It's amazing to me how many people don't turn on their headlights until it's pitch-black outside. Yesterday's misty freezing rain reminded me that I should really question the brain size of many drivers in Michigan. Not that this problem is just limited to the Great Lakes State.

Why do people only use headlights so that they can see in front of them at night? Don't they realize that the glowing beams also serve the purpose of alerting other drivers of your position?

Michigan had a bit of freezing rain and fog yesterday morning. The roads weren't horrible but the fog limited visibility quite a bit. I hopped into our long-term VW Jetta TDI for a quick errand. As I pulled out onto a slightly busy road, I was nearly rear-ended by a silver Ford Focus that didn't have its headlights blazing. I never saw the car. Amazingly, many of the drivers out on the roads yesterday were actually using their lights. I guess that only made the silver Focus that much more dangerous as I was used to judging the speed and position of the other cars wih the help of their lights.

So, I call upon all drivers to reach down and flick your headlights into the "on" position in the following situations:

-Rain, any rain at all
-Snow, even if it is the lightest of snow falls
-Fog. I can't believe I even need to type that
-Nightime
-Early AM, early evening...anytime it is not 100% daylight outside
-Basically, anytime there is a chance that visibility is down from ideal

Thank you...