While driving in the UK, it is normal - and reasonable – to think that adverse weather conditions exclusively refer to torrential rainfall.
However, every once in a while, the weather making it difficult to drive might, in fact, be a cloudless sky and the sun. Especially during the winter months, where the sun is likely to be hanging low in the sky, piercing sunlight can make navigating the roads extremely difficult.
To help with this, we have a few tips to combat this rare phenomenon and keep you safe on the roads no matter the weather, rain or shine.
Your visor
Every car will have a handy visor for you to pull down to help block the sun when it’s hanging a bit low in the sky. These are particularly useful because you know that there is always going to be one there, so you don’t need to remember to bring anything. Modern visors will also allow you to ‘unhook’ one side of them so you can swivel the visor to your side, in case the offending sun is blinding you from your passenger window as opposed to directly in front of you.
Sadly, most visors are quite small, and so their use is limited in what they can block; plus they do nothing to relieve strong ambient light which can be real pain to deal with when driving long distances. That’s why, even though visors are great, it’s best to bring some additional sun protection when driving in bright conditions.
Sunglasses
Helps with direct sunlight, dampens overly bright and headache inducing ambient light, and of course, make you look cool – sunglasses are without a doubt your best bet to deal with difficult light conditions. Having a pair of shades tucked away in your glovebox all year round means you’ll never be caught out if the day is brighter than you were expecting, and, if like myself, you wear regular glasses, upgrading to photosensitive lenses means that you’ll never be without sun protection, so are definitely worth investing in.
Clean windshield
This might seem counter intuitive on some level, after all, a clean windshield would let more sunlight in! Well, unless your windshield is so dirt encrusted that no light is able to get through (in which case you probably have bigger problems to worry about than just some bright sunlight), a crystal-clear windshield is your best bet to avoid distracting sunbeams. Smudges on your windscreen can exacerbate any glare and turn a small annoyance into an unbearable problem, or even make it nearly impossible to see through your windshield due to the scattered light.
Keep your windshield squeaky clean and make sure your windscreen wash is topped up to easily avoid this.
Drive slow and increase distance
Sometimes, no matter how prepared you are, the sun can make driving dangerous. If the glare is too much or sun is just at the wrong height, make sure you stay safe and drive carefully. Slow down and give yourself as much space as possible between you and any cars ahead of you. Stay calm and drive safe and you should be fine, no matter how annoying the sun is at that particular moment.
And don’t worry, it will undoubtedly be cloudy and raining tomorrow anyway, so even if the sun is making it tricky to drive, try and enjoy it while it’s here…
If you enjoyed reading this blog, you might also like:
- A guide to stopping distances and how to drive safely in adverse conditions
- Top tips for cleaning your car windows
- Road trip essentials: 8 accessories you can't forget
Photo credit: Takahiro Taguchi via Unsplash
