Driving is not that hard of a task but it can be made quite difficult – and dangerous – by various factors. Low light or driving at night is one of those things that can make driving a little bit more difficult than usual. Not only do some people have problems with low light but having the oncoming traffic flash their high beams on you aggravates the situation even more.

So how is your night vision? Do you think it can use some helping? Well here are some tips that could help you improve it.

Turn off your dome lights or other strong sources of light.
You might think that that does not make sense. However, if you already have low ambient light and you have other strong light sources, you might find it even harder to see the road. That is why you should not focus on bright light sources that will not aid you in seeing the road ahead. Same thing goes with looking at the lights of oncoming cars.

Take your time.
That is, let your eyes adjust to the night light. If you are in no particular hurry, don’t go rushing into the road. Instead, wait for it to become dark and let your eyes get used to the dark before driving off.

Keep one eye used to the dark.
That sounds funny, eh? What I mean is that if you go to a well lit place while on the road, try to keep your night vision for the other eye. You can do so by closing one eye while in the well lit place. You might look freaky but hey, it can help you a lot when you go back to the road.

Written by Marcel on January 28, 2009 | 1 Comment

Traveling to foreign destinations has never been easier than it is today. Worldwide tourism has experienced a boost in the recent years and more and more people are finding it commonplace to visit a country outside of their home country. One of the best ways to discover a strange land is to get a vehicle of your own and drive around the city streets or country roads. Yet one thing is important – you have to know what the requirements of the country are with regard to driving permits or licenses.

More often than not, the common perception is that once you hold an international driving license, you are good to drive anywhere in the world. This is normally true, but in some cases, the local government might as for some additional paperwork.

Case in point: Michael Elliott of Cleveland, Tennessee bought an International Driving Permit from AAA for $15 for a trip to Grenada. He got there, confident that he had everything he needed to drive in the country. However, the local government required him to buy a Grenadian driving permit.

According to Christopher Elliot, the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveller, this case is not uncommon. In fact, many foreign destinations have their own particular rules when it comes to visitors driving in their locale. As such, the responsibility lies in the motorists’ hands – you have to do research of your own to determine what you need to do in order to be able to drive. A little work to get the right information will save you a lot of trouble.

Written by Marcel on January 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment