December, 27, 2015. The travel plans seemed fairly simple. After dropping their youngest daughter off at the airport, the parents would drive the older daughter back to her college campus in Louisiana. The younger daughter would be traveling by plane with her high school band to perform at the Holiday Bowl Parade and football game. the rest of the family would make a stop in Shreveport, Louisiana, to drop off the older daughter. the next morning, the parents would drive further south and enjoy a few days in New Orleans before returning home.
The first part of the trip went pretty smoothly, but shortly after heading south out of Kansas City the rain started. The rest of the eight hour drive was a combination of wind, rain, and thunder and lightening. the family made it to their destination safely, but the drive took more time than they expected. With highways flooding and being closed shortly after they passed through, the family knew that they were lucky that had not left an hour later.
And while the roads they needed were never closed, they did make one wrong turn which took them on a very narrow two lane highway that twisted and turned its way through the hills of Arkansas. Without realizing that their GPS system instructed them to make a turn that made a 15 mile path into Oklahoma, the road became even more narrow and the rain fell even harder. One especially bright crack of lightening lit up the roadway enough for the three passengers to notice that the water running in the ditches was getting perilously close to coming on the road. If there had been a safe place to stop they would have found a room for the night and continued the journey to Shreveport in the morning. As it was, they found themselves in the middle of no where, not even a place to stop when their phones went off with flash flood and tornado warnings.
The bright flashes of lightening provide a much more detailed view of their surroundings and made them realize that their headlights did not seem to be working well. Wen they finally found a place to stop for gas they also took time to check the headlights. It was the that they realized that the headlights had some how become fogged on the inside and were not functioning as they should. They decided that they would have to get a headlight restoration spray to see if they could improve the situation.
The Dangers of Driving at Night
It may not seem surprising that more traffic accidents occur at night than during the day. A recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently released information that indicated that approximately 2,300 pedestrians are killed in the U.S. annually because of drivers? inability to see at night. Other research indicates that despite the fact that there is 60% less traffic on the roads at night, more than 40% of all fatal car accidents occur during this time. Obviously, maintaining a vehicle’s headlights can be an important step in safer nighttime driving.
When headlights dim they sometimes do so because the head lamp cover has become fogged. Often the result of a lose seal that lets moisture in, this situation decreases illumination ranges. A headlight restoration spray or other headlight lens restoration kit can make an immediate and noticeable improvement. A headlight renewal kit, which often includes headlight restoration spray, can be used by car owners as well as mechanics. The affordability of doing this task yourself, however, means that you do not have to pay for a professional service to make the repair.
Car maintenance takes attention to detail and time. Making sure that your vehicle is as safe as it should be and that it performs as well as it can requires careful attention. While many car and truck owners understand the importance of regular oil changes and tire rotations, they sometimes forget about the specific maintenance of car headlights.
The purpose of car headlights is obviously to make sure that your vehicle is seen by the rest of the traffic on the road. Do not let something as simple not using a headlight restoration spray keep you from being safe.
