-made lights that help drivers safely navigate the roads. Our eyes will adjust to lower levels of light (pupils dilate in darkness and constrict in brightness), but they have difficulty functioning properly when switching from bright to dark, or vice-versa. This can happen quite a lot on the roads at night when you look directly into the headlights of oncoming traffic. At dusk, for example, the problem arises while the sky is still well lit, the roads begin to get dark. This causes a disparity between light and dark and can cause vision problems for drivers. Just after sunrise and before sunset the sun can shine directly into drivers' eyes, leaving many motorists driving with a glare. This glare can make it much harder to see the road ahead and potential hazards, creating an added vision risk to drivers. Lack of proper vision is highly problematic as almost 90 percent of a driver's reaction depends on it. Without the favor of sunlight, depth perception, peripheral vision, and color recognition plummet, demanding more sharpened focus at a time when weariness begins to weight the eyes. Nighttime is also infamous for attracting much greater numbers of booze-addled drivers (drunk-driver-related car fatalities are statistically highest on Friday and Saturday nights) and roaming four-legged wildlife. All this has the potential to create an almost video-game-like setting of endless distractions on the road. All of the aforementioned now brings us to the topic of using our headlights when driving in less-than-desirable light conditions. Driving in low light can be dangerous for anyone, and you might think knowing when to turn your vehicle's headlights on is simply a matter of common sense, but U.S. laws for headlight use actually vary widely from state to state. A recent analysis by Nissan Auto Company revealed that the majority of states require headlight use when visibility is less than 1,000 feet. However, some states require headlights to be used when visibility is 500 feet. Two states, South Dakota and Tennessee, are more lenient, requiring headlights only when visibility is less than 200 feet, while the laws in four states (Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota and South Carolina) stipulate car headlight use only when wipers are in use. According to the Oklahoma Department of Motor Vehicles, "headlights must be turned on between 30 minutes after sunset (dusk) until 30 minutes before sunrise (dawn), and any other time when visibility is impaired." And as a reminder, "drivers must use their low beams when within 1,000 feet of an approaching vehicle, and within 600-ft of a vehicle heading in the same direction." You must also use low-beams when driving through fog. Some history - There were lamps on the outside of upper scale horse drawn carriages. They were not there to help the horses see but to let others see the carriage from a fair distance off. This allowed pedestrians as well as other carriages from having devastating accidents with a moving vehicle. The early years of automobiles saw the practice of putting headlights on them for the very same reason. Horses didn't handle the noise from cars they could not see well. As you can imagine, this led to animosity towards those with motorized vehicles due to horse drawn vehicles of any type (wagon, buckboard, surrey, carriage) having accidents that damaged the property, drivers and horses of these non-motorized vehicles. And, as the rising or setting sun can blind a driver to an oncoming or crossing vehicle but with headlights turned on a vehicle is easier seen at these times, it would seem that having your headlights turned on for an extended period of time is an excellent "safety-wise" choice. It's been some years since some makes/models of cars began having "running" lights (24 hr. headlights at lowered power) but it should teach all of us that turning on our headlights when we start the car and keeping them on until we turn off the car makes for a much safer drive. While driving on Tinker, all the road and headlight rules apply. Although it is no longer a requirement to dim your headlights as you approach the base's entry points during hours of darkness, some still do it. That's okay, but some of those very same people "conveniently forget" to turn their headlights back on and you can see them driving through the base with their parking lights on, or sometimes not on at all! Remember: It is not from when you can't see (or can see with the aid of street lights) to when you can see (pre-dawn light or with the aid of street lights). Use some "Common sense" - If most everyone has their headlights turned on, so should you. Also, as an additional reminder, parking lights are not a substitute for headlights -- this includes predawn and fog. So, how can you protect yourself? AAA offers these tips for motorists when driving into the sun: · Invest in polarized sunglasses - they can help reduce glare. · Utilize your sun visor - it can help to block out the sun. · Leave more following room - when the sun is in your eyes it can be hard to see what the car ahead is doing. This is one more time when it pays to leave more room between you and the next vehicle. · Drive with your headlights on to increase your visibility to other drivers Additional tips: · Keep your windshield clean, inside and out · Check your windshield for pitting and cracks · Avoid storing papers or other items on the dashboard · If having a difficult time seeing the road, use lane markings to help guide you. Rarely will visibility be absolutely perfect while driving, but if motorists know this and make the proper adjustments, you can minimize any additional risks that come with less-than-optimal visual conditions. SEE AND BE SEEN - Stay alive and remain active in our Quest-for Zero campaign! Some content thanks to: aarp.org; bankrate.com; dmv.org/ok; seriousaccidents.com; aaa.com. Article based on a suggestion from: Tanya Tock, 72 FSS/FSMMA