Nearly 40 million U.S. drivers avoid nighttime driving over visibility concerns, survey finds

Oct. 25, 2010

Roughly 20 percent of all U.S. drivers avoiding night-driving because of visibility concerns, according to the findings of a recent survey commissioned by SYLVANIA.

“That’s 37 million people who won’t drive at night,” said Joe Verbanic, Marketing Manager for SYLVANIA. “And this isn’t just limited to older drivers. Half are under the age off 55.” There are about 200 million licensed drivers in the Unites States.

“Driving at night is a stressful and uncomfortable experience for way too many of us,” Verbanic said. “The good thing is that if drivers take a few precautionary measures, they can increase their visibility and keep safe during their nighttime travels.”

SURVEY PUTS SYLVANIA IN THE RUNNING FOR 2010 APRA

Although SYLVANIA is in the automotive lighting business, these numbers are important in that they quantify a commonly held anxiety that has rarely been measured in such precise terms. By commissioning the survey and sharing the findings with the driving public, SYLVANIA goes beyond mere self-serving public relations and hereby qualifies for The Punditty Project’s “Altruism in Public Relations Award” (APRA), to be announced online in January of 2011.

Congratulations, SYLVANIA -- you epitomize the APRA spirit!

MORE FROM THE SURVEY

The survey, conducted by KRC Research, assessed drivers attitudes about driving at night. The data was gathered via a telephone survey of 1,014 adult drivers nationwide, with a total of 943 licensed drivers. It was conducted by phone from Sept. 16 through Sept. 19, 2010. It also found:

-51 percent of drivers would feel safer at night with brighter headlights

-45 percent of men say they wish they could see better at night while behind the wheel.

-57 percent of women with they could see the road better at night.

-Women are twice as likely as men (24 percent vs. 12 percent) to avoid driving at night because of difficulty seeing.

SYLVANIA offers a full line of headlight replacement bulbs to give drivers the added visibility and a sense of security that makes nighttime driving a cinch. To see the full line of OSRAM SYLVANIA automotive lighting, visit www.sylvania.com/auto.

Punditty says, “Safe Drively," and always check SYLVANIA first for your automotive lighting needs.

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