Visibility of vehicle key to being safe on the road

There are various ways to stand out besides lighting, writes Brian Turner.

The recent news from Transport Canada regarding vehicle lighting standards has many in the industry and outside of it focused on lighting.

As a reminder, starting in September 2021 all new passenger vehicles sold in this country will be subjected to new exterior lighting regulations. They will be required to have all exterior lights power up automatically with the ignition, or have them controlled by a light sensor to make them operate in dim light conditions, or have instrument clusters with no back lighting until the headlamps are turned on.

All this is to answer the problem of drivers running their vehicles at dusk or in the dark with only their daytime running lights on.

There are many ways to improve the visibility of our vehicles for other drivers, and of course the first and best way is to simply turn on all the exterior lights every time we drive. In darkness or dim-light situations this is a no-brainer, but even in good daylight it can make our rides stand out in a sometimes very crowded field. But there are other ways as well.

First is colour choice: The three top colours for passenger vehicles around the globe haven’t changed much in years, and while they sometimes trade positions on the hit parade, they remain white, silver/grey, and black. The first makes our vehicles invisible in winter, black can be invisible at night, and silver/grey is great for camouflaging our rides in almost any urban environment. So if you want to stand out in the crowd, consider another colour when shopping for a new vehicle.

Reflective striping: If you don’t want to rush out and buy a new vehicle just to change colours, consider reflective striping or vinyl cladding panels. They don’t have to look garish, and many auto enthusiasts have come up with great patterns that improve the look of a vehicle and inexpensively take it from ho-hum to standout. Many glass and trim shops offer this service. Google images of “reflective pin-striping for cars” to get some ideas on how this can look.

Rear fog lamps: These have been popular in Europe for years but have never caught on here. They’re not designed to blind following drivers, but simply put a bright light down on the road surface just behind the rear bumper. They mostly only appear as one single light but some models have two. Aftermarket suppliers carry a wide variety of 12-volt lamps and trailer lamps that can easily be modified to fit most vehicles.