• January 24, 2018 /
• Driving /
• By admin /
• 0 Comments

“A deer caught in the headlight” an expression that you would like to literally and figuratively avoid when behind the wheels. A slight distraction on the road can wreak havoc.

Here is a recap of everything you might have learned at driving school about headlight usage at night.

Mirror Mirror…

To minimize the glaring effect, it is essential you do a thorough cleaning of the windshield inside and out. This will eliminate the layer of chemicals or dust that accumulates over time, causing the glare impact to diminish.

Moreover, you also need to clean your headlights, wiper blades and other mirrors. The headlight becomes yellow or foggy overtime; by cleaning them, you improve the clarity of the lenses

As for the wipers, cleaning is necessary as you do not want smears across your glass in case you end up using them.

Don’t look into the light

When facing oncoming traffic at night don’t look directly at them, watch the painted lines on the road or where the road meets the shoulder. Needless to say, you should monitor the car’s progress with your peripheral vision when driving. Scan the road ahead of you and signal an approach, switch, or turn using headlight beforehand.

Etiquettes of using a headlight

Let’s begin with the things you should not do, like blinding other drivers with high beam, and use them only when needed. Dim your light for oncoming traffic, and make sure that your high beam is dimmed when following a vehicle as you might accidently blind the driver ahead of you.

When dealing with larger vehicles like truck, know that they are seated higher than you and will experience a higher impact of your high beam.

Another DON’T will be high beam use in foggy nights, as this reduces your ability to see and might blind other drivers. Use fog lamps, if they are available in your car to navigate effectively through foggy night.

Safety First

Rest your eyes if necessary and consult an optometrist if you face difficulties in vision. For long journeys at night, make stops along the way and have the navigation on, to avoid detour. Most importantly, learn defensive driving. It provides you with safe driving techniques in different scenarios.

If you are looking for an experienced and affordable driving school to teach you defensive driving, get in touch with Jacob’s Driving School.