Defensive Driving: Light Up

It has statistically been proven that 50% of all accidents occur at night. That’s not surprising, but what is surprising is that night time driving accounts for only 25% of all driving.

Headlights are crucial to ensuring that your car is seen, when it needs to be seen. From dusk to dawn, it’s imperative that you switch on your headlights, or even your high beams, to ensure that you can see and can be seen.

But night time is not the only time to turn on your headlights; weather conditions also dictate when you should. Some states have enacted a law: If you use your windshield wipers, you must turn on your headlights. That makes a lot of sense. Rain, snow and hail diminish visibility, sometimes significantly. Fog is trickier, because the air-suspended particulates reflect light back to you, so your lights, especially your high beams, can actually blind you.

Use your high beams correctly. While they do offer you better visibility than a low light beam (350 feet compared to 160 feet of light), they’re a danger to oncoming drivers. Remember to dim your beams as you approach, and remind other drivers to do the same for you by flashing yours. When an oncoming vehicle’s lights are too bright for you to see, follow the “fog line” to the right of the road, and use that as your guide.

Finally, when visibility is so poor that you “can’t see your hand in front of your face,” it’s time to pull off the road. When you do, turn all of your lights off, so that drivers behind you won’t think that they’re following a moving car.