See and be seen on the roads this winter

With autumn and winter comes dark afternoons and longer nights. Many motorists will find themselves driving home in the dark. At the same time it will be common to see vehicles on the road with only one headlamp working.

Driving at night can be challenging! This is made more difficult with only one headlamp working.

This is dangerous for the driver of the vehicle as he or she only has half of the normal available light to see, but it makes it difficult for every other road user to correctly spot the vehicle.

With only one headlamp working a car could easily be mistaken for a motorcycle. Judging the width of an oncoming vehicle is also made difficult resulting in a possible low speed scrape.

A more serious collision could occur during overtaking.  If you can not see on coming vehicle when overtaking due to one headlight only working you have limited time to react. This is made especially difficult if the offside (right) headlamp is not working.

Its not just headlights that should be checked! Having a blown bulb at the rear of the vehicle poses its own problems. A brake light or tail light not working increases your chances of a rear end shunt or collision as the driver following takes longer to realise that the car ahead is either stopping or just was not visible to begin with.

It is illegal to drive with external lights not working. In most cases a light not working simply needs to have its bulb replaced. As the leading UK supplier of vehicle bulbs Ring Automotive has the widest range of bulbs to suit your requirements. Simply visit ringautomotive.co.uk for more information on bulbs and to find your nearest stockist.

Checking your vehicle lights are working is a quick and simple task that will save you a possible fine, but also helps you and other road users’ stay save on the road.