Use high beams cautiously

High beams on the vehicles are meant to help aid visibility occasionally during poor lighting or at night. However, its use for a long time can obstruct the visibility of vehicles coming from the opposite direction and cause an accident.

Statistics reveal that after mobile phone usage, reckless driving and multitasking affect visibility and worsen it due to high beam lights.

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) have urged motorists to turn high beams into low beams when not needed and the opposite vehicles to avoid staring directly at the headlights of vehicles coming towards you. If the vehicle behind you is using a high beam, turn your rear mirror into ‘night mode’ and alert by showing hazard lights.

“Using high beams when driving behind a vehicle at night, or when facing another vehicle is considered a traffic violation, and motorists should keep aloof from using the same as it can result in blurred visibility resulting in fatal accidents,” an ROP statement has said.

Worldwide, the use of a high beam headlight system has been found to create a glare to drivers of oncoming and preceding vehicles and they would be distracted or blinded towards an imminent danger on the road. This has resulted in several accidents, the majority of which are fatal, as they aren’t given time to react to the sudden thrush of light to their eyes.

Experts say the anti-glare facilities in median strips are intended to block opposing headlights to avoid disability glare. However, headlight leakage from vehicles approaching from opposite directions can result in uncomfortable glare, disabling the drivers from detecting dangerous obstacles or road conditions and leading to accidents.

These high beams or bright lights are brighter than the default headlights and aimed higher to give the driver a clear view of the entire road stretch ahead and both shoulders on narrow roads. Hence, they are only intended for use when there is no oncoming traffic and one should obey the signs given by oncoming cars to turn the bright light into low light.

“I have sometimes felt the consequences of high beam light and have met with an accident due to the same thing. I believe awareness should be placed in public places or malls because everyone doesn’t follow social apps. Digital hoarding in malls would be very helpful to spread awareness. Now I am seeing maximum cars keeping the distance from the front car while stopping at a signal,” Ahmed al Hattali, a PR executive, said.

“I appreciate this kind of awareness because sudden high beam light from the back is too dangerous as you can’t think of whether to keep the car in the same lane or take a right because you can’t see; I had a narrow escape once in the recent past,” says Shaabu Ahmed, a sales executive.

He added that there are some drivers who, unfortunately, consistently refuse to turn down the lights, and if you insist on him turning them down, he will turn them off near you and turn them back on later, causing trouble to the preceding drivers.