California Driving Glare: Killer Commute

Tips for coping with veiling glare or sun glare:

* Keep your windshield in good condition and make sure it is clean on both the outside and inside. A dirty windshield can behave like a prism when the sunlight hits it, worsening the effect of the glare.
* Wear quality sunglasses with polarized lenses and UV protection. Also use your sun visor.
* If possible, change your driving route. Use north-south streets until you find an east-west road with lots of trees or taller buildings.
* If you're buying a new car, particularly one that has a windshield that slopes back, avoid ones with light-colored dashes.
* Avoid popular vinyl cleaners that give your dash a high-gloss finish. Looks great, but they turn your dash into a mirror.
* If the glare is particularly bad due to a sunrise or sunset, pull over to a safer location and wait it out.
* Keep to a space of at least a four to five second following distance. If the vehicle suddenly brakes ahead of you, you'll have a longer distance to stop and avoid a collision altogether.
 

Daylight savings changes in the spring have done more than create havoc on people's sleep patterns. For many the commutes have become treacherous and seemingly blinding with sun glare making it next to impossible to see. Most sun glare accidents happen in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is on the horizon and little protection is offered by a car's sun visor. Unfortunately, these times coincide perfectly with rush hour, making accidents even more likely. Police say blinding glare is a lot more common and deadly than most people realize. An often repeated scenario is this: the driver hears a thump and looks in their rear view mirror to see a person on the ground. "I never saw anyone," they say, time after time.

Glare is especially acute in early spring, which astronomers call the equinox and is at its worst when the sun is low, toward the horizon. That typically is the hour or so after sunrise and before sunset. In addition to not see people, motorists also run red lights because it looks the same upon approach as the green light they saw moments before. Many suits have been brought in United States courts as a result of sun glare obliterating traffic control devices or oncoming vehicles or pedestrians from view. Multiple terms have been used to describe this situation, including disability glare, veiling glare, sun blindness, and sun dazzle. The effect is to wash out the image on the retina with a bright, overwhelmingly dominant spot or pattern. Tips from the DMV: Understanding your car's VIN; Maximize trip to the DMV; Drunk driving and DUIs