July 23, 9 p.m. You put your youngest in the backseat, doing up his seatbelt and tucking his blanket with him. You get behind the wheel and put the car in reverse\u2014you\u2019re at last ready for the 12-hour drive to Virginia. It\u2019s finally vacation time! The afternoon was productive in making the last preparations for the next two weeks. The children\u2019s suitcase is full\u2014so much so that it\u2019s spilling into yours. The grass is cut, and your sister has the house key; she\u2019ll be coming to bring the mail in and water the plants. You made it to the pharmacy for last-minute purchases, such as the jar of sunscreen Justin knocked over earlier. The siesta you had planned after lunch was short-lived, but happily you\u2019re now on your way to sun and sea!<\/p>\n
Night driving is an option that many people choose, especially at vacation time. Sometimes it\u2019s unavoidable when you have long distances to cover, or it\u2019s an attractive option when you want to make the most of your vacation time, to arrive early in the morning and avoid daytime traffic. Travelling at night is indeed practical, but you have to adapt your driving. According to Transport Canada, driving at night causes 40% of deadly accidents on the road, while it represents just a quarter of road travel. The following are a few tips for your long road trips.<\/p>\n
This may seem obvious, but we all have a tendency to overlook it. A good sleep is essential before driving for long periods, to ensure you stay alert throughout your journey. Transport Canada also found that 20% of deadly accidents are due to fatigue. Therefore, don\u2019t hesitate to share the driving with your passengers. It\u2019s recommended that you stop every two hours to stretch your legs and clear your head. While heavy meals tend to make you sleepy, light snacks and fruit, as well as drinking water throughout your journey, help you stay awake.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s true that the headlights on a car can never replace daylight, but when they\u2019re well adjusted they can improve your night vision considerably. At night, it\u2019s harder to perceive depth and movement than during the day; it\u2019s therefore more difficult to judge distances, among other things. High beams work for up to 150 metres, while low beams light your way from 45 to 70 metres ahead. Proper positioning of your low beams can prevent an accident\u2014don\u2019t hesitate to have a professional adjust them!<\/p>\n
Since it\u2019s more difficult to judge distances in the dark and your field of vision is reduced, you\u2019ll have more time to react if you reduce your speed. You should also keep more distance between you and the vehicle ahead. Speed limits are based on dry, clear, well-lit roads\u2014so adapt accordingly.<\/p>\n
Obviously, a dirty windshield hampers vision\u2014but at night, even more so. If you know you\u2019ll be driving after dark, don\u2019t forget to wash your windshield\u2014inside and out. And here\u2019s a little trick: use newspaper to do so\u2014it will remove residues and reduce glare from the window. If a dirty windshield reduces your vision, you can be sure it impedes your headlights as well\u2014up to 80% of their efficiency.<\/p>\n
However long you\u2019ll be on the road, nighttime driving requires that you adapt since the environment and conditions are not what you\u2019re used to. Obviously, these tips shouldn\u2019t replace a professional inspection, which we recommend you do before a long trip, to avoid nasty surprises in unfamiliar territory.<\/p>\n
With such tips and good preparation, you can start your vacation on the right foot. You\u2019ll leave the house with peace of mind, the children will be asleep before you leave the driveway, and your car will be happily loaded and ready to come home full of good memories.<\/p>\n
On that note, the Lareau team wishes you a beautiful summer and safe travels!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
July 23, 9 p.m. You put your youngest in the backseat, doing up his seatbelt and tucking his blanket with him. You get behind the wheel and put the car in reverse\u2014you\u2019re at last ready for the 12-hour drive to Virginia. It\u2019s finally vacation time! The afternoon was productive in making the last preparations for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":415,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[237,46,235,236,234,238,152,239,77],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-accident","tag-car","tag-drive","tag-lights","tag-night","tag-nighttime-driving","tag-prevention","tag-safety","tag-vehicule","sector-auto","sector-personal"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}