End salt stains and start a light debate

Protect your vehicle’s carpets — and other drivers’ vision

What do you do for salt that collects on a car’s carpets over winter? I tried using a cleaning product designed for this problem but wasn’t satisfied with the results.

— COLIN KING, Ottawa

If a commercial salt-erase product hasn’t done the trick, your vehicle’s carpet may be permanently stained. You can try a hand-held steam cleaner/wand device and a stiff nylon brush. Avoid getting the carpet soaking wet, as many vehicles have electrical wiring and components under the carpet that can get damaged, not to mention the possibility of bacteria or mould growth from a wet underpadding.

If this doesn’t work, you may want to look into recovering your floor with a weatherproof floor liner from such companies Weathertech (weathertech.ca), Westin (westinautomotive.com), or Aries (ariesautomotive.com). These products can completely cover the carpet and provide an easy-to-clean, waterproof surface that keeps water and salt from getting at the aforementioned electronics. Daytime running lights (DRLs) are a bad idea. I have noticed dozens of drivers every night (or during rain or snow) using only daytime running lights instead of turning on their full headlamps and taillamps. You cannot see them from behind or coming toward you. These drivers are either too lazy or too dumb, but the problem has reached a point where DRLs should be banned or manufacturers should be forced to install auto-on and auto-off headlights. For me, the straw that broke the camel’s back came when I followed a car without lights one recent night and turned my own lights on and off to alert its driver. He stopped his car, waved angrily and spat on my car before peeling off like a maniac.

— MICHAEL LANTHIER, Gatineau

I, like many automotive enthusiasts, writers, drivers and safety advocates, agree that full-on headlamps (thus illuminating taillamps) is the safest way to drive at any time, day or night, and in any weather, bright or stormy. It’s interesting that the U.S. originally turned down the idea of daytime running lights because the transport authorities believed that if every vehicle had these lights, it would “dilute” the effect of individual vehicles standing out and being noticed. In other words, everyone would get used to all vehicles having their headlights on and would go back ignoring everyone else on the road.

Usually, however, it’s bright lights, not dim lights, that spur readers to write in to vent. I’ve received lots of email on the exceedingly bright high intensity discharge (HID) headlamps, and specifically on their use in vehicles that weren’t designed for them. These lights become a real hazard to oncoming vehicles and those in front of the HID lumatics (lunatics obsessed with having the brightest lights on the planet). Finally an Ontario police service has come forward warning lamp modifiers they will face fines and the removal of their vehicle from the road if they’re caught with lights that don’t meet government standards.

According to Sudbury Police Service traffic enforcement officer quoted in a recent CBC report, complaints about blinding headlamps come in on a nightly basis. Police roadside interviews and investigations into collisions revealed that other drivers are being temporarily blinded. Consumers were warned to do their homework before investing in these types of lamps as an accessory for cars not originally fitted with them. The officer went on to state that if lamps are found not to conform to Transport Canada regulations, a fine of $110 is possible along with the risk of having the vehicle towed off public roads.