Due to limited vision, the glare of oncoming headlights, and the likelihood of increased road hazards, night driving is more demanding and requires greater concentration than daytime driving. Unfamiliar roads and unexpected situations are more likely to cause trouble.

Here are some tips for safe driving at night:

1. Have your headlights checked periodically to ensure that they are working well. Keep your headlight lenses and windshield clean.
2. Don't overdrive your headlights and compromise your reaction and braking distances.  Keep your speed within the range at which you can see the pavement ahead clearly enough to be able to make an emergency stop.
3. Slow down when meeting another vehicle or when nearing a curve if you are driving at or near the maximum posted speed limit.
4. As a guide, use the white edge line on the right side of the road.  
5. Always stay awake and alert.  Frequent stops, fresh air, lively radio programs and other, similar measures can help you to avoid drowsiness and inattention.  Never drive if you are tired.
6. Watch carefully for highway signs, which are harder to see at night.
7. Be especially watchful for pedestrians and vehicles stopped along the edge of the road.
8. Do not stop on the roadway for any reason.
9. The law says you must turn your headlights on when you drive from 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise, and any other time when you can see less than 1,000 feet ahead.  It is best to turn your headlights on at sunset, and whenever it is raining or foggy. It is illegal to drive with your parking lights on, during the day or night.
10. Do not blind other drivers with your headlights. Use your high beams only in open country when other cars are not nearby. Dim your lights by switching to low beams before you are 500 feet from a vehicle coming toward you. If you are following another vehicle, switch to low beams when you get closer than 300 feet.

Fog

The best rule for fog is to avoid driving.  If you must drive, there are several things you can do to help prevent an accident: 

	Reduce your speed sharply from your normal driving speed.
	Reduce your speed even further whenever you see headlights or red tail lights. The headlights may be on a vehicle which is being driven down the center of the street, and the tail lights may suggest a car stopped on the road.
	Dim your headlights -- bright lights tend to glare and reflect.

When you are tired, you are less alert. The body naturally wants to sleep at night and most drivers are less alert at night, especially after midnight. You may not see hazards as soon or react as quickly, so the chance of a crash is greater. If you are sleepy, the only safe cure is to get off the road and get some sleep. If you don’t, you risk your life and the lives of others.

Stop driving whenever you feel drowsy. Don't try to fight it. Pull off the highway at the first rest stop or service area. If you are getting tired, a cup of coffee and a bit of stretching may be enough to wake you up. But if you are really sleepy, get off the highway and take a nap. Drowsiness is one of the greatest dangers in freeway driving. Never rely on caffeine pills or drugs to stay awake.  They are likely to make your driving even more hazardous.

As a precaution, it is advisable to take regular rest stops -- every 100 miles or every two hours. Get out of the car, walk around, stretch your legs and relax.

While driving, don’t wear a headset or earplugs. It is against the law. Hearing problems, like bad eyesight, can come on so slowly that you do not notice them. Drivers who know they are deaf or have hearing problems can adjust. They can learn to rely more on good seeing habits.

Road violence rose by 51% from 1990 to 1995, according to a study by the American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety.

The report analyzed more than 10,000 police records and newspaper stories about traffic incidents that led to violence.

This is the tip of the iceberg of a national epidemic.  For every aggressive driving incident serious enough to result in a police report or newspaper article, there are hundreds or thousands more that never get reported to the authorities.

What has become known as "road rage" can start with flashing high beams, aggressive tailgating, and shaking fists, and lead to high speed chases that end with screaming obscenities, brandished golf clubs, or someone pulling the trigger.  You don't want to be around when somebody loses his or her temper.

No matter how road rage is expressed, blind outbursts of hostility are always a serious matter. "It's a major social issue," says Dr. Ricardo Martinez, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). "A 3,000 pound car in the hands of a rude, hostile person is a lethal weapon."

People have been shot because they drove too slowly or played their radio too loudly, but violent disputes are rarely the result of a single incident. Rather, they seem to be the result of personal attitudes and the accumulation of stress in a motorist's life.

Even calm or peaceful people, when feeling the pressure or stress from home or work or other personal problems, can lose their self-control and become aggressive and dangerous.  This, coupled with the congested traffic that characterizes America's roadways, can lead to unpredictable, unsafe motorists.

To avoid being trapped in a confrontation:

	Check the way to escape, and give a tailgater the right-of-way as soon as possible.
	Never react provocatively. Always ignore harassing gestures and refrain from returning them.
	Change lanes in a courteous manner, signal properly, and don't cut off other drivers.
	Do not block the right-turn lane.
	Do not take more than one parking space.
	Never park in a parking space for the disabled.
	Make sure your door doesn't hit the car parked next to you.
	Do not tailgate.
	Do not let the car phone distract you.
	Play your radio so that the volume does not bother other drivers.
	Do not switch lanes without signaling.
	If you are driving slowly, pull off the road and allow traffic to pass.
	Do not double park to talk with another driver or pedestrian.