Without your headlights, you wouldn’t last long while night driving. A deer, a fallen tree, or a car parked by the side of the road would all become invisible. Cars that can’t see you could pull in front of you and cause a head-on crash.
Dim headlights are also risky. If your speed only allows a few seconds to stop your car when you first see a road obstruction, then you’re out-driving your headlights. Dim headlights prevent you from seeing long distances down the road. Either you must slow down to avoid over-driving your headlights, or risk colliding with unlit objects or people on the road.
In spite of the critical importance of headlights, their maintenance rates low on many people’s priority lists. If this describes you, rethink your priorities and follow these headlight safety tips:
Keep Your Headlights Clean
When cleaning your windshield at a gas station, do the same with your headlights. It doesn’t take much dirt or grime to significantly reduce their brightness. If your windshield is covered by road salt or dead bugs, the same is true of your headlights. If they still look dim after cleaning, the lenses or the lights may require replacement.
Check Your Headlight’s Aim
Your headlights should point straight ahead. You can check this in front of your closed garage door. The center of both beams on the door should be the same height above the ground as your lights, and the distance between them should also be the same as your lights.
Immediately Replace a Burnt out Light
Driving with a single working headlight is risky because if it burns out, you’re left with no lights. Since you probably bought the lights as a pair, then they will both burn out at about the same time. If this should happen, using your high beams may light them back up. However, this creates blinding glare for oncoming traffic. Do this until you reach a service station that can replace them.
Driving with dim or burnt out headlights is negligence and may cause an accident. If another’s negligence injured you in a car accident, contact the lawyers at Hogan Injury.