There is nothing worse than having to get stuck driving in bad weather. A few weeks ago, I found myself out during rush hour driving in what I can only describe as a torrential downpour of rain. It was the kind of rain where the rain is coming down so hard that it actually looks as if it is raining from the ground up. Additionally, it was raining so hard that even on my fastest setting, my windshield wipers simply could not keep up with the downpour.
To top it off, the thing that makes driving in bad weather so incredibly hazardous and dangerous are other drivers. Too often, you ll come across someone who doesn t have their lights on because a) they don t realize that when it is raining hard and/or you have your windshield wipers on, you are supposed to have your headlights on or b) They take the opportunity to start speeding or start following other people too closely.
When will people realize that, by law, you are supposed to turn your headlights on whenever you have your windshield wipers on? I was on the road as recently as last night, after the sun had already set (which means that you should already have your headlights on). However, I went to change lanes and quickly changed my mind because doing so would have meant that I would have either crashed into the person next to me or run them off the road. The problem? I didn t see them. In fact, their black car blended perfectly into the night and the rain that was pouring down because they did not have their headlights on. I was furious. The only way that I managed to see them was because there was a slight glare coming off of the hood of their car when one of the passing lamp posts illuminated their vehicle for a brief second.
Who would have been at fault in that scenario? Would it have been my fault if I had hit them? After all, I did everything by the book. I made sure that I looked over my shoulder and had my indicator on to change lanes even though it, at first, appeared that there was no one for miles behind me or beside me. Or would they have been to blame for driving in the dark without their headlights on, thereby further putting other people around them (not to mention themselves) at risk for getting into a serious accident? Who knows. All I do know is that this is not the first time I have encountered people who have seemingly forgotten to turn their headlights on.
I think that when it comes to driving, people are confused or ill informed about what the main purpose of having headlights on a car is for. In other situations, people forget to turn their headlights on because they claim that it is due to living in an “an area that is so well illuminated, that suddenly you ve forgotten that you don t really need headlights”. In my experience, forgetting to turn your headlights on is not only irresponsible, but it shows a lack of observation on the driver s part.