It’s late and you’re tired. The road is dark and streetlights are rare, if any. You would love more than anything to be in your house, in your bed and out of your car. You rub your eyes and turn up the volume on the stereo. You open the window to get some fresh air. All of a sudden, you're blinded by high beams coming through your windshield, or an animal that appears out of nowhere in front of your car, or a tire blows and your car veers off the shoulder. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Driving at night can be a scary place, full of unpredictable circumstances. But it's not required, as long as you follow a few guidelines and take the necessary steps to prepare yourself and your car for the nighttime road. The National Safety Council states that the rate of traffic fatalities is three times higher at night than during the day. Simply put, a lack of light and compromised vision can make the road dangerous. Everything from depth perception to color recognition and peripheral vision is affected when it's dark. And things don't get better with age. To see well, a 50-year-old driver may need twice as much light as a 30-year-old driver. When you are tired, you make mistakes. And being drowsy while driving can be as dangerous as being under the influence. When you're tired, your thinking is slowed and your concentration is difficult, leading to poor reaction times. Then there's the worst sin of all: driving under the influence of alcohol. DUI is responsible for almost half of all motor vehicle-related deaths. The time when drivers should be most attentive is during weekend nights. You can guarantee that not everyone will be sober with you on the road. Be especially careful to leave enough space between your car and other drivers. To protect yourself and your passengers, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your ride goes smoothly when the sun goes down: Keep in mind: This is just a sample. Get a custom document from our expert editors now .Get a Personalized Test Prepare your car for night driving by keeping your headlights clean and fog-free and making sure all your lights are working properly. Having a headlight or taillight out makes it difficult for other drivers to see you coming and going. Drive sober. No alcohol or drugs that could impair your judgment or reaction time, or make you drowsy. Make sure you have emergency items in your car on hand if you need to move apartments or stop on the side of the road. Some orange triangles or large glow sticks are much less messy to use than flares. Make sure your spare tire is at the correct pressure and that you have a tire changing kit. Drive more slowly at night and keep a greater distance between cars in front of you. If someone is following you too closely or tailgating you, simply change lanes and let them pass. Make sure to turn on your lights at dusk and not when it's already dark. The sooner other drivers can see you and the sooner you can see them, the better off you will all be. If you use your high beams, be sure to turn them off as soon as you see another vehicle's headlights or brake lights. If an oncoming driver..