On the road, accidents happen within one blink. A car, an animal, or a bicycle pop out from nowhere and, at a certain point, there’s really no way to avoid colliding. While things develop quickly, it is possible to take precautions so you get a heads up sooner. This gives your fast-twitch muscles more time to save you and whatever or whoever you’re careening towards. To learn how to increase your driving visibility, keep reading.
Use Your Fog Lights or High Beams Often (Within Reason)
First off, master your fog lights and high beams. They are there to help in specific circumstances, so don’t put them on the back burner. Create a habit of turning them on and enjoy seeing more of the road.
Fog Lights
Fog lights’ express purpose is to illuminate the ground instead of hitting the fog and having the reflected light blind you. To accomplish this, they are low and project downwards, widening your field of view. Because they’re so wide, using them without fog present affects others’ visibility, so don’t.
High Beams
Your high beams are more frequently helpful. They lengthen the distance you can see in front of you, and they are perfect for dark and unlit areas. When you do pass by an oncoming car though, make sure they’re off until the car is behind you.
Restore Your Headlights
Next, restore your headlights so they aren’t foggy themselves. The sun breaks down a material in headlights which gradually limits their light output, and addressing this is an eventuality you should pencil in. Better yet, there are other benefits to headlight restoration including the money you save and improved look of your car.
Consider the Merits of a Backup Camera
Higher tech is more commonplace these days, and so is the utilitarian backup camera. Combined with sensors to alert you when obstacles are close, a camera’s got your back when you’re most vulnerable.
Keep Your Windshield Clean
Our final practice for increasing driving visibility is to keep your windshield clean. This one’s simple—when bugs or debris bespeckle your field of view, you may miss an obstacle that they obscure. Clean it once a month or so to keep everything clear.