Can you feel it? The long Irish Winter looming large and ominously over our heads? The nights slowly creeping its way into our daylight hours. Which of course brings with it some inherent dangers for drivers on the road, because, of course, being able to see the road is a big help in avoiding danger.

Here are some handy tips on how to check and use vehicle lights in preparation for the short and dark days to come. Regularly check that all lights work. While someone observes the lights around the car, switch on each light one-by-one: headlights, sidelights, fog lights, indicators, brake lights, reverse lights, hazard warning lights and number plate lights.

If alone, park by a reflective surface such as a garage door, illuminate all lights in sequence and look for the reflections. When away from street lighting, visibility is limited to the range of the head lights. This varies greatly between dipped and full-beam; slow down when driving on dipped head lights. Lights give motorists an early warning of each other's presence.

Look for approaching lights when driving around corners, adjust the position of the vehicle accordingly and dip your own headlights to avoid dazzling other motorists. If oncoming drivers forget to dip their lights, slow down and give your eyes time to adjust to avoid blindness. Never stay on full-beam to retaliate. It is difficult to judge approaching speed in the dark so take extra care when making a manoeuvre and always allow traffic to pass when waiting to pull out at a junction.

The weather will also dictate when to use headlights and fog lights. Use fog lights sparingly; switch them on only when visibility is below 100 metres. Leaving them on after fog has disappeared is an offence and a danger to other motorists. A general good rule of thumb is to switch on dipped headlights during heavy rain and poor light. Never use lights to dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users - this is, as you are probably already aware, very much against the law and very dangerous to all parties.

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