Shadows and Silhouettes (The Challenges of Night Driving)
While traffic is often lighter at night, the fatality rate is disproportionately high. This is due to the inherent limitations of human biology. Human eyes are not designed for high-speed movement in low light; we suffer from reduced depth perception, limited color recognition, and peripheral vision that narrows as the sun goes down.
A "traffic driver" at night must contend with the phenomenon of glare recovery. When an oncoming vehicle uses high beams, the sudden burst of light can momentarily blind a driver, taking several seconds for their pupils to readjust. During those seconds, the vehicle is essentially moving unguided. Safe night driving requires "aiming" your eyes—looking toward the right edge of the lane to avoid direct glare—and "overdriving your headlights," which means ensuring your stopping distance does not exceed the distance illuminated by your beams. Darkness demands a reduction in speed that most drivers are too overconfident to grant
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