Ford PH Shares 4 Safety Tips When Driving at Night

Driving requires constant awareness of your surroundings, but nighttime driving is challenging due to the reduced depth perception and peripheral vision that darkness brings about.

Ford recognizes the importance of this and has given their vehicles driver assistance features and safety technologies to make nighttime driving safer. Ford Philippines shares these tips for negotiating roads at night:

Keep headlights on

To mitigate the reduced visibility that darkness causes, keep your headlights on. It is just as important as your car horn in warning other drivers so that accidents are avoided at night. Use your headlights with caution to prevent blinding approaching drivers. Avoid using your high beams as they can be extremely glaring to oncoming drivers.

The next-generation Ford Ranger, Ford Territory, and Ford Everest all come equipped with LED headlights that give the driver great forward vision in the dark. When drivers are traversing a very dark road with no traffic, the auto high-beam headlamps, which are part of the Ford Ranger and Ford Everest's suite of advanced driver-assist technologies, automatically switch to high beam. Glare-free high beams can recognize bicycles and vehicles up to 800 meters away at night using a camera installed on the windshield.

Also read: 9 reasons the next-gen Ford Ranger will change the pickup truck game yet again

Keep a four-second distance

Maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you when driving at night can be challenging, especially because moving shadows can interfere with depth perception. When driving at night, follow the “three- to four-second rule,” which suggests that the space between your vehicle and the one in front of you be limited to three to four seconds at the very least to give you enough time to respond in the event that the driver abruptly brakes.

The Ford Ranger, Ford Territory, and Ford Everest all feature intelligent adaptive cruise control (ACC) with Stop and Go, which automatically detects vehicles in front of you and gives the driver the option to set the distance they want to keep between their vehicle and the one in front. Drivers can also set the vehicle's cruising speed using the ACC feature.

Also read: Next-gen Ford Territory receives 5-star C-NCAP rating

Stay in your lane

Late-night driving usually means less traffic jams. While driving on a road with no traffic has its advantages, it also requires the driver to be more attentive and focused. It is advisable to avoid sudden lane changes and unnecessary overtaking because vehicular accidents are most likely to occur at night.

The Ford Ranger, Ford Territory, and Ford Everest come with a variety of innovative technologies that guarantee the driver has all the assistance they need to remain in their lanes when necessary. These features include lane departure warning, lane keeping aid, and collision mitigation system. 

Be wide awake

Drowsiness while driving in the dark doubles the likelihood of an accident. Stream an adrenaline-pumping playlist to trick your mind into staying alert. The next-generation Ford vehicle lineup is outfitted with cutting-edge technology features that let you stream the best songs from your playlist to keep you awake by connecting your smartphone to the touchscreen display of the vehicle through Wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

If you feel like you are unable to manage your fatigue, put safety first and pull over the nearest and safest part of the road for a quick five-minute nap.

Also read: Next-generation Ford Everest revealed, comes with more tech and safety features

The next-generation Ford lineup makes nighttime driving safer. Driver-assist features and safety technologies have been included into the Ford Ranger, Ford Territory, and Ford Everest to provide fuss-free, more secure drives at night.

Photos from Ford Philippines