Brits are in the dark when it comes to car headlights

Over half of Brits (54 per cent) admit they’ve accidentally driven without headlights at least once in the past year and over 1 million motorists admit to having crashed, made a sudden manoeuvre or had a ‘near miss’ because they had forgotten to turn their lights on. With winter fast approaching, bringing with it shorter days and longer nights, improper use of headlights becomes increasingly dangerous on Britain’s roads.

Research commissioned by esure car insurance revealed that potentially over 26 million UK motorists are unaware of the Highway Code guidelines when it comes to using their car headlights. Over 4 million motorists don’t even know that their car had sidelights, more than 2½ million motorists have never used their fog lights before and almost all UK motorists (99 per cent) have been dazzled by oncoming traffic using full beam headlights.

Nine out of ten (90 per cent) UK motorists questioned have flashed their car lights to alert fellow drivers of the need to switch on their headlights. However, this well-meaning reminder could be doing more harm than good: over half of motorists questioned worry that something is wrong with their vehicle when they are ‘flashed’ by another car and 57 per cent mistake the signal for ‘police ahead’. In fact, 65 per cent of respondents admitted to confusing the flash of a car’s headlights as a sign to slow down, causing potential danger on UK roads.

Despite new EU legislation proposals to combat misuse of headlights by enforcing drivers to have their lights on constantly, concerns have already been raised about the environmental issues surrounding this. As a result, esure is looking to develop a concept that is an in-car light sensor to combat the existing forgetfulness and confusion that surrounds this issue. Indeed, 65% of motorists questioned said they would like to have an in-car gadget to remind them when to turn on their vehicle’s lights and to help reduce accidents caused by improper use of car headlights.

The light alert consists of a simple sensor that is easily fitted to the car dashboard and registers when it is sufficiently dark enough to switch on the headlights. The driver is alerted by an unobtrusive beep and a light on the device which will indicate which lights to turn on.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure, said: “As the nights become longer and darker, it is essential that motorists use their headlights properly while driving. It can be easy to forget to turn on your lights, especially when you’ve been driving for long periods of time or after you have stopped for petrol. Drivers must be extra vigilant during the winter and ensuring you are driving with the correct lights on is an important issue when it comes to driving safely.”

Regional Differences:

People from East Anglia are the safest drivers when it comes to using their headlights appropriately. In contrast, motorists from Northern Ireland are the most reluctant to switch their lights on, with almost a fifth (18 per cent) claiming that they never think it’s dark enough to justify using their headlights. And a worrying 118,000 Welsh drivers claim that they don’t turn on their headlights frequently in a bid to conserve their car battery!

Gender Divide:

Women are more prone to worrying than men: when a fellow motorist flashes their headlights at them they are three times more likely than men to feel ‘panicked and stressed’ and a massive 59 per cent of women questioned (compared to only 44 per cent of males) worry that something is wrong with their car.

Professor Steve Stradling, Professor of Transport Psychology at Napier University and member of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said: “Misuse of headlights at this time of year can be particularly dangerous for motorists, especially on badly lit roads. In particular, drivers should try to use dipped headlights and not full beam unless absolutely necessary and always remember to leave adequate space between their vehicle and the car in front, so as not to dazzle other motorists.”