GMC 2004 Canyon - Manual (Page 222)

Here are some tips on night driving.
• Drive defensively.
• Do not drink and drive.
• Adjust your inside rearview mirror to reduce the
glare from headlamps behind you.
• Since you can not see as well, you may need to
slow down and keep more space between you
and other vehicles.
• Slow down, especially on higher speed roads.
Your headlamps can light up only so much
road ahead.
• In remote areas, watch for animals.
• If you are tired, pull off the road in a safe place
and rest.
No one can see as well at night as in the daytime.
But as we get older these differences increase.
A 50-year-old driver may require at least twice as much
light to see the same thing at night as a 20-year-old.
What you do in the daytime can also affect your
night vision. For example, if you spend the day in
bright sunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses.
Your eyes will have less trouble adjusting to night.
But if you are driving, do not wear sunglasses at night.
They may cut down on glare from headlamps, but
they also make a lot of things invisible.
You can be temporarily blinded by approaching
headlamps. It can take a second or two, or even several
seconds, for your eyes to re-adjust to the dark. When you
are faced with severe glare (as from a driver who does
not lower the high beams, or a vehicle with misaimed
headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staring directly into
the approaching headlamps.
Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicle
clean — inside and out. Glare at night is made much
worse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glass
can build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makes
lights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,
making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.
Remember that your headlamps light up far less of a
roadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep your
eyes moving; that way, it is easier to pick out dimly
lighted objects. Just as your headlamps should be
checked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyes
be examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from
night blindness — the inability to see in dim light — and
are not even aware of it.
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