7 Tips To Drive Safely During Night Time

Driving at night is inevitable. But if you know the right thing to do, you can live through its hazards and enjoy your quiet evening ride. Here are some tips that will help you drive peacefully and safely at nighttime.

1. Always Check If Your Headlamps Are Working Before You Drive

Visibility is always important whenever you’re driving but even more so when you’re out at night when it already dark. So always check if your lights are working because they’re your primary source of light. Aside from that, your signal and tail lights will keep you visible on the road and help your communicate with other drivers. As soon as you notice your headlamps aren’t in good condition, take your car to car servicing right away especially if the problem is not just the bulbs but in the electrical wirings.

2. Limit Your Speed

Your headlamps can only cover a certain distance, so limiting your speed can give you more time to react to oncoming road hazards. As a general rule, it’s always better to drive slowly and carefully if you’re unfamiliar with the road that you’re taking.

3. Clean Your Windshield

What’s the use of your headlamps if your windshield is keeping you from being able to see the road ahead of clearly? Your windshield is one of the important features of your car to ensure visibility on the road, so it’s a must that you keep it dirt and grime free.

4. Reduce Driving Distractions

Not only that this keeps your full attention in the road, which is always good for your safety, but it can also save you some car repair. Sometimes those little dents or scratches happens because you we’re checking a text message and missed the approaching car or the traffic light or the signal light of the car in front of you.

5. Avoid Poorly Lit Roads

As much as you can, don’t pass roads that are barely lit. Even when your headlights are perfectly working, they can only cover certain distance like mentioned above. Animals coming out of nowhere, pedestrians, speed bumps and pothole may not be easily seen with just your headlights. So it’s always best to take well-lit route.

6. Be Cautious Of Drunk Drivers

You may be a careful and responsible driver but others may not be. If you notice a car going too fast and being careless at night, it’s safer to assume that the driver behind the wheel is drunk. In this kind of situation, better avoid the car. Let it go ahead of you and allow ample distance between you.

7. Maintain Your Vehicle

Aside from car grooming which is on high demand here in Singapore, you should also prioritize maintenance. If your car is also in good running condition all the time, you save yourself from surprise breakdowns on the road which can lead to accidents, especially on a dark road where you can’t see potential hazards that may aggravate the situation.

ALSO READ:

Top 9 Causes Of Automobile Overheating

Top 9 Causes Of Automobile Overheating

First time drivers easily panics when there’s something if off with their car that’s why the problem gets fixed right away. However, overtime, drivers can become lazy that when it doesn’t seem like a big deal they just ignore. It’ll be fine for a while they will say. And because of these, many drivers end up dealing with a bigger damage on their car that would have been prevented if it was taken cared of earlier.

Like many things in life, 'you don't know what you got till it's gone'. So before your car overheats and end up in the car repair shop for a while and becomes too late to realize how much your life is so much easier with having your own ride, pay more attention when it’s already sending you SOS signals! Save yourself from the headache, bigger costs, and road risk. When you notice any of these bad symptoms in your car, get it fixed immediately. 

1. Fan Clutch

It’s easier to cool the engine when you’re driving because the air flows easily the radiator. So when it’s idle, your car has to rely on a fan to draw air through the radiator. This can be a problem if your car has a mechanically driven fan that can get worn out which fails to rotate at sufficient speed in order to draw enough air and cool the engine.

2. Sensor

Some cars have electrically powered fan that gets activated with the help of a temperature sensor to draw air to the radiator and cool the engine. So when the temperature reaches the sensor’s limit, the fan will be activated. However, like most sensors that can be defective over time, the fan may not work when your car is idle which can lead to overheated engine.

3. Fan Shroud

The fan shroud helps focus the air coming from the fan to the radiator in order to cool it much better. Now if this is damaged or the fan doesn’t have this, then the air just blows all over the place which lessens the air that the radiator gets. This then makes the engine overheat because there’s less air working to dissipate the heat.

4. Obstructed Radiator

When dirt, bugs, or road grime gets stuck and accumulate in your radiator, it becomes harder for the air to flow through it. As a result, it’s harder to cool the engine especially when the vehicle is stopped and the radiator have to rely on just the fan to keep it cool which is why it overheats when idle.

5. Internal Clogging

If clogs outside the radiator is enough for your car to overheat, how much more when the obstruction is inside? Usually, this happen on the internal cooling tubes of the radiator where reduces the flow of the coolant. Combine that with your car in idle where only the fan trying to cool the engine and you could almost expect it to overheat every time. If you don’t want this to happen, send your vehicle to car repair right away.

6. Leaks In The Cooling System

Your car’s cooling system is what’s keeping it from overheating. So when the cooling system’s running condition becomes less ideal due to leaks then your car run the risk of overheating. This is why it’s always advised to fix even the smallest leak as soon as possible in order to avoid overheating and possibly an expensive car repair.

7. Bad Thermostat

Your thermostat is a key valve in the cooling system that ensures the coolant is able to pass through to the radiator when necessary. When the thermostat gets stuck in the closed position, coolant can no longer pass through and becomes overheated in the engine. 

8. Loose Or Broken Belts

If a belt is loose or broken, specifically the water pump belt, it cannot help maintain the correct volume of coolant flow and can lead to overheating.

9. Bad Water Pump

Your vehicle’s water pump helps propel engine coolant throughout the cooling system. So if the water pumps stops working properly due to things like erosion, leaks, or anything else, your car loses enough pressure operate the water pump properly which then can cause overheating.

ALSO READ:

How To Get Ready For A Road Trip In Just 10 Minutes!