Driving alone at night

Estrellita What are you afraid of?

I too dislike night driving and try to avoid it. However I won’t allow this to stop me doing things I want to do and it’s mostly ok when I’m familiar with the route. If I have to go somewhere unfamiliar at night I do a practice run in daylight so I have some idea of what’s in store. I also use the satnav so that I’m warned where to turn off etc.

I try not to drive at night as I can't see the road markings or kerbs (eyesight fine during the day). I've also bought the yellow lense glasses that fit over my own glasses, they really do help if I need to drive in the dark, they are also great at this time of year when the sun is very low in the sky and can often be blinding.

Estrellita

There is no way I would drive alone at night - or during the day for that matter - neither would I go out alone at night. Maybe I am just weird?!

Seeing as I live alone, I would have no social life if I did not go out alone at night! What are you so worried about?

I drive but tend to park in well lit areas at night, am rarely walking dark streets alone and live on a housing estate with street lighting near other houses. I don’t even think about it, I just park on the drive, walk up to my front door as the motion sensor lights come on, unlock the door and go into the hall where the lights are on and switch off the alarm.

MOnica, yes me too. Since the street lights were changed from the yellow sulphur ones to the LED downlighters, I find I struggle to see in the dark. For the last three days though, we haven't even had streetlights so if I look out the windows when I go to bed, you can't even see the cars parked up on the road.

There is no way I would drive alone at night - or during the day for that matter - neither would I go out alone at night. Maybe I am just weird?!

Update on the night time driving lenses. They really did make a difference. The lights are still bright but somehow not as dazzling. I can recommend them.

I do remember on coming home from work in the winter visiting my local 24 hr supermarket far more than necessary after my husband died just because I didn’t want to go home to an empty house. Somehow the darkness made it worse (even though I left a light on). As the nights got lighter it did get easier.

I think the problem are the journeys we cannot avoid. In winter it gets dark so early, so that would, for example, exclude going to matinees.

When DH was in hospital last year (Nov - Jan), the hospital had turned several of the patient carparks into staff car parks, for extra parking. After spending the whole of one early afternoon visiting hour trying to find a parking space (unsuccessfully). I started booking the 4.00pm-5pm slot, when outpatients were closing down. I could park relatively easily, and visit DH but had no alternative to driving home in the dark.

I sometimes have to go to meetings in the evening, and visiting a friend one afternoon a week, means driving in the dark in winter.

We now plan our life so that when we visit DC, both long journeys, we travel by day. Go in Friday, come back Monday

I find it is a question of planning journeys in advance to maximise driving along roads with lighting and with white lines and cats eyes, motorways and dual carriage ways, but this isn't always possible, so I just grit my teeth and drive more slowly.

The thread is rather long so I'm sorry if someone has already mentioned this but a couple of my friends are worried about driving in the dark so we now meet at lunchtime or for breakfast.

If you go to the cinema or theatre maybe you can go to matinees instead of in the evening. If you are returning from baby sitting a grandchild, could you just ask to stay the night and drive back in the morning?

I don’t yet wear glasses so don’t have that problem, but am not at my most relaxed when driving at night, largely because I do so infrequently, unlike when working when I drive long distances after dark and thought nothing of it.

The car we recently bought is automatic, and does a lot for me now including lane control and mitigation., managing the lighting so I don’t have to worry about headlights as well as approaching object warning - in the last resort applying the brakes. All that helps a great deal.

Oopsadaisy, no better in South Oxfordshire I was driving a long the busy single carriage way A road between Didcot and the A34 a week or two ago after dark, and for most of that the central white lines are so faded they are invisible, there were none on the verge side and no cats eyes. It was only a couple of miles, and quite straight but quite a strain. I could not put my headlights on full because of oncoming traffic.

This si a road I know well, as I have friends in Didcot and live in one of the surrounding villages.

several miles of busy unlit country lane every which way to my market town. Dazzling varifocals. Much slower eye adaptation, which happens as we age. All in all, I decided to stop driving at night. Verges and ditches and hedges here and no cats eyes. It was a good decision, no more dithering and I can do all I want within daylight hours

We live in Rural Oxfordshire, no white lines, no cats eyes, no footpaths and no street lighting. But plenty of idiots racing through the lanes ‘forgetting’ to dip their headlights.
When I used to collect MrOops on occasion from work I spent 25 minutes on winding country lanes, I dreaded him asking me, at least when I picked him up he drove us home.

We still have cats eyes. Newly surfaced motorways have super coloured cats eyes now. All for improved safety.

Malling I was saying the same thing about pavements and roundabout just the other day to my passenger. There used to be white painted kerbs which were easier to see in daylight too. I'm convinced that some people adjust their headlights to shine further up tge Road so they can see more of tge road in front of them but this dazzles oncoming drivers. The adjustable lights are for when carrying a heavy load not for shining further along the road. But some drivers do leave main beam on because they're lazy drivers.

I recently bought a new car and decided to go for an automatic, my first one. I have found it so much easier to drive as I no longer have to think about changing gears and it’s seems easier to brake at corners and also to accelerate away quickly. Too much so at times as I have to watch my speed! But it really has made driving much easier for me at night as well, one less think to think about.

I’m ok driving at night mostly but on some roads especially unfamiliar ones that twist and turn it can be really annoying when you slow down to feel safer then you get some idiot right up behind you who wants you to drive at the permitted 60 mph. They are very intimidating and sometimes manage to pass you if they get the chance. Obviously the older you get the more younger drivers are coming on to our roads and some of them don’t seem to have a moment to live and want to drive straight through the cars in front of them.

I get a lot of night glare with my varifocal/ varilux lenses. My distance uncoated sports glasses are much better for night time driving. I would be interested in some of the anti glare glasses mentioned by Philippa111. Thank you

In the late 60’s a boyfriend (who I later married) taught me to drive and I’ve have loved being out and about on the open high road ever since . Except recently and at night when spectacles and glare leave me uncertain and nervous. So pleased, therefore for Gransneters’ advice about night vision glasses which I will order and hopefully be confident enough to continue driving to my Zumba classes. Roll on the light nights!

My distance driving glasses have an antiglare coating and are also reactolite for dealing with excessive sun as well.

I have more or less given up driving but a couple of weeks ago I had to drive back from an appointment when it was dark. I had about ten miles to drive in the rush hour. The roads are unlit in our area and it is very hilly and windy. The rush hour traffic coming towards me and the pressure from behind made me very tense. I found it very difficult to see, and as I didn't know the route well, it made it even worse.
I eventually got home but was very shaken up. I won't drive at night again.

I have problems with night vision. Was told at last eye test that I had early cataracts but the optician laughed at me when I asked him to get me on the waiting list for surgery as not bad enough

I also find that the lights on big 4x4’s are considerably higher up than those in our cars - therefore directly in line with my sight. Will try some night driving glasses.

I agree with all the comments. Coming back to the car in a lonely car park gives me the heebie jeebies. Maybe I shouldn’t watch those US TV series where lone women are jumped by maniac men.