How to Make Sure You Get Home Safely on Movie Night

Are you planning to attend a movie night in the near future? If you are, there’s a good chance that the event will extend late into the evening. There’s an equally good chance that the festivities will involve the consumption of alcohol or other mind-altering substances – and those factors can contribute to problems.

According to the National Safety Council, half of all fatal car accidents happen at night even though only a quarter of all driving takes place during those hours. That’s partially due to decreased visibility, which tends to magnify any maintenance or safety issues that the cars on the road might have. Impaired driving is also a factor that strongly contributes to the increased danger level at night – and even if you haven’t had anything to drink during the evening, it’s possible that some of the other drivers on the road have. You need to be alert and prepared to deal with any situation that may arise.

No movie night is worth a car accident. Although an accident can happen even if you’re an extremely vigilant driver, there are some concrete steps that you can take to keep yourself as safe as possible.

Here’s how to make sure that you get home safely on movie night.

Use a Designated Driver

If you plan to drink alcohol or consume any other mind-altering substance during your movie night, appointing a designated driver is the single most important thing that you can do to ensure your safety. You might think that you’re safe to drive after just a single drink, but the facts suggest otherwise. In most states, a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 is the legal limit for driving. Your driving ability, however, will actually be impaired after just one drink. According to the National Safety Council:

• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01, people begin to deviate from their lanes in driving simulations and have difficulty paying attention to the road.
• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.02, you’ll begin to feel drowsy.
• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.04, you’ll have difficulty watching for unexpected movements from other vehicles.
• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05, you’ll begin to experience vision impairment.
• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.06, you’ll have difficulty tracking moving items on the road.
• At a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.07, you’ll experience cognitive and motor impairment. Your physical reaction times will also be reduced.

If appointing a designated driver isn’t possible, you should either arrange to spend the night at the host’s house or take a taxi home. Remember – there’s never a good excuse to create a safety risk for yourself or others.

Make Sure Your Car Is Properly Maintained

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, night driving tends to magnify any safety or maintenance issues that your car may have. Maintaining your car ensures that you’ll have clear vision during all weather conditions, and it also ensures that you can take swift evasive action if something unexpected happens during the drive. According to Safe Motorist, these are the most important maintenance items that you need to perform in order to ensure safe night driving.

• Make sure that your tires are properly inflated and have sufficient tread depth remaining. Many modern tires have built-in wear indicators in the low-relief areas between the treads. When the treads are even with the wear indicators, it’s time for new tires.
• Check your car’s headlights. Make sure that they’re operating and that the lenses are clear. If the lenses are cloudy and yellow, you can fix them with a lens restoration kit.
• Make sure that your car’s windshield is clean and that your windshield wipers aren’t cracked or torn. Worn wiper blades create streaks that can severely reduce visibility when you drive in the rain. If your car’s wipers are old, replace them promptly.
• Pay attention to your car’s braking performance. If your car pulls to one side during braking, you need to have the brakes checked immediately. Your car is also in need of maintenance if you hear any unusual sounds like grinding or squeaking when you brake. A brake pad is designed to emit an auditory alert when it’s reached its wear limit.
• Make sure that your car’s steering system is properly aligned. If you need to hold the steering wheel slightly to one side in order to drive in a straight line, you’ll have difficulty taking evasive action if an unexpected event occurs on the road.

Check Your Vision

One of the most important things to know about eyesight is that night vision is one of the first things to deteriorate as you age. If your night vision has begun to decline, you may find it difficult to read road signs when driving during the evening. You may also notice halos around streetlights or headlights. If you experience those symptoms, it’s time to get your eyes checked because your ability to drive at night will be impaired. 

Some degradation of vision is natural as you get older, and it may be time for you to begin wearing corrective lenses. In rare cases, reduced night vision can also be a symptom of a chronic illness such as diabetes. If you’re having a little trouble seeing at night, though, there’s no reason to panic – vitamin A deficiency is the most common reason for reduced night vision. Are you sure that you’re eating enough carrots?

If you’re under the age of 40 and have no known vision issues or chronic diseases that could affect your vision, there’s no need to have your eyes checked frequently. Aetna recommends having your eyes checked about every five years if you’re in this age range. As you get older, though, eye checkups should become more frequent. If you’re over the age of 55, consider having an eye exam performed every one to three years to ensure that you can drive safely at night.

Enjoy Your Next Movie Night – But Stay Safe

A good movie night will often extend late into the evening, and nighttime is when the risk of an accident is highest. Good decision making on our part, however, will keep the risk as low as it can possibly be – and it all begins with ensuring that your car is properly maintained. Fortunately, the maintenance items that most directly affect driving safety are often quite affordable. It’s even more important, though, to ensure that your body is in the right condition for night driving. If you don’t see as well at night as you used to, it’s probably time to have your eyes checked. In addition, don’t forget that – regardless of what you may think – your driving will be impaired after just one drink. If you drink, don’t drive.