Proper lighting and night time safety

For optimum night time driving safety proper lighting is a must.  Proper lighting consists of routinely checking to make sure that all lights work and are aimed properly.  Turn signals must blink or flash, headlights must shine and brightly at that, brake lights must be visible for at least several hundred feet depending on your states laws and requirements.  There are more types of lights like fog lights, interior cabin lights, and license plate lights (which are required for inspection in most every state), but these are not required for inspections and night time driving in most states.

First you must check your turn signals.  Do they blink or flash at every corner?  You have four corner lights that will indicate turning direction. Even if the interior dash indicator says they are working look at all four corner lights and try it in both left and right turn positions.  If one doesn’t work it is usually a bad bulb which is easily replaced.  Usually an ineffective or non working turn signal will be indicated by a constant and non flashing or blinking light on the dash.  Once the bulb is replaced and the light resumes working the indicator light will resume flashing.

Headlights are very important.  More accidents are caused at night time now by bad or improperly lit headlights than any other factor including drunk driving.  Bad or improperly lit headlights will make it hard for you to see and they will also make it hard or impossible for someone else to see you.  Therefore it is doubly dangerous.  The majority of these cases are actually not due to bad bulbs or short circuits and failed systems, they are instead caused by worn, yellow and cloudy headlights.  The problem is that most current years automobiles in the last 15 years have switched to a plastic resin headlight lens cover.  They are shiny and look real nice when new, but they breakdown due to environmental factors like UV light, intense heat, severe weathering, sand, salt spray, etc…  The average estimated lifespan of these headlights is only 2-3 years.  Once they start to breakdown, they become cloudy and opaque.  This inhibits light output and reduces brightness and vision.   Replacement of these plastic lenses at your local dealer is very expensive ($200-$400 per lens and this does not include installation).   There is now a highly effective, economical and patented headlight cleaner that actually restores these worn and cloudy lenses to new again.  It is well worth the $15 and will greatly increase your night time vision and driving safety.  For more information please visit www.mdwholesale.com.

This is a cloudy headlight in need of retoration.

This is the same headlight after restoration with New Lite headlight cleaner (available at www.mdwholesale.com).

Brake lights are also very important.  For the most part brake lights problems, just like for turn signals, are due to bad bulbs.  The difference is that most cars nowadays have a third brake light and this light can be difficult if not almost impossible to change out bulbs in.  If this is the case, you might as well let a trained professional do it as you risk breaking the actual light and mount and this will cost a lot to then fix.  Brake light visibility laws differ from state to state, but usually it is at least 500 feet.  If your lights cannot be seen at least this far you run a greater risk of a rear end collision.