Automatic lights can still leave you dangerously invisible on the road.
Winter is upon us, and a great many roads turned into collision derbies as vehicles bounce into ditches and one another. Winter roads are risky enough, but Mother Nature saw fit to chill many of us with high winds which raised the most fearsome of driving conditions: white-outs.
I recently made a short trek into my local radio station, where I hosted a call-in program on a topic you might expect: all things automotive. The pitch-black early-morning drive was bad enough, but it was the midday return voyage that inspired this column. Treacherous as the weather was that day, the majority of the vehicles I saw on my local stretch of the Trans-Canada were navigating with only their automatic daytime-running lights turned on. White-outs were still occurring, but drivers were blissfully unaware of what danger they were placing themselves, their passengers, and everyone else on the road in by being unlit and invisible from the rear.
We modern drivers enjoy vehicles with every imaginable nanny-parenting device to protect us from our own lack of common sense: collision-avoidance systems, rear-view- and 360° cameras, lane-departure warnings and active lane-departure avoidance components.
But what about one of the most important safety precautions: switching exterior lights on at all times in inclement weather? Daytime running lights first came out to mainstream domestic vehicles in the late 1980s, but the U.S. resisted calls to make them mandatory. Unfortunately, the chances of Uncle Sam mandating that all exterior lamps turn on whenever the engine is running remain slim.
Even today in Canada, however, many DRL setups only enable forward parking lights. Whether their car equips an automatic sensor or a traditional manual switch, this bit of forward lighting is the reason that many drivers — ‘ghost cars’, as they’re often known — head onto dark roads without realizing their taillamps are off. It’s up to each of us to ensure that our rides are properly lit — for our safety and for others’.
There is no risk to any vehicle system from switching all exterior lamps on whenever a vehicle is running. The drain on the electrical supply system is minimal, and the switches are designed to be operated a lot more times than you or your descendants will ever perform. With the rear lamps manually switched on, your chances of avoiding a rear-end collision are greatly increased. And rear-enders can cause the most damage to both vehicles and their occupants — especially when hit at higher speeds.
But automotive lamps, no matter how bright or piercing, might as well be left off if they’re not clear of snow or road-grime buildup. In this respect, vehicle designers have proved once again, their products are really only built for warmer climes. The increasing use of LED (light-emitting diode) lamps is actually making vehicles less safe in snowy winters, as LED lamps don’t produce the same snow-melting heat that classic incandescents did. After as little as a few kilometres of driving on a powdery snow-covered road, these slick modern units can become completely coated. Keep a few microfibre cloths in your vehicle to wipe away snowy or salty buildups from your vehicle’s exterior lamps, or use the snow brush for simple snow dustings. You should be checking them every time before getting in your ride during the winter. For maximum assurance, pop the lights and emergency flashers on for a walk-around at least once per week, just to be sure you aren’t running any burnt-out units.
If you’re looking for brighter headlamps, think twice before opting for LED or HID (high-intensity discharge) conversion kits. Aftermarket HID conversions have been outlawed in certain Canadian jurisdictions (including Ontario), and LED kits aren’t much safer for oncoming traffic unless the headlamps they’re being installed in use specific projection housings.
A standard headlamp is a light reflector. Its bulb projects its light backwards into the reflective rear surface of the lamp, which focuses the beam and casts it forward. LED bulbs project their light forward, so there’s no focus but instead a large, un-aimed white wash of light guaranteed to make you very unpopular with oncoming traffic. If your vehicle does have projector lamps, they’re easily identified by a large tube inside the lamp with a thick convex lens at its forward end. These can take LED bulbs, but most conversion kits don’t come with voltage adapters that will allow them to work without flickering. If your parts supplier lists such projection adapters for your particular make and model, get them.
Remember to keep it lit front and back to keep safe on Canada’s winter roads.
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