Motorists Reminded to Turn on Lights

COURTESY OF THE YARMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT

YARMOUTH – With Tuesday morning’s wintery mix turning to rain, Yarmouth police are reminding the public of the state law that requires headlights and taillights to be on during the day in inclement weather.

The law is meant to increase safety by making vehicles more visible.

“Some people are confused. They think the daytime running lights that some people have in their cars are good enough. They are not,” said Yarmouth Deputy Chief of Police Steven Xiarhos. “You need to have the taillights on too so you can illuminate the front and the rear during the day during inclement weather.”

Xiarhos said having the lights on does help to provide crashes.

The law was passed in January and took effect on April 7.

The headlights and taillights are required when windshield wipers are in use, when low light or conditions prevent other vehicles or pedestrians from being seen at 500 feet and a half hour after sunset or before sunrise.

“We believe it’s about an 80 percent compliance rate which is great,” Xiarhos said. “And we don’t really want to be out there giving tickets. We’d rather just prevent trouble by educating the public.”

According to Yarmouth police, studies have found requiring lights during inclement weather reduced head-on crashes by 10 percent.

“Put your headlights and taillights on. It’ll reduce crashes,” Xiarhos said.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter