Show I Sports Afield j l B By y TED RESTING KESTING Hunters and fishermen spen spend d time driving on dangerous poorly maintained roads than perhaps any other segment of the population Sportsmen more accustomed to commuting to work than handling overloaded automobiles determinedly drive all night to save precious Vacation vacation vacation va va- cation time with no more trip preparation than filling up with gas checking the tIte oil and putting putting putting put put- ting fishing gear into the trunk PROBABLY confronting you if you drive on week ends or vacations to faraway hunting or fishing spots are the twin I problems of night driving and rural roads Night driving according according ac ac- according ac- ac cording to to the National Safety Council is from two to three times as hazardous as daytime driving despite greatly reduced reduced re re- reduced re- re traffic To cap U this s driving on rural roads is more dangerous by far than driving on expressways expressways expressways express express- ways or state and federal federal federal fed fed- eral highways The combination combination combination tion of these two conditions can be lethal THE OBVIOUS problem in night driving is vision reminds reminds reminds re re- minds Steve Franzmeier in th the e current issue of Sports Afield d Magazine Some things you can handle keeping the windshield windshield windshield wind wind- shield and headlights clean carry some old wiping rags not overdriving headlight range 60 mph usually is the top safe speed at night dimming your lights when youre you're approaching another car and so on but some things are beyond your control If you have any choice at all take the best road preferably prefer prefer- preferably ably an expressway or thruway thruway thru thru- way because they have accident accident accident acci acci- dent rates far b below low those of the average highway The national national na na- national average rate per million miles of deaths on highways is 53 on interstate roads it drops to an average of 26 on r rural ral roads it often zooms to 15 which means the odds against you are five fie times worse vorse on back roads than on expressways FOR NIGHT ALL-NIGHT driving rural area or otherwise you should carry certain basic emergency equipment flashlight flashlight flashlight flash flash- light flares towrope and spare fuses Heres Here's one excellent safety safety safe safe- ty idea that can make up for forgotten flares or out burned-out flashlight batteries Line the inside of your hubcaps with reflective reflective reflective re re- re- re tape or reflective paint Then if trouble should come the hubcaps can be propped up along the road as an emergency cy warning signal that cant can't burn out |