'Healthy Vision' with Dr. Val Jones Discusses Risks of Nighttime Car Accidents in Kennett and Elsewhere

Our Southeast Missouri Car Accident Lawyers recently discussed the dangers that drivers face on our roadways after the sun sets. With the recent change to Daylight Saving Time, drivers are likely driving more during the evening hours. While only 25 percent of travel takes place at this time, about 50 percent of accidents happen when it's dark out.

A recent podcast on Healthy Vision with Dr. Val Jones discussed nighttime driving dangers with optometrist Dr. Cristina Schnider and John Ulczycki with the National Safety Council. According to Dr. Jones, one out of every three drivers say they have trouble seeing all or most of the time in the dark. Even drivers with perfect 20/20 vision can experience a reduction to 20/40 when the sun sets.

Our Kennett car accident lawyers understand that many drivers misconceive roadway dangers while driving at night. Since visibility is reduced, drivers see less and assume that these hazards don't exist. What's important for drivers is to adjust their driving skills to accommodate for the low-light environment.

Since drivers have must less to focus on at night, the eye typically wanders around looking for something to focus on. When there's less to focus on, our vision can be blurrier. Optometrist Dr. Cristina Schnider discusses a condition called night myopia, which is used to describe the difficulty drivers have on focusing. Since there's not a lot to pull in and focus on, drivers find themselves focusing on the glare or bugs on the windshield. It's difficult to make eyes leave this focus and drivers are missing what's going on down the road. It's important to consciously focus on what's beyond the windshield.

She also points out that drivers don't typically see colors in their peripheral vision at night. Motion is more likely to be picked up in peripheral vision. For this reason, drivers are urged to continuously move their head to look around to take in the surroundings.

John Ulczycki with the National Safety Council tells Dr. Jones that drivers work with a reduced reaction time at night because our visibility hindered. He urges drivers to slow down to allow them more time to react to roadway dangers.

Ulczycki also discusses the glare we experience from the headlights of oncoming vehicles. He says you want to keep your eyes moving across the roadways, not only to get your focus off of that glare but to keep your eyes on surroundings dangers.

Drivers are urged to slow down when driving at night. Ulczycki says that you're able to put on your emergency blinkers if you're driving under the posted speed limit. Remember that even though the dangers aren't as visible at night, they're still there. Alter your driving skills appropriately and be careful on our roadways after the sun sets.