Night vision is reduced by up to 20% when we are driving. It is essential to see and be seen by other drivers. That is why we need to know the type of lights we have and use them properly.
It is no excuse that we went to driving school a thousand years ago and our driving licence is a little faded. The headlights of a car, or of any vehicle, are a safety feature that we must know how to use perfectly, keeping an eye on their maintenance and avoiding glare that could leave us out of action for 3.6 seconds (long enough to have an accident).
Different optics, different distances
- The typical basic set of halogen lights, the minimum that car manufacturers must provide, reaches 60 metres.
- Xenon lights, which are more advanced, can light up 90 metres.
- LED lights reach 300 metres, and they are also used for daytime running lights, automatic headlights and other adaptive technologies.
- Laser lights can illuminate up to 600 metres and are used in the most advanced models, like LEDs.
Types of lights for seeing and being seen
- Dipped beam or low beam, which must be used at night or during the day in adverse weather, in reversible lanes or in tunnels. Likewise, if our vehicle was made before 2011, it is advisable to switch them on during the day.
- Main beam or high beam, used at night, and their use is quite restricted, as they cause a lot of glare (they are permitted when there is little lighting, or when a number plate cannot be read at 10 metres).
- Front fog lights are an extra light, so to speak, for when weather conditions are particularly harsh (fog, snowfall, torrential rain, dust storms).
- Reversing lights are one or two white lights that come on when reverse gear is engaged: they are a warning light for other drivers.
- Mandatory position lights accompany the vehicle; they do not light the way but they help us to be seen.
- Rear fog light, an intense light that can help prevent collisions or rear-end shunts; it is only used in heavy rain or when fog or snowfall is particularly dense.