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Daylight savings time ended just a couple of weeks ago and while gaining that extra hour of sleep was nice, the tradeoff is that we lose an extra hour of daylight at the end of the day. That means that the sun goes down long before most of us head home from work. As a result, we now have to get used to driving in the dark after months of daylight waiting for us at the end of the day. Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you readjust to regular nighttime driving. 1.) Dim Interior Lights - It may sound backward, but extra light in the interior can actually negatively affect your ability to see the road. Make sure that all of the interior lights are off and dim the level of brightness on your dashboard so that the lights your eyes focus are the ones shining on the road. 2.) Keep Your Eyes Moving - Driving at night is tricky because the shadows play tricks on your eyes, making it difficult to see other objects. However, focusing too much on one specific point will actually make your eyes more tired and thus affect your depth perception. Therefore, make sure to keep constantly scanning the road to be on the lookout for any possible hazards and to keep your eyes more alert. 3.) Keep Headlights Aimed Properly - Many of us take for granted that are headlights are aimed properly and don’t think to check them periodically. It is important to make sure that they are focused properly in order to ensure optimal visibility at night. 4.) Don’t Follow Too Close - Keeping a proper following distance is defensive driving 101 and something that we all should be doing whenever we get behind the wheel. However, when you are traveling in the dark it is smart to increase that driving distance by a few extra seconds as an extra precaution. 5.) Clean Your Windshield - A clear windshield is essential, especially at night. All of those smudges and streaks may not be noticeable during the day but at night they will be glaringly obvious, not to mention distracting. One way to make sure that your windshield is good and clean is to wipe it down with a newspaper. 6.) Nap When You Can - When the sun goes down it tends to make us more tired which can lead to drowsy driving. If possible, try to avoid this by getting in a power nap during the day so that you are more alert and refreshed when you are heading home. Dee, Sarah. "6 Tips for Driving Safely in the Dark." Autoblog. N.p., 02 Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016. <http://www.autoblog.com/2016/11/02/6-tips-for-driving-safely-in-the-dark/>.

With our society’s ever-increasing dependence on mobile devices, distracted driving has risen significantly becoming one of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents. According to statistics from Distraction.Gov in 2014 alone 3,179 people were killed and 431,000 were injured in motor vehicle accidents that were caused by distracted drivers. These facts show just how serious this problem has become and why we all need to make the effort to prevent ourselves from becoming distracted, especially by our cell phones, while driving. Below we have a few helpful hints that we encourage you to keep in mind the next time you get behind the wheel. 1.) Silence/Hide Phone - We have all become so conditioned to the sound of a phone ringing or a text message notification that we automatically check our phones every time we hear one go off. Therefore, one tip to avoid this happening while driving is to put your phone on silent so that you will not hear it if anyone calls or messages you. That way the impulse to reach for your phone will not be there. Also, you can try putting your phone out of reach such as placing it in your purse then, putting the purse in your backseat so that even if you do hear it you will not be able to answer it. 2.) Designated Texter - Having a designated driver when you plan on drinking is a precaution that most of us have employed. So why not do the same for texting? When you are traveling with companions designate one of them to be your texter for the duration of the ride so that you can still send and receive your messages and keep your attention on the task at hand. 3.) Pull Over - If you receive a message or phone call that you absolutely need to answer while on the road, the best thing to do is to find a safe place to pull over so that out can respond safely without trying to do so while still attempting to navigate the vehicle. 4.) Plan Ahead - One more solution to preventing driving and texting is to take care of all necessary communication before you get behind the wheel. Take care of any phone calls or texts that you need to send ahead of time and then let anyone who may try and get in touch with you know that you are going to be driving so that they will not call or text while you're on the road. "Safety Tips to Avoid Distracted Driving." Digital Responsibility. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016. <http://www.digitalresponsibility.org/safety-tips-to-avoid-distracted-driving/>. "Facts and Statistics." Distraction.Gov. N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.distraction.gov%2Fstats-research-laws%2Ffacts-and-statistics.html>.