Day Driving or Night Driving?

[eclectix 1st]

Preferred time would be Day, but am not averse to Night driving as long as the Highway has a divider, separating me from the oncoming traffic.
Bangalore - Mysore, I always return in the late evenings.

[abhibh]

I prefer day driving when driving on highways but on hills i prefer night driving and when i m driving i never feel sleepy.

[kuttapan]

Seems like I am an odd one out here.

I love night driving, though I don't dislike day driving either. Lesser number of vehicles, almost no pedestrians/people cluttering at junctions/autorickshaws and other slow moving vehicles are also absent or very less. Downside is the blinding high beams of other vehicles. I have grown used to them..LOL..

If in the ghats, I would pick night driving anyday(except when travelling with family to enjoy the scenery) -

[snaronikar]

Night driving in highways is also OK as there will be no passersby or the cows roaming around. But I prefer day driving on highways as there will not be any glare of the oncoming vehicles.

Early morning and late night driving inside the city as at other time, the roads will be jamed.

[jassi]

i love my driving and it has to be in the day if on unknown roads, highways, ghats, etc
Night driving is ok in the city when there is no traffic and you know the roads, the speed breakers and potholes well

i think this can be made into a poll

[clevermax]

Nothing like cruising through a highway during daytime...

Apart from the disadvantages mentioned against night driving already in this thread, I'd like to add one more:

At night you tend to misjudge the distances of the oncoming vehicles from your car according to their headlight's intensity. A brighter headlight makes you think that the vehicle is nearer than where it is, and a dimmer headlight makes you think it is farther from where it is - this could lead to accidents while overtaking.

[phamilyman]

Since I'm a biker - night riding anyday (ofc not towards meerut etc!) on non-dacoit roads.

And within city, off peak driving. in night too many people too fast for their good in delhi - and in peak hours, too much work.

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by clevermax

... At night you tend to misjudge the distances of the oncoming vehicles from your car according to their headlight's intensity. A brighter headlight makes you think that the vehicle is nearer than where it is, and a dimmer headlight makes you think it is farther from where it is - this could lead to accidents while overtaking.

Add to this some of the great people who ride with one of the lights blown. It is usually the right one and they will be traveling in high beam.

Net result, if you are not careful enough, you tend to misjudge the amount of space you have on your right, a perfect recipe for disaster!

[sumeethaldankar]

While city ...prefer day time driving..

highway...prefer night time driving provided your car is well maintained and wont break down in the dead of the night nowhere from anywhere.
Other reasons..

1)Vehicles comingh from opposite direction wont try to pass by you crazlily..something i have observed in the day-Reason at night its difficult to judge distances especially with headlights blaring from the opposite direction.
2)Overtaking a slow moving heavy vehicle on the Ghats is easier and more safer at night You dont have to worry about a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction while on bends as you will notice their headlights
first.
3)The temperature is cooler-so no A/c,you save fuel and wear and tear of the A/C components.Plus the air is cooler so engine remains cool-No tension of having the car overheat especially while climbing ghats.Also the road surface is not hot...so tyres dont heat up comparitively on hot summer.

Night drivng only be considered only if you have good driving experience at night as the "picture" changes at night.

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Also the road surface is not hot...so tyres dont heat up comparitively on hot summer.

Yeah, thats true but temperature of the road surface is not the only criteria for the tires to get heated up. An under-inflated tyre can get heated up pretty easily because of the constant deformation happening on its surface which is in contact with the ground when it rolls.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by clevermax

Yeah, thats true but temperature of the road surface is not the only criteria for the tires to get heated up. An under-inflated tyre can get heated up pretty easily because of the constant deformation happening on its surface which is in contact with the ground when it rolls.

Sure thing clevermax...i agree however with proper inflated tyres i have noticed driving during the daytime in the summer season (mumbai-goa highway) the tyres seem more beat up than when driving during night.

[gd1418]

There was time when I used to do night driving on highways, as one used to reach their destination by day and could utilise. But now I do highway driving only during day as I start feeling sleepy by about 8 pm..

[sumeethaldankar]

one more point i would like to add in favor of night time driving is that the no of smaller vehicles (cars/jeeps) is less as compared to while day.This means mostly heavier vehicles are present trucks/buses,that way overtaking becomes a little easier because most of them drive at sedate speeds of 60-70.That way you spend less time on the wrong side of the road.Only once a while you might meet some speed demon.Rest of the time all you have to do is cruise along in top gear.

[kaushik_s]

Drives I enjoy most will be ,
1. Day time driving with slight drizzle or cloudy weather
2. Day time driving before Sunset.
3. Night driving on a Moonlit starry night.Well actually prefer to sit on the back and watch moonlit scenery passing by.But like to drive also..
4. moderately heavy rain during daytime..
I don't like to drive when there is
1. heavy rain during night because visibility is almost nil.
2. scorching heat on summer noon, AC helps but "wind in my face" is something I miss a lot.
And also I don't like to drive in wee hours in the morning specially 3-5AM
, I feel kinda sleepy at that time.
Regards,
Kaushik

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Seems like I am an odd one out here.

I love night driving, though I don't dislike day driving either. Lesser number of vehicles, almost no pedestrians/people cluttering at junctions/autorickshaws and other slow moving vehicles are also absent or very less. Downside is the blinding high beams of other vehicles. I have grown used to them..LOL..

If in the ghats, I would pick night driving anyday(except when travelling with family to enjoy the scenery) -

exactly my thoughts.. seems you are not the only one out there . I love to travel at night. Its true that top speeds can be much more during daytime when visibility is more, but a better average speed can be maintained at night due to less traffic and lack of cows, goats etc on the roads.. this is strictly my opinion and I might be wrong but I have been travellig at night for quite a long time and have seen that stress levels are far lesser for me than travelling during daytime...