A lesson slowly learned
By savypat
@savypat (20216)
United States
March 25, 2012 7:56am CST
For some time now I have felt that my eyes no longer allow me to drive at night. But I still did it sometimes, short drives. only over roads I knew well. But Now I know I will never do this again. On Friday we received a call from friends we had not seen in years. They were coming our way and wanted to have dinner with us. So we arranged to meet them in the nearest town, about 35 miles away. I didn't realy think about the drive. We left when the sun was still up and I thought we would only be there a couple of hours. I knew it was 30 miles of freeway driving at over 65 miles per hour and this made me a little up tight but I did it and we arrived safe and sound. Met our friends and had a nice dinner, HOWEVER, I had not planned on it being Friday Night, that's the night that families go out to eat, and they did.
We waited a long time for a table and then the service was slow. Again I was so happy to see our friends I didn't think about the time.
When the visit was over and we stepped outside it was fully dark, with rain on the way, you could smell it. I now faced 30 miles of freeway, which I had not traveled often and fast moving traffic. It was terrible, I couldn't see far enough ahead to feel comfortable and pretty soon I was in a heavy sweat. Well we made it home
I got ready for bed and drank a glass of wine to settle down. First thing the next morning I wrote myself a note. NO MORE NIGHT DRIVING, NO MATTER IF GOD WANTS TO GO OUT TO DINNER. Getting old ain't all that much fun.
2 people like this
10 responses
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
1 Apr 12
I hope you thanked God for your safe arrival home.
1 person likes this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
31 Mar 12
I'm glad you made it home and got to visit with your friends. My b/f has issues with driving at night so I usually do that. Well..he had issues driving period before he got his glasses. He said now that he has them, he doesn't know how he made it so long without them.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160612)
• United States
26 Mar 12
Add to your note: "Let's Do Lunch" because it would be a shame to miss out on seeing friends, but daylight should be much safer for a road trip.
1 person likes this
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
29 Mar 12
Hi savypat, Glad you made it home ok but that must have been a terrible ideal. We rarely go out at night anymore, except for short distances here in the small town where we live. I guess it's best to accept the fact we can't always do the things that we could twenty years ago. Blessings.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
30 Mar 12
I have to say that I'm mostly just glad that it was a lesson that you learned without having any kind of really negative repercussions. Things could have turned out very badly had you been involved in some kind of a car accident.
With that said, I'm still young, but driving at night is not something that I really enjoy doing because I do feel like it is a lot harder to see when you are driving at night. In addition to that, there are also more opportunities to hit critters in the road because there are a lot more of them out at night.
1 person likes this
@RayneMercury (20)
• United States
26 Mar 12
I'm glad you recognize the problem and are taking steps to help it. Driving is not my favorite activity by far, and getting older will only make it worse. The worst thing is when you miss something that actually IS there. Dangerous!
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
25 Mar 12
As I get older, more and more of my friends tell me they can't drive at night. You are not alone. Where I live, that's a problem in winter since we have sooo many weeks of early night and late mornings. Spring, Summer, and Fall aren't so bad. But winter is very bad.
Yes, night can sneak up on you when you're out having a good time. So many people start everything earlier or have younger people go to their homes and they cook a meal. I think some day I'll have to sleep on my friend's couches until morning.
I hope that you're always home after dark or have a reliable, sober driver in the future who can drive at night.
At least you know this are are willing to adjust. I know some people who refuse to change their driving, no matter what.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
25 Mar 12
I will no longer drive at night, either. I'm just 57 but it's harder to see at night now and sometimes I see things that aren't even there! I'm a danger to myself and others when I drive at night so I have stopped doing that. 
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
25 Mar 12
Oh goodness, I am glad you made it home safe and sound. I understand what it is like driving in bad weather and in uncomfortable territory. I borrowed my sister's car once and got caught in a down pour. I did not know how to turn on the windshield wipers or the headlights. I had to stop under a bridge and call her. The entire time I was battling the rain with no wipers I was a mess. Uptight and worried that I would wreck. It was coming down so hard that I could not see to safely pull off of the road. I was so relieved when I saw that overpass. Glad you made it home!
1 person likes this
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
25 Mar 12
Well, I have been starting to feel that way myself. Driving at night here in the city is no big deal. There are many street lights so it makes it easier to see. But in the country, there are no lamp posts. And it makes it real difficult to drive. I also have a problem with my eye. I have a condition called Keratitus. It kicks up from time to time and it makes it difficult for me do even go on the computer or eve watch TV. It feels as if there is sand in my eyes and the pain is intense. So, driving is totally out of the question. As for driving long distances, well, I have no patients for that anymore. I get cranky in a car if I am in it driving for over an hour. That seems to be my limit these days. But if I have to drive somewhere, I would rather it be early morning so I could get to where I have to be and back before it's dark.
