Having two properly working headlights on a motor vehicle is essential to safe driving. Any less than two lights and the size of the on-coming vehicle in the dark might not be what you think it is. Any more than two lights and it could be blinding, or confusing to on-coming traffic (semi-tractor trailers and the like are the exception).
When we are driving down the road after dark, and we see two lights spaced evenly coming toward us, we can pretty well be sure it is another vehicle traveling in the other direction. (In some cases, it could be two motorcycles - however, one head light should not be as bright since motorcycles are required to be staggered on the road instead riding of side-by-side.) In any case, headlights help us to see the road and help others to see us.
When a headlight is not working, we do not have quality of vision on the road and other traffic may see us as something other than a full-sized automobile. A single light coming toward us could be a bike, a motorcycle, someone walking with a flashlight, another car with a headlight out – we can only guess - and not knowing for sure can hamper our driving safety.
Headlights can be sealed-beam or composite. Sealed-beam headlights are one complete unit where composite headlights have a bulb that is separate from the whole component. Replacing a bulb can be less expensive than having to replace an entire sealed-beam system, but either style is sufficient for driving safety, as long as they are properly maintained.
Depending on your vehicle make and model, there are different procedures used to replace a headlight bulb. Halogen bulbs are used in most new cars as they are smaller, produce a brighter light and they tend to last longer than regular bulbs.
A very important part of having efficient headlights on your vehicle is making sure they are adjusted properly for optimal lighting while driving. If one, or both of your headlights are directed too high, you will not have adequate vision of the road at night. This can also cause on-coming traffic direct eye contact and appear as if your high beams are on.
If one, or both of your headlights are directed to the sides of the vehicle, you will not see the center of the road clearly, however, error in the opposite direction could cause you to miss something on the shoulders of the road. You can see how important properly adjusted headlights can be for safe driving.
One last thing - most people neglect one simple maintenance on their headlights; they forget to clean them. It is as important to clean your headlights as it is to keep your windshield clean. This can definitely be a problem in the winter, but your car or truck headlights can also become dim by road dust, road repair tar and remnants of bugs in the summer. Check your headlights often for maximum driving safety.
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