S/O - Is it difficult to you to see when driving in the dark?

[DawnM]

I think many are saying that they can drive, it is just more difficult.

 

I think also, for many of us, if we know the roads and know where we are going, we can do it.

 

I drive a lot at night.  I can't see as well, but if I know where i am going, I can do it without a problem.

 

I can also drive on the freeway easily at night because it is a straight shot and other cars are usually out to follow.

 

But I cannot drive in new areas as easily anymore, particularly here in NC where there are very few streetlights.  I find it hard to navigate to new areas, particularly when the roads are not clearly marked or my GPS doesn't pick up the area well.

 

Dawn

 

 

I had no idea that this was such a problem.  If I didn't drive at night, then I would not be able to hold down a job at this latitude.

 

L

 

[Luanne]

It is somewhat better for me since I got glasses, but it is still difficult.  I can't avoid driving when it is dark either since my daughter doesn't drive and she always gets off work at 10 pm.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I think many are saying that they can drive, it is just more difficult.

 

I think also, for many of us, if we know the roads and know where we are going, we can do it.

 

I drive a lot at night.  I can't see as well, but if I know where i am going, I can do it without a problem.

 

I can also drive on the freeway easily at night because it is a straight shot and other cars are usually out to follow.

 

But I cannot drive in new areas as easily anymore, particularly here in NC where there are very few streetlights.  I find it hard to navigate to new areas, particularly when the roads are not clearly marked or my GPS doesn't pick up the area well.

 

Dawn

But, thinking aloud here, knowing the roads and knowing where we're going isn't the whole story, is it?  I mean, sometimes there are people walking on the sides of the roads at time, who I've noticed often foolishly choose dark clothing.  And there are animals.  And sometimes debris that you would want to avoid.  Not often by any means but I wouldn't want to hit a person or animal for obvious reasons and depending on what it is, debris can hurt the car.  Usually other cars aren't the biggest problem unless their lights are out.  Or the problem isn't that they can't be seen but that they make it hard for you to see the road and it's conditions.

 

It is important to me to be able to see clearly at night.  In the rain, which is when I have trouble, I slow down considerably because then I have more time to see and to react.  

[Jeannie in NJ]

I have had trouble seeing at night for the last 3 or 4 years.  It started with trouble seeing driving at night and then got worse so that I cannot even see to take a walk at night.  I kept mentioning it to my opthromologist and he did not seem very concerned, until my last visit this past Sept when he said I now have cataracts.  When I researched cataracts, the earliest sign is night blindness.  I will be having cataract surgery after the holidays and my surgeon said I will be able to drive at night again.

[DaffodilDreams]

I voted yes. OP, my night driving issues sound very similar to yours. My grandfather always had these problems, too.

[MyThreeSons]

I managed to get to the hotel tonight from the hospital, but it was awful. I ended up going the wrong way on a one-way street.

 

I did that a couple of weeks ago, and it was daylight! 

 

I was out of town, coming out of a parking lot. I looked both ways, and there were no cars on the street. I turned left, drove a half block and realized people were coming at me. YIKES!! They were very nice as I turned around.

[Laura Corin]

I think many are saying that they can drive, it is just more difficult.

 

I think also, for many of us, if we know the roads and know where we are going, we can do it.

 

I drive a lot at night.  I can't see as well, but if I know where i am going, I can do it without a problem.

 

I can also drive on the freeway easily at night because it is a straight shot and other cars are usually out to follow.

 

But I cannot drive in new areas as easily anymore, particularly here in NC where there are very few streetlights.  I find it hard to navigate to new areas, particularly when the roads are not clearly marked or my GPS doesn't pick up the area well.

 

Dawn

 

I'm in the country (no street lights) and don't have GPS.  So your difficult would be my impossible.  I'd like to have a commute that I could do by bus (I like buses) but for now it's car or nothing.  I have my lights on at both ends of the day already, and I don't work full time.

 

L

[Laura Corin]

But, thinking aloud here, knowing the roads and knowing where we're going isn't the whole story, is it?  I mean, sometimes there are people walking on the sides of the roads at time, who I've noticed often foolishly choose dark clothing.  And there are animals.  And sometimes debris that you would want to avoid.  Not often by any means but I wouldn't want to hit a person or animal for obvious reasons and depending on what it is, debris can hurt the car.  Usually other cars aren't the biggest problem unless their lights are out.  Or the problem isn't that they can't be seen but that they make it hard for you to see the road and it's conditions.

 

It is important to me to be able to see clearly at night.  In the rain, which is when I have trouble, I slow down considerably because then I have more time to see and to react.  

 

Yes.  This would worry me too.  I have to be really sharp to cope with walkers, cyclists and slow-moving farm machinery at night, not to mention deer.

 

L

[Slartibartfast]

I can drive at night just fine but for some weird reason people in the Carolinas are always driving around with their brights on. This gives me a headache!

 

Why do so many people drive around with their brights on? This is obnoxious!

[Slartibartfast]

 

But I cannot drive in new areas as easily anymore, particularly here in NC where there are very few streetlights.  I find it hard to navigate to new areas, particularly when the roads are not clearly marked or my GPS doesn't pick up the area well.

 

 

 

I agree that the lack of streetlights in the Carolinas is odd but it really only bothers me if I am trying to find a certain street and cannot see the signs to read them.