Similar to my winter driving post in July 2024, it is getting to that time of year again where we will start to experience sunstrikes for a couple of weeks. Normally around the time when the clocks change. As we are going into autumn, the clocks will go back. When – Sunday 6th April 2025
What can we do to reduce the impact of it. First off, don’t panic. Think about delaying your journey or change your route. Total avoidance of these sunstrikes helps.
As we are driving towards the known locations where sunstrike is common, we should already be aware of what is happening in the distance of where we are heading. (We should be looking well ahead of us on the roads (approx. 12 seconds ahead) and not just what is immediately in front of our bumpers. This also means we need to make sure we are off our cellphones too).
Everyone should therefore be prepared to react to what is in front of us. What you can do, is ease off and ensure there is a gap between you and those in front. Remember,
Only a Fool breaks the two second rule
We should also drive to be seen as well. Let’s turn our headlights on and not just rely on our daytime running lights for others to see us. These lights are good on the front, but not all daytime running lights have the rear or taillights on. Let’s turn these on, so people behind us can see us in the distance.
If you need to change lanes, do this well in advance of the known sunstrike areas but if you really have to, make sure there is an actual gap before you merge.
Give the other person a chance to let you in. If you are merging from an on-ramp onto the motorways, again, make sure there is a gap for you to merge into. Don’t just muscle your way in. I’ve seen signs around that use the term – merge like a zip. A pretty cool sign that is easily understandable
Have a clean windscreen and good working wiper blades. The sun will highlight how well we have cleaned the windscreen. When you first notice any excessive amounts of smears, clean them to remove them before your next journey. Remember to do all of your windows, including the side windows and your rear window. Give your wiper blades a quick clean and wipe. This will remove any dirt, pollen or leaves that are leaving streaks or not clearing the dew and water cleanly.
When cleaning our windscreens, give your sunglasses a good clean too and check that your sun visor is easy to move into place. It should be moved so you can still see in front of you, but it blocks most of the direct glare from the sun.
Some additional tips to navigate through sunstrikes and if you can’t delay your journey or alter your route to avoid these common areas,
- Clean windscreen inside and out
- The sun will definitely highlight the dirt and smears on the windscreen making it hard to see through
- Invest in some good working windscreen wipers
- So the wipers don’t leave streaks across the windscreen
- Drive with your lights on
- Although it is bright, the different colours especially from the taillights helps drivers behind you know where you are and the distance between you and the person in front of you
- Increase the gap between the vehicle in front and yourself
- Buy yourself some extra time to react by increasing the gap.
- Use the sun visor
- Put a barrier between yourself and the big golden ball in the sky. Block the direct glare with the sun visor
- Wear sunglasses
- If you have polarised sunglasses, even better, but if you don’t, keep them clean and wear them to help you through the sunstrike
- Slow down slightly
- Drive to the conditions and don’t panic.
- Remember, people behind you may not have noticed that you have slowed down if you slow down considerably causing them to sharply hit their brakes. This will have a concertina effect further down the road. Eventually traffic will come to a stop away from the hazard for no apparent reason to those drivers.
- The sunstrike is only temporary and will soon disappear.
- Remember to get back up to speed with the road conditions ahead of you
DRIVE SAFELY
To close this blog, we need everyone in NZ while we are on the roads, either as a driver or passenger, to ensure the drivers are driving to the conditions. Take your time to get to your destination safely. As frustrating as it is to get to your destination a couple of minutes late, it is great that you have got to your destination. There has recently been a number of fatal crashes around the country, where those involved, will not be getting to the destination and spending time with their families and friends.
If you are driving and there is a lot of traffic behind you, pullover and let the traffic past. If there are passing lanes, allow the traffic to go by. Don’t speed up to prevent the traffic to pass by and then slow down again as the passing lanes finishes.
If you are getting frustrated, pullover and have a break. Grab yourself a coffee and create some distance between you and this vehicle. At least you’ll get to your destination, and likely to be less stressed when you get there.
Remember, taking those excessive risks, when frustrated or agitated because of the vehicles ahead are likely to increase the chance of an accident. We must all do better however good a driver we think we are. Take care on the roads and aim to get there safely.
Image 1 — Fall back courtesy of pinterest – 12 Best Fall back time ideas | fall back time, fall back, daylight savings time, and Image 2 – Otago Daily Times sunstrike google search 9/5/21 article Sunstrike a serious threat to road users | Otago Daily Times Online News