Do you have your headlights on? A lot of people seem not to know how to drive their $65,000 SUV’s. There is a vehicle out there that has a Christmas tree pattern around the front headlights. The white lights look pretty and are flashy. But they are not headlights.
The low intensity light that is in the middle of the string of Christmas lights is what are called daytime running lights. They are there to insure that you are seen coming down the road. At night these light do not have the intensity of a headlight and do not put out a light that illuminates the minimum distance of 250 feet down the road.
And when these daytime running lights are on, you do not have tail lights. Take a look at some of these cars as they drive by you. You will see only the Christmas lights and as the vehicle passes you, there are no tail lights or license plate lights.
Once the sun sets, all drivers are required by law to have their lights illuminated. If an accident happens and the other driver claims not to have seen you because you did not have your lights on, it is an easy test to determine the claim.
The investigating officer will just take the broken light bulb and send it to the Crime Lab for analysis. An experienced officer can tell at the scene. A light bulb broken while lighted will burn the element with carbon and actually burn through. The light bulb that was not illuminated will be just fine.
So if you have a new car or SUV with fancy lights, ask the salesman to teach you how to turn them on or set the automatic function. If you have one of these vehicles, check to see if you have tail lights, if not, turn the headlights on.
