Tips for driving your van on the darker winter roads
I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s that time of the year again when clock’s go back one hour and give us all a much needed extra lie in. That bliss is short lived though, as I can guarantee my body clock will adjust rather quickly and an hour just never seems like quite enough. But, with autumn festivities like Halloween and Bonfire Night fast approaching, the darker colder nights bring their own highs and lows, especially when it comes to driving.
It’s Friday and along with the extra snooze time the weekend brings, so too is it time for me to share the IAM’s weekly motoring advice. No prizes for guessing what this week’s topic is about. Yes, the road safety charity the IAM’s tips from Britain’s top advanced driver Peter Rodger, is advice on driving (not dancing, but you can if you want to) in the dark. See his expert tips below:
IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger said: “The risk of collisions increases in the dark as visibility is reduced1. In poor weather remember that you still need to see things like large pools of water or fallen trees in the dark – so adjust your driving to suit all the conditions combined.”
Along with heeding this great advice, don’t forget that around this time of year there may be more unlit roads from midnight to 5 am, as councils begin to switch off street lights to save money on energy bills and cut carbon emissions. It may be a good idea to get an early start on performing a winter check on your van. You can book to have an intensive check done at your local garage or better yet, stores such as Halfords or Kwik Fit are offering free winter motor checks, but you can prepare your van yourself before heading out this winter. Take a few minutes to inspect things like tyre pressure, headlights/bulbs, batteries, brakes, windscreens and wipers, and washer, oil, and antifreeze fluid levels.
Whether you plan to sleep in, work hard, or play all day, have a great weekend!
It’s Friday and along with the extra snooze time the weekend brings, so too is it time for me to share the IAM’s weekly motoring advice. No prizes for guessing what this week’s topic is about. Yes, the road safety charity the IAM’s tips from Britain’s top advanced driver Peter Rodger, is advice on driving (not dancing, but you can if you want to) in the dark. See his expert tips below:
Darkness Descends
- To improve your view as far as possible, keep your lights and windscreen clean. It’s easy to forget the inside of the windows, but keeping them clean helps prevent them from misting-up.
- Use main beam on a dark unlit road, but when other drivers or riders are approaching make sure you dip your lights to avoid dazzling the oncoming road users.
- Making sure you can stop safely within the distance you can see to be clear still applies in the dark.
- Look at how the traffic ahead behaves for clues to possible problems you can’t see yet – the way other lights behave can tell you a lot.
- Use the headlights of the car you are following to show you to let you see further ahead.
- Don’t look at any lights themselves, but at what they show – so you can make use of more of the light there is from any source, without losing your “night vision” any more than you have to.
- Use the reflective road signs and lines to help you see where the road goes and where there are particular problems
- If an approaching car forgets to dip its lights, look beyond the lights to their left to avoid being dazzled as much.
- If it’s gloomy in the morning, don’t forget to put your lights on then too.
IAM chief examiner Peter Rodger said: “The risk of collisions increases in the dark as visibility is reduced1. In poor weather remember that you still need to see things like large pools of water or fallen trees in the dark – so adjust your driving to suit all the conditions combined.”
Along with heeding this great advice, don’t forget that around this time of year there may be more unlit roads from midnight to 5 am, as councils begin to switch off street lights to save money on energy bills and cut carbon emissions. It may be a good idea to get an early start on performing a winter check on your van. You can book to have an intensive check done at your local garage or better yet, stores such as Halfords or Kwik Fit are offering free winter motor checks, but you can prepare your van yourself before heading out this winter. Take a few minutes to inspect things like tyre pressure, headlights/bulbs, batteries, brakes, windscreens and wipers, and washer, oil, and antifreeze fluid levels.
Whether you plan to sleep in, work hard, or play all day, have a great weekend!
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