Auburn, Maine, Police Are Reminding Drivers to Turn Their Headlights on

The fact that the Auburn Police Department has to put out this warning makes you wonder what's wrong with drivers who don't turn on their headlights. However, with the way vehicles have evolved over the past decade, the reason people are forgetting to turn on their headlights makes perfect sense.

If you own a car manufactured in the last 10 years or so, you likely have an automatic headlight feature. Leaving your headlights on auto will turn them on automatically when it gets dark enough either at night or in the rain. If you don't have automatic headlights, you may think they are on when they are not.

The Auburn Police Department posted this warning on their Facebook page, asking people to make sure their headlights are turned on:

There has been an increase in drivers forgetting to turn their headlights on. Newer cars with their bright digital dashboards and daytime running lights give you the false impression that your lights are on when they are not. This has even happened to us. Please double-check yours the next time you head out. While we would be de-lighted to meet you, we'd prefer to not meet by accident. We hope this post brightens your night.

Dad jokes aside, they make a very good point. Cars today have dashboards displaying backup cameras, fuel consumption, speed, the temperature outside, navigation, and on and on. The days of just having a high beam indicator and two turn signals on the dash are long gone.

So keep this in mind the next time you get in your car. Check to make sure you've got your headlights on, or at least set in the automatic position if you have that feature. It will make you and everyone else on the road more visible and much safer.