How to Try Avoiding Accidents While Driving Into the Sun

While the typical sunny weather perfect for heading out to any one of California’s beautiful beaches, it can also make for difficult driving conditions. This is especially true during sunrise and sunset when the sun is directly in the line of sight of drivers. So how can someone drive safely when heading directly into the sun?

It is important to remember to slow down. People will naturally slow down when they cannot see while driving, so others must be prepared for that. Even when there is not a lot of traffic on the road, drivers must slow down to watch out for wildlife, pedestrians, and cyclists.

What are Potential Hazards in the Car

People should always keep sunglasses in their vehicles. It is also important to remember that keeping them in the glove compartment or on the dashboard is not advisable. Sunglasses may be necessary at a moment’s notice so they should be worn on the head, where the driver can quickly grab them to shield their eyes when the sun’s glare gets particularly bad.

Nothing should be on the dashboard when it is sunny. Many items such as CDs, sunglasses, and even white paper have a reflective quality that can shine the sun’s light further into the driver’s eyes. And when these items slide around the dashboard after turning or stopping suddenly, it can be a distraction.

A car’s visor can always help shield the driver’s eyes from the sun, but this only cuts down the glare directly in front of the car. And there may be glare coming from behind the rear-view mirror or the passenger side of the windshield that can still blind a person.

To combat this, window tinting can help and is allowed in California. Tinting on the windshield must be transparent and may not extend five inches from the top of the windshield. The side windows in the front of the car can also be tinted, but they must still allow 70 percent of light in.

How to Avoid Looking Into the Sun

Drivers should not try to look directly into the sun, even if that means they cannot look straight ahead as they normally would while driving. Instead, the line at the right side of the road should be used as a guide. This will keep the sun’s glare out of their eyes and prevent damage to the eyes that the sun can do in a matter of minutes.

California is a very sunny state and usually, those who live in the state are very thankful for it. But that sun can be dangerous at times, particularly for people on the road. And with so much sun, it is important that all drivers know how to deal with it when they are behind the wheel.