rooferx wrote:This is a nite time concern for me along with the fact as Im ageing the eyes are"nt what they used to be..
There's lots of methods and tricks to help maintain this - it's a big issue with pilots.
- One of the first symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is loss of night vision. Zinc also contributes to night vision capabilities, so make sure you're eating well and/or taking appropriate multivitamins.
- Sleep! If you're tired, your night vision deteriorates.
- Oxygen. The less oxygen you have in your blood, the less night vision you have. I can remember a night flight I was doing, not at that high an altitude, only about 6000 or 7000 feet. Nowhere near the altitude that you need to be on supplemental oxygen. It was a dark, moonless night, with no clouds to reflect lights from the ground. I was having trouble making out the horizon from lights, and worse - was picking up highways that were running at an angle to me, and interpreting them as the horizon. As a result I found myself going to instruments more and more even though it was not an instrument flight. The airplane did have oxygen, so I decided to try it out - and with my first breath, it was like someone turned up the dimmer knob on the world. Suddenly I could see the horizon, many more lights and stars that were previously invisible. So...if you're planning to ride in high elevations (i.e. mountains, elevated desert areas), maybe plan to do those areas of your trip during the day. Alternatively - get into shape! Get more exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, to make your body more efficient at extracting oxygen from the air.
- Prepare. When I was driving to the airport to do a night flight, I would cover one eye. It can take up to twenty minutes for your eyes to fully adjust to darkness. Oncoming headlights can wreak havoc with your night vision. By covering one eye and thereby preserving its night vision, by the time I started my flight, I had at least one eye that was fully adapted to darkness. If you're going riding in the dark, don't spend time in a brightly lit room just beforehand. Spend some time in the dark instead, to allow your vision to adapt.
I was out riding this weekend up in the Hill Country in Texas and I saw something in the road that I have not ever seen before, it was a wooden sign [4'x4']that blew down and was lying in the center of the road on a pretty sharp curve, 
... I went up and stopped and turned the bike around and got it out of the roadway so someone wouldn't hit it. 
..Now I'd like to know what dangerous weird obstacals have you seen in the roadway that could cause an accident..?? 
I bet those lights on the front of the 1500 help out at night..I gotta get me so of those....One other time I hit some kinda small animal at night on my way back from SA to KC and I found some hair and matter under the engine area...It was messy... 
