To prevent eye fatigue when driving at night, drivers should:
Answers
Stare straight ahead.
Continue moving their eyes and scanning the road.
Rest their eyes by closing them for a couple of seconds at a time.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is: Continue moving their eyes and scanning the road.
Explanation:
Eye fatigue during nighttime driving can occur due to the challenging conditions, such as low visibility, glare from headlights, and the strain of focusing on different distances. To reduce the risk of fatigue and improve safety, it is essential for drivers to keep their eyes moving and continuously scan the road.
Why scanning is important:
- Prevents Fixation: Staring straight ahead can lead to the eyes becoming fixed on one spot, which causes them to strain. When the eyes are held in one position for too long, the muscles responsible for focusing can become fatigued, leading to discomfort and blurred vision. By scanning the road and moving the eyes across different areas (e.g., mirrors, road signs, pedestrians), drivers reduce the strain on their eye muscles.
- Improves Awareness: Constantly moving the eyes helps drivers stay alert to changing road conditions. This includes spotting potential hazards such as other vehicles, pedestrians, animals, or obstacles. By scanning, drivers are better prepared to react to sudden changes in their environment.
- Reduces Glare Discomfort: At night, the glare from oncoming headlights can be distracting. By focusing on a moving area of the road, rather than directly looking at the headlights, the eyes adjust more easily and are less likely to feel overwhelmed by the light.
- Promotes Better Peripheral Vision: Scanning the surroundings allows drivers to utilize their peripheral vision effectively, which helps to detect objects outside of their immediate focus area. This is critical for anticipating potential hazards that may not be directly in the driver’s line of sight.
In contrast, resting the eyes by closing them for brief periods can be dangerous, as it might cause temporary blindness and a delay in reaction time. Therefore, maintaining continuous eye movement and scanning is the most effective way to reduce eye fatigue while driving at night.