When a motorist is moving at a speed that ends up making their stopping distance farther than what they can see with their headlights, they are ‘over driving their headlights.’ This creates a dangerous driving environment for themselves and others. Although drivers may experience a few problems associated with driving at night, over-driving your headlights is one of the most common problems drivers face.
Here are some reasons to explain why over-driving your headlights can be dangerous to your car:
How is Over-Driving Dangerous?
When a driver’s visibility is impacted due to fog, darkness, or inclement weather conditions, but they continue to drive over the set speed limit, or often, even AT the set speed limit, they pose the threat of not stopping in time to avoid obstacles in the road. Speeding, visibility, and poor headlights all have the potential to cause a disastrous accident.
Why are Over-Driving Your Headlights Considered Dangerous?
Most dangerous motor vehicle accidents happen when driving at night. This is often because driving at night impacts your ability to see on the road. When your headlights are on a low beam, it only illuminates about 200 feet in front of your vehicle. If your high beams are on, then this increases to up to 500 feet in front of you.
Keep in mind; if you are driving too fast, then your headlights will not illuminate potential obstacles like pedestrians, animals, construction, and more. When you’re driving past the speed limit, it impacts the time available to see, decide what to do, and implement the reaction method decided upon within that 200 to 500-foot distance.
Is Over-Driving Your Headlights Something You Can Avoid?
One of the best ways to keep yourself from over-driving your headlights is to obey the speed limits, use high beams whenever it is safe to do so, and safely test if your car can stop in the illuminated area of your headlights cast. To test this safely, try picking an object in the distance and count how many seconds it takes for you to pass the object.
If you pass the object in less than 6 seconds, you’re most likely over-driving your headlights.
If you or a family member have been involved in a car accident caused by over-driving your headlights, contact 4N6XPRT Systems today!