High Beams, Low Beams: When to Use Which

Headlights are an important vehicle safety feature and knowing when to use high beams and low beams can improve your visibility. There is no law that says drivers must use low beams during daylight hours except in inclement weather. However, most cars are equipped with options for running lights and/or a setting for having low beams on if the car is running. Although they won’t help you see on a sunny day, they do help other vehicles see you. These also automatically shut off when you turn off your car so you don’t need to worry about forgetting.

Kia Stinger

Most states have headlight laws and it is good to know what yours are. In South Carolina, SC Code § 56-5-4450 (2012) requires:

Every vehicle upon a street or highway within this State shall display lighted lamps and illuminating devices, excluding parking lights, from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, and at any other time when windshield wipers are in use as a result of rain, sleet, or snow, or when inclement weather or environmental factors severely reduce the ability to clearly discern persons and vehicles on the street or highway at a distance of five hundred feet ahead as required in this article for different classes of vehicles, subject to exceptions with respect to parked vehicles as provided in this article; provided, however, the provisions of this section requiring use of lights in conjunction with the use of windshield wipers shall not apply to instances when windshield wipers are used intermittently in misting rain, sleet, or snow.

Dusk and dawn can be difficult times to see and we would recommend having low beams during these hours, as well as, any inclement weather and night time. Having your headlights on also means your taillights are on and may prevent you from being hit in low light situations. In addition, low beams are highly recommended on two-lane highways and some roadways have mandatory headlight use signs that must be followed.

Kia Niro

High beam usage is not so clearly defined and is left largely to a driver’s judgment. There is no question high beams project and provide better visibility so they are advisable on rural and mountain roads, two-lane highways, side streets without lighting and even highways. Although high beams improve your visibility they will blind an oncoming driver so you may have to frequently turn them on and off. Never use high beams in heavy fog as it will make poor visibility even worse.

We also recommend fog lights which are angled downward with a wide beam pattern which reduces light reflecting off the fog and improves visibility. Newer cars may be equipped with high tech headlights that render fog lights unnecessary. Fog can be especially challenging to drive in so we encourage you to make sure your vehicle is adequately equipped.

It is also important to clean your headlights regularly to provide maximum visibility and protection and to keep all bulbs in working order.