2001 Cadillac Catera Owners Manual - Files

No one can see as well at night as in the daytime. But aswe get older these differences increase. A 50-year-olddriver may require at least twice as much light to see thesame thing at night as a 20-year-old.What you do in the daytime can also affect your nightvision. For example, if you spend the day in brightsunshine you are wise to wear sunglasses. Your eyes willhave less trouble adjusting to night. But if you’redriving, don’t wear sunglasses at night. They may cutdown on glare from headlamps, but they also make a lotof things invisible.You can be temporarily blinded by approachingheadlamps. It can take a second or two, or evenseveral seconds, for your eyes to readjust to the dark.When you are faced with severe glare (as from a driverwho doesn’t lower the high beams, or a vehicle withmisaimed headlamps), slow down a little. Avoid staringdirectly into the approaching headlamps.Keep your windshield and all the glass on your vehicleclean -- inside and out. Glare at night is made muchworse by dirt on the glass. Even the inside of the glasscan build up a film caused by dust. Dirty glass makeslights dazzle and flash more than clean glass would,making the pupils of your eyes contract repeatedly.Remember that your headlamps light up far less of aroadway when you are in a turn or curve. Keep youreyes moving; that way, it’s easier to pick out dimlylighted objects. Just as your headlamps should bechecked regularly for proper aim, so should your eyesbe examined regularly. Some drivers suffer from nightblindness -- the inability to see in dim light -- andaren’t even aware of it.4-17