Whether it is rush hour, being tired, the lack of light or the larger presence of impaired drivers, many people do not like driving at night. All of these scenarios make night driving more dangerous, and the chances for a fatal accident in Knoxville are three times more likely in the nighttime hours.
For those who live in cities, rush hour is a daily trend between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The streets and highways are more congested, and everyone is in a hurry to get home, which can lead to careless maneuvering. The winter months bring early sunsets, which means driving in the dark. To avoid problems, drivers should take the following actions:
Driving while fatigued occurs among shift workers or those who work long hours without adequate sleep. Many crashes can be attributed to tired drivers, occurring most often from midnight to 2 a.m., 4 to 6 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. The National Sleep Foundation recommends the following guidelines to avoid fatigued driving:
As fall changes over to winter, and daylight saving time ends, more people are driving while it is dark. Depth perception, peripheral vision and color recognition are all affected by the lack of light. Even with high-beam headlights, road visibility is only 500 feet. When driving at night, make sure to always do the following:
The CDC estimates that 30 people die each day as the result of impaired driving. Aside from alcohol, people can be also be under the influence of prescription and illegal drugs while operating a vehicle. Accidents caused by impaired driving occur most often after dark, especially during the hours of midnight to 3 a.m. Taking the following steps will help avoid the consequences of driving while impaired:
Overall, people drive at night only 25 percent of the time, but 50 percent of all traffic fatalities occur during the hours of darkness. It makes no difference if the route is well known or not. Night driving is always more dangerous.
After spending his secondary years of study at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, G Turner Howard III earned his BA at Tulane University. A member of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, he received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Before becoming an attorney, he earned a Master’s and Doctor of Divinity at Andrews Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary. He also served as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army in Vietnam. With more than 20 years of experience, his firm has helped clients receive millions of dollars for personal injury, and in many cases, much faster than they ever expected.
