Solar glare

[hotdogPi]

This thread is about:
Solar glare
What you do when there is solar glare
Solar glare signs
Lack of solar glare signs where there should be signs



MA 2 East, approaching I-495. This image is from Google Maps, but I saw it for real a few days ago.

[Pete from Boston]

You slow down.

[1995hoo]

Slow down. Turn on headlights. Wear good sunglasses. Use the fold-down sun visors that are standard equipment in every modern car.

One of my rules of thumb for driving is that if I have any trouble seeing either an oncoming car without headlights or a car behind me without headlights (either in my rearview or a sideview mirror), I immediately turn on my headlights because I assume other drivers will have difficulty seeing me. I err on the side of having my lights on. I also always use my headlights on two-lane roads where you're allowed to pass over the center line (a rare exception came last week when I was driving aimlessly and stumbled upon a passing zone in a residential area where I was not expecting one, as I hadn't been on that road before). The latter practice is similar to the use of daytime running lights and I picked it up from my father, who in turn picked it up on the Trans-Canada Highway on family vacations when I was a kid. It makes an oncoming car a lot easier to see when you're considering whether to pass. I also never drive with just the parking lights on because I see no point in doing so.

Another possibility if the sun is behind you but glaring in your rearview is to flip the mirror to the other position if it's that sort or to turn on the auto-dimming if your mirror has that function.

I have never seen a road sign warning of solar glare (or any other synonymous term), and we have a fair number of roads in this area that go almost due east or due west such that the sun can be a very serious problem at certain times of day (westbound I-66 during the evening rush hour can be brutal at the wrong time of afternoon at certain times of year).

I remember working on the briefing for a lawsuit when I was in law school (summer job at a law firm in Montgomery, Alabama) in which a person involved in a car accident was suing our client for allegedly causing the accident. He claimed to have been blinded by the combination of construction dust and the sun shining on the dust. But he admitted he didn't slow down. We won because we were able to argue the standard of care a reasonable person is expected to exercise is to slow down when something, including the sun or dust, obstructs your vision, and by failing to slow down he was negligent. Alabama recognizes "contributory negligence" as a defense–any negligence on the part of the plaintiff that contributes to the accident will prevent him from recovering.

So in other words, the fact that the sign says "Speed Limit 70" does not mean you're entitled to go 70 if sun glare (or anything else) is interfering with your ability to see the road and the traffic ahead of you.

[Rainking75]

Nice move from my home state. First time I've seen that type of sign in the wild.

Have to say I've experienced the phenomenon many times and it can be quite scary, especially if you're locking through a dirty or pitted windscreen...

[SectorZ]

That's one of the strangest signs I've ever seen.  Do people really need to be informed that the sun rises in the morning and might make it hard to see if you you are facing east towards it? 

That stretch of road there goes around a sweeping right curve with a large downhill (after the straight uphill pictured), and dumps you right into the sun, just before exit 39 (Taylor St) and exits 40A/B (I-495), all in close succession. As much as solar glare is prevalent many places, beyond that sign has had its share of accident. That sign went up not too long ago.

[1995hoo]

You know, it's funny, I'm watching baseball and I'm reminded of how when you watch Nationals spring training games from Viera, Florida, they tell you the broadcast will be interrupted at a specific time of afternoon due to the position of the sun in the sky messing with the signal. I don't remember specifics beyond what I just said, but it's the only time I've ever seen that sort of thing on TV either.

[Pete from Boston]

By the way, did Don Saklad start this thread?  It sure reads like it.

[hbelkins]

This can really be an issue in certain spots, depending on time of year. There are times in the fall when the angle of the sun in the western sky can really cause problems along the outer loop of the northwestern quadrant of KY 4 (New Circle Road) in Lexington during the afternoon rush.

[roadman]

That's one of the strangest signs I've ever seen.  Do people really need to be informed that the sun rises in the morning and might make it hard to see if you you are facing east towards it? 

That stretch of road there goes around a sweeping right curve with a large downhill (after the straight uphill pictured), and dumps you right into the sun, just before exit 39 (Taylor St) and exits 40A/B (I-495), all in close succession. As much as solar glare is prevalent many places, beyond that sign has had its share of accident. That sign went up not too long ago.

This sign, which was installed as part of the last Route 2 Harvard to Concord sign replacement project, replaced a smaller ground-mounted sign that was put up by the District about early 2000.  The original sign read "USE CAUTION SOLAR GLARE IN AM".  The text was changed on the new sign to reflect (no pun intended) the fact that there are also overcast days as well.

[agentsteel53]

Don Saklad

there's a blast from the past.

[Brandon]

You slow down.

Like three of the expressways (Stevenson, Eisenhower, Kennedy) do going into and out of Chicago every fucking day.  It's a bit of sun folks, not a reason to crawl at 5 mph.

[Urban Prairie Schooner]

This thread is about:
Solar glare
What you do when there is solar glare
Solar glare signs
Lack of solar glare signs where there should be signs



MA 2 East, approaching I-495. This image is from Google Maps, but I saw it for real a few days ago.

Use the car sun visor.

When I lived in New Orleans, one of my standard commuting routes was Airline Highway. The sun visor got good use.