Driving At Night

What helps me is to cover or dim all the lights in the cab. Dim the dashboard and Qualcomm. I even made a cover for my Sirius radio. That thing is like a welders torch at night. I also use my hand to block the headlight of cars in my mirror when it's practical.

What helps me is to cover or dim all the lights in the cab. Dim the dashboard and Qualcomm. I even made a cover for my Sirius radio. That thing is like a welders torch at night. I also use my hand to block the headlight of cars in my mirror when it's practical.

I do the same.

I'm chiming in here too because I want you to know that seeing at night is more troublesome for some drivers, and that doesn't mean that they don't have healthy eyes capable of seeing at night - it's just more difficult. Now, I'm not suggesting that you don't have something going on, and it wouldn't hurt to get them checked for safety, but it might just be that you have more difficulty seeing at night. I hate driving at night in the rain, or other certain conditions. Sometimes certain lighting or roads make it more difficult to see at night too.

Thanks for this! Yes im going to get them re evaluated but that's what I think it's just a night thing because my vision is good

Will this limit me any? Do most drivers drive at night because they have to? Or because they just prefer it cause it's less traffic & all. I don't want this to be a big major issue

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

My eyes seem to be naturally calibrated for bright lights. So in the daytime, I see just fine and rarely ever wear sunglasses because I just don't need them, even on the sunniest days. The only time I might wear them is when I'm driving directly into a sunrise or sunset and the sun is literally starting straight at me.

But at night, I have a much tougher time. I don't have 20/20 vision, but it's pretty close. Things at a distance get just a wee bit fuzzy for me. So I have glasses, but no restriction on my license because I was still able to pass the eye test (barely). I've found that when I wear my glasses it helps much more at night. Wearing then in the daytime makes virtually zero difference.

This is gonna sound like I'm joking, but I think it's the honest truth: since my ancestors lived in the "desert," I believe natural selection caused my eyes to be how they are today: able to easily handle bright, scorching landscapes at the expense of night vision.

So it could just be a genetic thing. I know my wife has what seems to be a totally different calibration than me. She has excellent night vision, but is very sensitive to sunlight. She's a European mutt.

I would also agree with what everyone else has said. Make sure your windows are super clean and dim all the lights in your cab. And with summer coming up, you won't really need to worry about night driving too much anyway, at least for a few months.

Will this limit me any? Do most drivers drive at night because they have to? Or because they just prefer it cause it's less traffic & all. I don't want this to be a big major issue

A lot of drivers run at night because they PREFER TO. Less traffic, easier to find a spot in a rest area/truck stop during the day.

You drive at night when your schedule REQUIRES YOU TO. A lot of this can be minimized by trip planning, but when you gotta roll - YOU GOTTA ROLL.

As was previously suggested - keep your glass CRYSTAL CLEAR - especially the INSIDE. Schmutz on the inside, will reflect back glare from the inside and outside.

If you simply CANNOT SEE WELL ENOUGH to drive during darkness, this is likely to present an issue for employment at any OTR company.

A good multi-vitamin may help, as well as some supplements that are "supposed to" aid with vision health.

BUT - if you don't have problems driving a CAR at night - then it's likely less an issue with your eyes, and more a matter of adjusting to the trucks windshield and keeping it really clean, as well as minimizing reflected light from the interior causing glare against the glass - or interior light causing your pupils to constrict.

Rick

Theron, Rick mentioned vitamins, and it is possible that you may have a Vitamin A deficiency. You can have blood work done by your GP, that will give you a list of any vitamins you are deficient in.

Also, sometimes prescription meds can strip all of a particular vitamin out of a persons body, so if you were to find out that you are taking something that is making it harder for you to absorb Vitamin A, that could be the culprit.

An example of this, is the Nexium I take for acid reflux. This particular drug is really hard on calcium absorption. Most folks need 750 to 1000 milligrams a day, but because I take Nexium, I have to take 5000 milligrams a day, in order for my body to absorb the 1000 it needs.

Will this limit me any? Do most drivers drive at night because they have to? Or because they just prefer it cause it's less traffic & all. I don't want this to be a big major issue

Then don't make an issue! Choose to drive how you want. I explained how most appointments don't really interfere with when you drive.

6 string, I wrote this subjectively - the rain does make it tougher to see and drive at night.

Rain really messes things up. The streets get shiny. This reflects every light, and all but hides the traffic lines.

Will this limit me any? Do most drivers drive at night because they have to? Or because they just prefer it cause it's less traffic & all. I don't want this to be a big major issue

Then don't make an issue! Choose to drive how you want. I explained how most appointments don't really interfere with when you drive.

6 string, I wrote this subjectively - the rain does make it tougher to see and drive at night.

Rain really messes things up. The streets get shiny. This reflects every light, and all but hides the traffic lines.

I'm not following you buddy, I agree with you. Rain does make it tougher to see at night.

A street at night: You can see pavement, street lines, cars.

Where'd the street lines go?