I am not even going to bother giving you all a chance to
think about what is the most terrifying aspect of driving; it is of course the
glare from lights while Mother Nature is against the power of human eyesight. That’s
during the dark hours. But, if I were to ask you the same question, you would
probably end up crying about maniacs who suffer from a very common disease
known as “I couldn’t care less about the other
motorists who are waving their hands around to get me to drive sanely – I will
drive the way I want”. Or in other words, “The people who should be shot at sight whenever encountered with any
idiotic driving manoeuvre”. I am thinking automatic cannons, armed and
ready, to take them out completely? See, I knew it! Anyways, the thing is if you’re
really calm and understand that such ignoramus lot will continue to coexist in
our current affairs of useless traffic monitoring setup, you can teach yourself
to keep a safe distance. This, frankly, should be the bottom line of every
lesson for people who actually bother to take driving lessons.
Statistically, however, this isn’t even close to being the
most daunting task on the roads today. Highest number of car crashes occur
during the darker hours of 6pm to 6am. In addition to that, the fatality rate
is nearly 4 times as much as a car crash outside this window. Part of this
scary statistic comes courtesy of people who are under the influence of
drugs/alcohol, are tired/stressed, or, are just plainly playing stupid. One
might argue that these attributes are completely uncontrollable and
unfortunately that is correct.
However, there are ways which can help you reduce level of
danger from the glare of lights. Let’s list them out one by one.
1. Before you get going, you must ensure that the windows of
your car are free from any kind of dirt. Bird droppings and leaves/branches
from trees being the top two to look out for. This is important because
blockage from any angle during your drive can be potentially fatal.
2. Check the windscreen wipers. They should be clean and free
of anything stuck between the wipers and the windscreen surface. Also, ensure
that you have water available for the windscreen washers to do their job
effectively. The washers themselves shouldn’t be jammed which otherwise makes
the previous pointer pointless.
3. Carry a clean cloth and some paper napkins with you at all
times. No, it isn’t for you or the leaky nose that you might have time to time,
but it is for your beloved car. You might require them to wipe out any
condensation or post-wash marks on the windscreen.
4. Wipe out any dirt on the headlights of your vehicle. It especially
goes out for people with HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights. The dirt
diffuses the light from the lamp, causing glare to other drivers and
effectively robbing them of their vision. Get the headlights checked regularly
because more than half of the vehicles on the road today have improperly aimed
headlights. With some cars out there, both the lights are misaligned (one is
lighting the road ahead of you and the other is blinding oncoming motorists). Headlight
illumination efficiency for older vehicles can be improved by applying a
special polishing compound designed specifically for exterior of the
headlights.
5. Setting up the ORVMs (Outside Rear View Mirrors) is also an
art which very few will concede that they haven’t got a clue how it’s supposed
to be done. To ensure that you don’t get blind sighted by the vehicles behind,
you must align the mirrors properly. Lean to the right and rest your head on
the window to adjust the right ORVM till you just see the right rear corner of
your vehicle. Then, lean to the left towards the center of your vehicle and
adjust the passenger side OVRM until you see the left rear corner of your
vehicle. If done accurately, this setup will reduce the glare, blind spots, and
help identify vehicles on the side and rear.
6. Next up is another question. Ever wondered what that lever
at the bottom of the rear view mirror does? By flipping it, the lights will
still appear in the glass but will appear much dimmer and hence not be as troublesome.
Apart from the above mentioned pointers, there are a couple
of things which you need to take care of at a personal level. Get your eyesight
checked regularly. Anyone who is under the age of 60 should get a check-up done
once every two years and once a year if over 60 years of age. Apart from this,
if you are driving for extended hours during the night, take frequent breaks.
The eyes need some time-out, especially at night because they are working
overtime to get the best possible vision using the light sources available on
the roads.
Drive safely. Drive responsibly.
