When rain falls, drivers should turn on their headlights. No matter what. That’s the column.
Actually, there’s more. There is only so much that can be stated about how important turning headlights on in the rain is. State law says lights have to be on when precipitation warrants windshield wiper-use. This increases someone’s noticeability in poor visibility. Really, we should just automatically turn on our headlights in any kind of rainy condition, even after rain has stopped and the spray comes up from the wet roads.
As covered in this column back in May, driving with hazard lights may technically make a car more noticeable in bad weather, but that shouldn’t be a modus operandi. Hazard lights disable turn signals and falsely notify others that the driver or vehicle is in some kind of trouble. Really, vehicles with flashers on in the rain are emanating a silent, yellow “idiot alarm”. Anyone driving nearby should leave those cars multiple car lengths of room in each direction.
For one to properly use their headlights (or their flashers, when appropriate), they need to maintain them. This obvious example of adulting prompted AJC reader Mark from Chamblee to email a question last month:
“I notice a lot of vehicles with no lights on at night. Some have headlights on only, but no tail lights. [Recently] I was following a gray Amazon van on I-285 around 9:45 p.m. and it was totally dark in the back. Maybe a reminder to readers to check your headlights, tail lights, blinkers, brake lights, and hazard lights to ensure they are working and to replace, as needed. Is there a proper protocol to follow to let someone know their lights are not working?”
To Mark’s first point, car maintenance goes further than keeping air in the tires and gas in the tank or than getting a car repaired when it breaks. Routine upkeep should include looks at each of a vehicle’s operating lights: headlights, tail lights, reverse lights, turn signals, hazards and high beams. A good time to make sure this happens is attaching that check to any oil change. If your mechanics don’t do the light checks for you, along with checking tire pressures and wear, and measuring and topping off other fluids, then change mechanics.
Usually, a garage employee is going to find something big or small that needs changing on the car - that is part of the process. Then it’s up to you to decide if the problem is worth fixing. If a car has bulbs out, they’ll usually replace it for the cost of the part and they’ll likely do the same for streaky windshield wipers, too. Those things are often easy for owners to change, but even easier for a mechanic that replaces that hardware all of the time.
Mark’s second point is a tougher one to answer. What is the proper way to tell people that they have lights out? I was taught to flash my high beams at someone when they have a problem. Likewise, when someone flashes theirs at me, I take that to mean I either have something wrong with the car - or that I really ticked them off in traffic. Flashing high beams can also let someone know you’re giving them the right of way or letting them in line.
But showing any sign that another driver could perceive as road rage these days is a dangerous gamble. Some of the numerous interstate shootings Atlanta has seen in the last two years have been directly related to road rage. One may not want to galvanize someone else’s lead capsules just for alerting them about their bad tail light.
So, notifying drivers about their vehicles’ maladies is tough to do. If an issue is egregious, such as driving with no lights on at night, the best thing to do is to call 911. Major light failures on cars are dangerous and a driver’s unawareness of them probably speaks to a bigger problem with the driver themself. Law enforcement then needs to intervene.
When a turn signal starts clicking too quickly or a headlight looks like it may be dark, we have a duty to the motorists around us or riding with us to act with urgency in getting the bulbs replaced. We can decrease the chance of the surprise light failures with routine car maintenance attached to regular oil changes every 3,000 to 5,000 miles with good mechanics. Failing to take this responsibility also heightens the risk of getting traffic tickets. In fact, people that don’t maintain their exterior lights probably just drive around with their hazards on in the rain anyway, thus bringing the circle of strife back to square one.
Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also hosts a traffic podcast with Smilin’ Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. Contact him at Doug.Turnbull@cmg.com.
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