Driving When the Sun Goes Down

Driving at night is something that many people avoidday when it was light out. After going to the
doing as they get older. For instance, the last fewoptometrist, it was determined that she definitely
times that I went to visit my 78 year-old grandmother,needed a pair of glasses and that she also had a
my uncle had invited us over for dinner at his housecataract on one of her eyes. She was disappointed
and she refused to go, getting upset. I was surprisedbut relieved to know that she wasn't going crazy.
by her behavior and asked her was she was so upsetWhether you are an older driver or not, night driving
and didn't want to go. She then told me that she hadoften proves difficult for most people. At night, our
informed my uncle that she does not feel comfortablevision is reduced greatly, and we find that we are
driving at night and therefore couldn't understand whyunable to see things quite as clearly as we could during
he would purposely arrange for something to be takingthe daytime hours. It is for this reason (as well as
place at night when she felt this way. I wound upothers) that most people prefer to drive during the day
solving the problem by offering to drive us both overwhen things are illuminated and they can see much
to my uncle's house that night. Still, however, I wasmore clearly. If you do drive at night and are having a
shocked at her behavior. I didn't see the big deal inconsiderable amount of difficulty seeing what is going
driving over to my uncle's house- especially when heon, then consider the fact that you may need to make
only lived three miles away from my grandmother'san appointment with the eye doctor to have your
apartment.eyes checked. At night, there are many nocturnal
Recently, my mother informed me that she wasanimals and wildlife that come out to feed. The most
having an increasingly difficult time seeing at night whencommon example of this are deer, which are notorious
she was going to tutor. It eventually got to the pointfor hanging out near the edges of roadways.
where she was driving home from a night of tutoringIt doesn't take much before suddenly you are face to
and had to pull over to the side of the road becauseface with a deer or some other animal directly in front
she couldn't make out the street signs and all of theof you as you are trying to drive. This is why it is
vehicles that were driving opposite of her seemed asimportant to drive the posted speed limit or just below,
if their headlights were blinding her. My younger brotherespecially if you are traveling on country or back roads
went to pick her up from where she was, and she gotor through heavily wooded areas.
a ride back to where she had left her car the next