Scared of the Dark? You’re Not Alone. Fear Handed Down from Cavemen Ancestors Causes On-road Stress; This New Tech Could Help

It’s not just children who are afraid of the dark. Whether preferring to sleep with a light on – or worrying about driving at night – grown-ups get scared too.

Some experts believe fear of the dark, or nyctophobia, can be traced back to our cave-dwelling ancestors, who were more at risk of being attacked by predators in the dark.  Today it affects us behind the wheel.

Worries over night blindness, and fear of hitting someone – or something – top a new poll of night-time driving fears, commissioned by Ford. * And for the latter at least, there is now a solution that goes beyond simply eating more carrots. The company is for the first time introducing new technology that is designed to detect pedestrians at night and then automatically apply the brakes if the driver does not respond to initial warnings.