Irresponsible use of high beams is a direct path to disaster: what not to do



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“A time is beginning when road users must pay particular attention to road visibility conditions to avoid accidents. The responsibility for the car’s light sources rests with the drivers themselves. If the headlights are not adjusted or equipped with inadequate light sources, not only the driver himself, but also those traveling in the opposite direction ahead or ahead of him, will suffer a reduction in road visibility.

It is important for drivers to be aware that car headlights affect driving conditions and the safety of themselves and other road users, ”says Viktorija Katilienė, head of the company’s Baltic claims department. insurance Gjensidige.

She points out that car lights that are poorly adjusted, improperly installed, or filled with the wrong bulbs can give off too intense and dim a stream of light.

“You need to adjust the headlights to ensure a uniform beam of light and to illuminate the road properly. Every time drivers visit a car repair shop, drivers should not forget to check the headlights and measure the light transmission, ”recommends the insurer.

V.Katilienė advises drivers not to drive on the road when one of the car’s headlight bulbs goes out.

“Replace it immediately with the same one, in which case it will avoid partial visibility on the road and will not mislead other road users who will have difficulty predicting the dimensions of your car. Vehicle manufacturers anticipate the brightness of car headlights, so there should be no misuse when choosing brighter headlight bulbs. They will dazzle other drivers and increase the risk of traffic accidents, ”says a representative from the insurance company.

According to her, the proper use of high beams is extremely important for drivers out of town.

“Poor lighting, when only one lamp works, can be installed with the wrong quality, a light from an unclear manufacturer can lead to poor quality lighting: the length and width of the road section are blurry or insufficient. So, the risk of noticing obstacles on the road too late, not being able to avoid collisions, not noticing the priority, warning or directional signs increases significantly, and in case of sudden changes in the section of the road, the risk of going off the track increases. the way ”, says V. Katilienė.

The insurer emphasizes that inadequate car headlights pose a similar risk to other road users. “Excessively lit high beam blinds drivers of cars traveling in opposite lanes, so at least 150 meters before the approaching vehicle, the high beams must be switched to the dipped beam.

If you are driving with your high beams on and catching up with a car traveling in the same direction, you should also follow the 150 meter rule and replace the high beam with the low beam so as not to dazzle the driver through the Mirrors. This behavior is also regulated by the Traffic Regulations ”, says the insurer.

According to V.Katilienė, high beams that do not come on for too long blind other drivers; for a couple of seconds they even lose their orientation in the environment. This is enough for the vehicle to veer off the road and end up on the curb, in another lane, or in a ditch.

“The risk of blinding other drivers with high beams is especially high in rainy and rainy weather. This happens because the beam of light, passing through the wet glass, increases the intensity of the light,” says a representative of the company from insurance.

She emphasizes that drivers who install additional lights on their cars, and sometimes spotlights, are extremely irresponsible towards other drivers. The brightness of the lighting should not be increased more than what the vehicle manufacturers predict.

V.Katilienė also draws attention to the extremely dangerous intentional use of high beams.

“Drivers do not change them until the first participant to reach the opposite lane does. This behavior is extremely dangerous, since the driver can be blinded and lose his way on the road,” he says. According to an expert in insurance claims In the face of glare, its effects can be reduced by looking to the right side of the road and following, for example, a continuous line that marks the curb.

Nielsen conducted representative surveys of the population of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, during which 1,600 people were interviewed, on behalf of Gjensidige.



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