According to the National Safety Council (NSC), the risk of a fatal car accident is three times greater in the evening. While we only do a quarter of our driving at night, 50% of traffic fatalities occur around that time. Whether you are familiar with the roadways or not, driving in the evening is always more dangerous compared to driving during daylight. The following are the common reasons why driving at night is the most dangerous:
- Darkness – During the fall and winter months, many people find themselves spending more time driving in the dark. Peripheral vision, depth perception, and color recognition can be compromised in the evening. In addition, the glare of headlights from an oncoming vehicle can temporarily blind a motorist.
- Compromised vision – We have the ability to see well in low-light conditions; however, we have greater difficulty seeing at night as we get older. A person who is 50 years of age may need twice as much light to see as well as someone who is 30.
- Fatigue – According to the National Sleep Foundation, 60% of adults have driven while they were fatigued and another 37% have fallen asleep at the wheel. In a report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 100,000 police-reported collisions are caused by driver fatigue in 2016.
- Impaired drivers – Drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs are most frequently on the road at night, especially between the hours of midnight and 3 am on the weekends.
If you suffered an injury in a car accident caused by a negligent driver in Ohio, contact our Toledo personal injury attorney at Williams DeClark Tuschman Co., L.P.A. today.