Lights are a very important part of your vehicle, especially when it can affect your ability to see the road in which you are driving. Another thing that is just as important is making sure that they work properly.
The primary task of headlights on cars is to illuminate the roadway and facilitate fatigue-free and safe driving. Headlights and their light sources are thus vehicle components that are relevant to safety. They require official approval and must not be tampered with.
Most drivers in Pakistan as well as in the rest of world simply get into the car, start it and doesn’t even think of lighting or the fact that it can provide security. But most of the light is about security and communications.
The headlights and tail lamps ensure that other drivers see you, even in reduced visibility during drive. This is crucial to avoid accidents. The drivers must be aware of the fact that daytime running lights do not turn on the tail lights and the headlights, but in bad weather, such as rain, snow, fog or when darkness falls, you need for these lamps.
A part of “be seen” concept is that people see you when you go on the road. This work will do the headlights. Motorists must make sure that both the low and high beams are properly working. Headlamps you should be regularly check (whether with help) to see your way, and not blind the oncoming drivers (it can occur if the lamp is set too high). The headlight lenses must be kept clean (because of the time and the abrasion from road a dirt layer can form on the lenses).
When you travel with beams and the oncoming car is within 150 meters or the car front of you is within 60 meter, switch off the high beam headlamps.
The second most important part of the lighting are the fog lights. The majority of drivers don’t know when to use these special lights. You can use them when the fog is dense, the headlights aren’t sufficient to ensure the appropriate visibility (the droplets stuck in the light). In this case, the headlight’s light is reflected back to the driver’s eyes, which makes the situation even worse. In such a case, the driver should turn off the head lights and turn on the fog lights.
It is also important that motorists turn off the fog lamps on unlit roads at night because it can blind the oncoming traffic. The fog wasn’t invented for lighting in clear weather. If you want to use the fog lights during clear night as extra light to illuminate the road, you can simply turn it off when you see oncoming traffic.
The turn signals and brake lights support the “side”
communications.
To ensure safety it’s important that drivers traveling behind you know if you
slow down or stop. The stop light are bright and red. Do not use a broken brake
light.
The turn signals can help that the other motorists will know if you want to
change lanes, or if you want to turn. If you don’t show your intention in time,
you can surprise other drivers, which can easily lead to an accident.
After you turned or finished the lane change, it is important to turn off the turn signals. If you don’t do it, the flashing signal can be annoying to other motorists and threatens the safe traffic.
AN OVER LOOKED HEADLIGHTS SAFETY FEATURE?
With today’s vehicles boasting new safety technology such as blind spot detection, autonomous emergency braking, and lane keep assist, headlight performance is often an overlooked safety feature only considered as an afterthought once the vehicle leaves the sales lot. For a technology that has existed (and been improved upon) for over a century, the average car buyer has undoubtedly developed a false sense of security when it comes to new vehicle headlights expecting the lighting technology to be state-of-the-art and provide sufficient illumination to light up the roadway at night.
Before driving, you should regularly check the lighting system so all lights are working. It is easier than you think. You can check alone the headlights and tail lights if you turn on the full lights and walk around the car, you can see that the lights are on or not.
If you have a passenger, ask him to check the brake light. You can check the brake lights alone as well, for example when you back into a parking place in front of a business, you can see a brake light reflections in shop windows.
By Muhammad Jawwad Khan