How to Deal With Sun Glare When Driving

Avoid a car accident due to sun glare It’s safe to say that all drivers have encountered “sun glare” at one time or another, even as a passenger in a car. This sudden sun-in-the-eyes phenomenon is the bane of those heading east in the morning and west in the afternoon. While it can’t be totally avoided, sun glare doesn’t have to be as frequent as it seems. You can take steps to reduce the chances of encountering it, which keeps you safer and helps prevent accidents. What Is Sun Glare? Sun glare is literally that glare you face when the sun shines directly into your windshield as you’re driving. Sun glare makes it very hard to see, both because the glare obscures what’s in front of you, and because you involuntarily squint and try to look somewhere else, futher reducing what you can see. As you can guess — and have likely experienced — sun glare can increase the risk of getting into an accident because you or another driver can’t clearly see what is going on in front of you. You could run red lights, hit vehicles and people, and even run off the road. What to Do When It Happens You probably already try to lower and adjust your sun visor to block out what light you can. You can also try to sit up straighter to make more of the glare disappear behind the visor, too, if the sun is too low on the horizon to be blocked by the visor when you’re sitting normally. In addition to adjusting your body and the visor, slow down. Part of the problem with sun glare is that you have less time to figure out what to do as you drive past potential obstacles. Slowing down gives you a few extra seconds, which can make all the difference. How to Reduce the Occurrence of Sun Glare You can also make some preventative moves. Keep your windshield clean inside and out; grime often builds up on the inside of the windshield and increases glare. Cover light-colored dashboards with dark cloth to further reduce interfering reflections in the windshield. Also, wear sunglasses. While these can’t eliminate glare, they can reduce the halo or starburst effect that accompanies bright light. Have you been in an accident or need other legal advice? Contact Eisenberg Law Offices to discuss your situation and see what course of action would be best to take. (opens in a new tab)]]>