A recent story shown on one of the local news stations reminded me of just how many accidents seem to occur late at night. Even though you might think that it would be safer to drive late at night, due to there being less cars on the road, the opposite is actually true. According to some statistics, most fatalities that occur in car accidents occur after midnight. Here is how to make sure you don't become part of those statistics.
So why is the time period from midnight to dawn such a dangerous time to be on the road? There are a few reasons. The first one is that many more drunk drivers are on the road at this time because in states which place limits on alcohol sales, most of those limits occur after midnight (In my home state of Arizona, alcohol sales must stop after 2 AM). And even if you live in a state which does not place time limits on alcohol sales, most people leave bars and clubs sometime between midnight and dawn, so they are all on the road, in various levels of ability when it comes to driving a car, at this time of night. So you can imagine that if you are driving after midnight, the chances that you'll be driving around drunks are much higher. And if you've ever been around someone who's drunk, you know they can pass out at any time. Similar things happen behind the wheel, which makes them so dangerous.
This notion of passing out is another reason why driving after midnight is so dangerous. If you normally go to bed at 11 PM let's say, and you are still up, driving at 3 AM, how tired do you think you'll be if you haven't slept yet? Chances are you'll be very tired. And this is one of the other dangers of driving around this time. Many people are out there driving tired, not paying attention, running over things or hitting things, and generally being oblivious to what's going on around them. Most people don't know this, but driving tired is a greater danger than driving drunk because more people do it, and it is caught much less often. So if you stay off the roads after midnight, you stay away from not only drunk drivers, but tired ones as well.
So how does a driver protect him or herself from this situation? Well, my first point is going to be the most obvious, and that is the best way to keep yourself from becoming one of the after midnight casualties is to not be on the road after midnight. Now I get it: some people work late shifts and there are times where you just can't help being on the road after midnight. Life happens. But as much as possible, make sure you do your best to not be on the road between midnight and dawn.
But let's say that you have to be on the road at this time, what should you do? Well I would suggest sticking to freeways or highways as much as possible, as many of the accidents I've heard of seem to occur on city streets, and more specifically, the intersections of those city streets. Another thing you can do is make sure that you are paying attention, even more than usual, to your fellow drivers. Even though it's late, and you might think that less cars on the road means that you can lower your attention and cruise awhile, the opposite is true: less cars mean that the chances of an impaired driver being around you is much higher, so the chances of you getting into an accident during these times is much higher as well. Another reason to keep your attention high is that police officers have fewer cars to choose from when it comes to pulling people over, so if you are speeding or you have a brake light out or anything else, the chances of you getting pulled over are much higher because you are more visible due to the lower number of cars on the road.
Another suggestion I'd make is to get your driving done as quickly as possible. Don't speed or be on the verge of losing control, but don't take the scenic route either. If you need to run up to Wal Mart at three in the morning to get baby formula, get up there and get back by the most direct route possible. If you are driving at 2 AM because your shift ends at that time, get home as quickly as possible. If you aren't on the road at this time, you can't be part of an accident, which, as you can see from the photo below, can get pretty bad during this time. So to recap, stay off the roads after midnight, but if you must be on them, stick to highways and freeways as much as possible, and get your trips over with as quickly as you can. Stay safe. Until next time...
