The Importance of Checking Headlights

Good visibility on the road is one of the most important factors for road safety. It is not only about being able to see the road and the possible obstacles that arise, but also about being able to see other drivers as well as making ourselves see them.

This should be the case regardless of weather conditions. That is why it is so important that the car’s lights work perfectly and without failures.

The main function of headlights is to illuminate the road we are traveling on, but also to let other drivers and pedestrians know that we are there, that is, to indicate our position on the road. On the other hand, Daytime Running Lights have the opposite function, they are designed to make us more visible, and not to illuminate the road.

Visibility has a lot to do with the ability to react. That is, in conditions of poor visibility, an unexpected obstacle may appear on the road, such as an animal crossing the road, and we may not have time to brake the vehicle if we have not seen it sufficiently in advance.

However, there are other risk situations that can occur due to not having the headlights working well.

Complications when driving at night. If the headlights do not shine as they should, because they have lost their lighting capacity or are not properly adjusted, the chances of suffering an incident while driving at night multiply. This occurs because we will not be able to see obstacles correctly and also because poor lighting requires greater attention from the driver and, consequently, greater visual fatigue. It goes without saying that fatigue is a problem.

Critical situations due to low visibility. A storm, heavy fog or snow causes a large decrease in visibility. This can be greatly alleviated if the car’s headlights work well. But, if the headlights do not work as they should, we will lose visibility of the road, signs, obstacles and other users.

Not seeing other road users. Pedestrians or cyclists may not be wearing appropriate clothing or reflectors that make them clearly visible at first glance. Therefore, proper functioning of our headlights will ensure that we can see them from a distance and avoid situations such as being run over.

All these complicated situations and problems can be prevented and solved if we pay attention to the car’s headlights and repair failures immediately.

We should check our headlights frequently, and certainly no less than monthly. Firstly, if we notice that the headlights look opaque, we will also realise that the lighting capacity has decreased, impairing visibility.

Secondly and even more obvious is when one of the bulbs burns out. In this case there is no doubt, and we will have to replace the damaged bulb, and also that of the other headlight, to avoid a difference in light intensity. Bulbs should always be replaced in unison. On modern cars, it may be necessary to get a workshop to replace the bulbs.

Finally, it may be that the headlight has broken, due to a blow or water ingress. In this case, it is best to stop by our trusted workshop to solve the problem as soon as possible. We already know what poor lighting can mean for road safety.