BADLY LIT VEHICLES

Is Your Vehicle Causing A Hazard Due To Defective Lighting?

Every day, tens of thousands of people take to the road with one or more defective lights. Badly lit and even unlit cars, motorcycles and of course cycles, are now a common sight but how confident are we that our own vehicle is properly lit up?

Lights on vehicles serve two vital purposes. They allow the driver, or rider, to see the road and other road users. They also enable other road users to see the vehicle.

Common examples of badly lit vehicles include:

The Night Rider

Usually to be found in well-lit urban areas, night riders think they can see clearly and assume that other road users can see them. They are often unaware that they haven't switched on their lights, until stopped by the police, or when they are hit by another vehicle.

Cyclops

Almost as dangerous as cars with no lights are cars with only one working headlamp or tail lamp. The driver's road vision is reduced by about half and other road users get a false impression of the width of the vehicle.

The Bright Spark

The bright spark believes in using all their lights - all the time. They've paid for them so why not use them? The problem is that the dazzle caused by too much light can be almost as dangerous to other road users as an unlit vehicle. Even bright sparks may be unaware of the problem they are causing, having forgotten to dip headlamps when faced with on-coming traffic.