How Do You Keep Church Drivers Safe at Night?

As drivers serving our church community, the safety of our passengers and vehicles is our highest priority. The longer nights of fall and winter pose unique challenges, significantly increasing the risk of accidents.

While nighttime driving accounts for only about 23% of vehicle miles traveled, it is associated with over 50% of vehicle occupant fatalities (National Safety Commission). We must take extra precautions when operating church vehicles or driving for church-related purposes between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

Because we’re big advocates for safety at Bitner-Henry Insurance, we thought it would be helpful to take a look at why night driving is more dangerous, and what you can do or help train your employees to do to decrease that danger.

What’s dangerous about night driving?

1. Decreased vision. We won’t go into all the biological details, but different parts of the eye (such as iris, pupil and retina) work differently at night. Your peripheral vision is actually slightly improved, but it’s more difficult to focus on objects ahead of you, and traveling between well-lit areas and darker roads creates issues as well.
2. Driving too fast for your headlights. Depending on vehicle speed and headlight setting, many people “over-drive” their headlights. That means, by the time they see something on the road, it’s too late to stop in time to avoid it.
3. Impaired judgment. Due to drowsiness, it appears that drivers at night often don’t use good judgment. According to the NSC, 66% of fatalities at night involve vehicle occupants who weren’t wearing seat belts.

So what do you do?

Sometimes, there’s no way around driving at night. So, whether you’re picking up kids for Bible camp or running to the store, here are some tips to help your church drivers make a safe trip.

1. Make sure your vehicle’s lights are in good working condition. And not just headlights, but turn signals, taillights, etc.
2. Avoid speeding. Leave a bigger cushion between you and other cars than you would during daylight hours. Leave yourself more time for the trip.
3. Make sure you have good auto insurance.
4. Be more aware of your surroundings. You shouldn’t be using your phone, messing around with the radio, or trying to find something on the floor while you’re on the road anyway – and distractions are even more deadly at night.

Of course, if any of your drivers are not comfortable driving at night, the best thing you can do for them is to help them to avoid it altogether if possible. There’s nothing wrong with swapping out a regular driver for a safer one, asking for a ride from a trusted safe driver, or waiting for the sun to come out.

We’re open all day!

When you’re driving around during the day, stop in to visit us for a review of your coverage. We won’t keep you after dark, we promise. Just give us a call at 301-739-2260, send us a note at moc.yrnehrentib@ecivres, or find a quote here. We’re here to help!

Find more driving resources here.