Driving at night, or in other dark conditions, can prove to be very difficult and dangerous. To ensure a safe and pleasurable evening drive, we’ve put together a short checklist of things you should keep in mind while driving. In part, we introduce you to how the Kia LED Full Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFLS) can improve your nighttime driving experience*.
This system combines full LED lamps and Adaptive Full LED Headlamps that allow the angle of the beam to change, avoiding visibility impairment of oncoming vehicles, provide optimal beam patterns according to the speed of the vehicle to make your drive safer and more comfortable. Continue reading for more tips!
Use your high beams
High beams are most often associated with obstructing oncoming drivers’ vision but this does not mean that you should avoid using them altogether. High beams can extend your visibility range most effectively in clear weather conditions. Carefully choose to use your high beams in the rain, snow, or fog because they tend to reflect away from the car when there is moisture on the road, instead of reflecting back to give you more visibility.
With Kia, you no longer have to be concerned about when and where to turn on/off your high beams with the high beam assist. A camera installed on the windshield of your Kia senses ambient lighting and the brightness of other cars, automatically adjusting your high beam to improve your night-time drive.
Avoid oncoming vehicle’s headlights
And vice versa – make sure you avoid staring into the oncoming vehicle’s headlights. Being human, your eyes are naturally attracted to light, which can be very dangerous for night time drivers. Although headlights probably won’t blind you, they will ruin any night vision you may have developed or are developing while driving in the dark.. After looking at the headlights, your eyes will have to adjust to the darkness again – this can easily be avoided by looking at the shoulder of the road as the car passes.
Don’t overdrive your lights
Over-driving your headlights occurs when you are driving much faster than your brain is able to process what is actually being illuminated by the lights, leading you to believe that you are seeing much farther than you actually can. This can be a dangerous situation where you do not give yourself enough time to make a safe stop.
Speed limits on roads are generally set based on daytime driving conditions – when roads are clearly lit by the sun and your range of visibility is much greater than it is in the dark, giving you much more time to react to a hazard. So make sure to be extra careful of your speed when driving at night.
Better yet, let the low beam assist-dynamic help you by adjusting your vehicle’s low beam pattern according to your speed, giving you better visibility. This system will improve your visibility to your right and left when you drive at 40km/h or slower, ensure the visibility of on-coming traffic and your own when driving between 40km/h to 110km/h, and increase your visibility range in all directions when going 110km/h or faster. The pattern of the low beam will also adjust according to the direction of the steering wheel and the speed of your car in any drive mode with the dynamic bending light.
The most important part of driving, whether at night or day, is staying safe. Was our shortlist helpful? Perhaps you have some tips of your own. Share with us your night time driving tips in comments below!
*Specifications may differ by region
