[klassics45]

Night Drive!

Even if we plan for an early morning drive, I spend half the night being awake. So its been mostly night drives. I get more hours to drive energetically than early morning drives. In the morning drive, You start around 4 am and stop by 7-8 am for breakfast which starts to make me feel sleepy. But nights, it's a different story. Even after a full biriyani, I can drive all night.

[PratikPatel]

Late night drives for intercity. Somehow the traffic seems more disciplined at night with Trucks mostly sticking to their lanes and there are less 2 wheelers making the drive much more smooth.

[Bsimhan]

Early mornings for me. There are some crazies on the road during late nights who don't follow the road rules (driving on the wrong side). Some of the guys take unacceptable risks on bends so your driving speeds drop. Of course, not all the roads that I drive on are divided and so you have that too. Even on divided roads, you have people taking a short cuts. You might make up some time on a open divided road, but the risks are rather high. So, its early morning for me.

[Flyer]

Early morning. Whenever I plan a long drive, I schedule to start the journey early in the morning. And I'm mostly able to cover a good chunk of distance easily in the mornings (5AM to 8AM).

Likewise if there is any short drive (~200kms) that comes up in the evening (4PM or later), I always try to push it to start at 9PM wherever possible. I will be able to cover the distance in almost half time. I always avoid full night driving.

[Hayek]

For me, it is a Morning Drive. Why?

1. After I started running a few years ago, I have turned into a Morning Person - am usually up by 530 am on most days for runs or exercise.
2. Traffic in Bombay is much lighter early in the morning - traffic would be lighter at 6 am than at 12 midnight
3. Safety - the risk of drunks, high beam headlights etc late at night.

Which reminds me - time to take an early morning drive to Lonavala and back

[vw19d]

This is an interesting poll & a bit tricky too. However, I've voted for early morning as it means I'm more fresh. Having said that, I have done a good number of late night drives too & found it to be stress free once the city limits are crossed. The trouble I have with a late night drive is that between 3AM to 4AM I feel very drowsy. Although my wifey ensures to carry a flask full of tea when doing late night drives, I find it difficult to drive during these odd hours. But, an early morning start means that I can drive easily for long distances even till midnight - exactly what we did when we went from Chennai to Pichavaram and return 3-4 years back (app. 500 kms with plenty of sightseeing stops, temple visits on the way) and I never felt sleepy.

[Tucker48]

On straight roads, I prefer driving during day.
On curvy roads of Himalayas or ghats, I prefer to drive at night because on steep curves I know for sure if there's a vehicle coming my way.

[Mile_Breaker]

Early morning always. 5:30 am - 6 am and then stop for tea or coffee at 8 am. Sometimes if distance is more then start at 3:30 am and watch the sunrise on the highway. I try to avoid night drive on highway as its not safe at all specially with poor visibility and people crossing at the last moment or sometimes trucks in slow speed with no back light. Early morning start also poses problem in winter due to heavy fog on the highway. Have to be extra careful then. Often in such situation I just keep following the car in front maintaining a safe distance.

[COMMUTER]

Night Drive.

I prefer driving all night to make use of the precious little day time spending it with friends or family.

I drive with low beams and avoid honking while driving under ideal circumstances.

For the challenging times, I have 4 Hella 500s running 100w bulbs and eight LED light cubes to make for adequate lighting. For the unavoidable honking , I have two sets of horns with one set comprising a pair each of Hella Supertones, Bosch Europas and the OEM Mindas blaring from the horn pad along with the other set comprising two pairs of Bosch windtones from a separate switch for sweeter city beeps.

I enjoy the night drives especially when it rains.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

Night Drive.

I have 4 Hella 500s running 100w bulbs and eight LED light cubes to make for adequate lighting.

You car's picture says it all about your preference. No need to explain.

[INJAXN]

Driving early morning or driving late night, I like both the things. During both times, there is almost no traffic, weather is pleasant, you can paddle hard.

During morning, if driving east/north you get to see beautiful sun rise, where as in night, well almost every thing about it will please you.

Drive plan depends on distance to cover and road to be traveled. Like, when going from Pune to Mumbai, I always start early morning and while coming back I always start late, like around 9 or 10 in the night.

For long distance, like Pune to Indore, I've always traveled in the Day. I'm always with Family and it is safe to drive during the day.

[armaan_singh]

I'm a through and through 5am person, even if I've just managed a few hours of rest at night, I'm fresh as a daisy between 5 and 6 in the morning, more over the traffic is far lesser in the morning, and as mentioned above, most of the drunks have head home by then.

On a side note though, my trips are mostly in the range of 300-350 KM, which translates to a maximum driving time of 7-8 hours, and hence leaving in the morning means we reach just in time for to check in at hotel.

Also given how most cabs, trucks drive, I just dont feel comfortable behind the wheel with beams flashing in my eyes.

[TorqMaster]

I used to be a night howler but nowadays I prefer to drive Early mornings since I am well rested the night before and therefore makes it more enjoyable.

Originally Posted by COMMUTER

For the challenging times, I have 4 Hella 500s running 100w bulbs and eight LED light cubes to make for adequate lighting.

Off topic: If you do not mind may I ask few questions ?
1. Does this setup affect your fuel efficiency because this would create a lot of drag and weight on the car ahead of the front axle, Especially the square bulbs.
2. I imagine it’s like daylight when you switch on all of those bulbs. Did you need to upgrade the alternator and the wiring?
3. Any welding was done to the chassis for the bracket to hold the bulbs?
4. Any increase in vehicle running temperature since the bulbs block most of the air inlet areas?

[camaroZL1]

I am a little surprised by seeing that most people have a preference for one over the other, but have a general disdain for peak-hour driving. I myself prefer a mix of both, depending on the situation.

If I am riding/driving by myself or riding with a small group and need some "me" time, it's early morning. For Ahura trips, we try to cross the Ghodbunder bridge by 6:00am. Makes sure I'm back home in SoBo by 10:00am.


However, if I am on a leisure drive/ride with friends or my girlfriend and don't need to worry about waking up early the next day, then late-night is perfect.

[5kmiles]

Always the mornings. Start latest by 530am. Cross the major cities/bottlenecks around Delhi and hit Jaipur/Chandigarh for an early breakfast. I cannot do earlier than 530 as we are heavy-packing family due to multiple reasons and prefer to cook some fresh snacks before leaving, esp for 2 kids.

I made one exception to this when we went to Maa Vaishno Devi darshan last navratre. We started from Katra at around 430pm and reached home at around 330-4am. It was not bad because nearly all of it was on highways but there is always this niggling thought of some sort of breakdown in the night.

I have a very seasoned driver who can drive for 15-16 hours without any issues, of course with breaks.