We're deep into the worst season imaginable for driving.
The days are still short, so that most of us either go to or from work in the dark 鈥� both ways if we have long commutes or lengthy shifts.
Meanwhile, it's frequently raining, which makes it harder to see the cars ahead, pedestrians, cyclists, dogs, cats, wildlife, curbs, and potholes.
Oh, and there's a lot more potholes right now.
It's even harder to see the lines on the road, even in areas of our community where some combination of frequent construction, heavy truck traffic, and bad weather hasn't eroded the lines to almost nothing.
There's a lot to ask of drivers right now, but we'd like to start by asking everyone reading this to do just one thing: turn on your headlights.
Yes, during the day. Yes, even if they at least in part "automatically" come on.
Turning on your headlights doesn't just make it easier for you to see the road as it gets darker.
(And as we all know, on a day with heavy rain, it can feel like it starts to get dark around 3 p.m.)
It makes it easier for other drivers to see you. This is especially true for cars whose tail lights are only activated when the headlights are also turned on.
There are a host of terrible driving behaviours that we see all year long 鈥� blasting through red lights, turning without signalling, changing lanes like a pinball, speeding, and the ever popular staring at your phone while driving.
Obviously, none of us should be doing any of those things.
But if we're going to be driving while human 鈥� while we're distractable, tired, irritated, daydreaming, and all the other things that make humans less-than-ideal drivers 鈥� we should at least keep our headlights on.
Remember, it's not just the other driver that you might be saving from a potentially life-altering collision by doing so.
You could be saving yourself hundreds in insurance deductibles and thousands in increased premiums over the next several years. You could be saving yourself the hassle of renting a replacement vehicle, or even of winding up in court facing charges under the Motor Vehicle Act.
We should all be alert while driving. But give other drivers the chance to be alert for you, too.
