One of the most underrated causes of car accidents is glare. Even a few seconds of glare induced blindness is long enough to cause a car accident. Glare is caused by low angled sunlight and by car headlights at night. While sun induced glare only occurs during certain times of the day in fair weather, headlight glare is an ever-present hazard at night. However, there are a number of precautions you can take to avoid an accident.
- Wear polarized sunglasses. Polarized glasses block sunlight that is scattered by the windshield (glare) and leaves you with a clearer view of the road. Keep a pair in your glove compartment.
- Use your car’s sun visor. Position it to block as much sunlight as possible. Sitting up higher in your seat or wearing a brimmed hat will also help.
- Keep your windshield clean. This includes both the inside and outside surfaces. Dust, dirt, and grime scatter both sunlight and car headlights, making the glare worse.
- Replace damaged windshields. A pitted, scoured, or cracked windshield increases glare. A cracked windshield can also break if hit by a rock and weakens the structure of your roof. This makes it more susceptible to collapse during a rollover accident.
- Replace streaking windshield wiper blades. These inexpensive items make a big difference to your view of the road during bad weather. Water streaks at night can reduce your vision further by creating glare from the headlights of other cars.
- Remove objects from your dashboard. Overhead sunlight reflects off these back to the windshield and then into your eyes. Objects on the dashboard also become dangerous projectiles in a high-speed accident.
- Increase your following distance. Sunlight induced glare makes it difficult to see the brake lights of the car ahead. A greater following distance gives you more time to react.
- Turn on your headlights. When the sun is low in the sky behind you, oncoming traffic will have a difficult time seeing you. Turn on your headlights to increase your visibility.
Following these tips will minimize the impact of glare on your driving, and reduce the risk of a car accident. Contact us at Hogan Injury whenever you need help from experienced car accident lawyers.