Every firefighter has stories of wrecks that made no sense. Clear skies, dry asphalt, straight roads and still, someone was in a ditch. Eventually, you spot the pattern. The time of day. The low angle of the sun. The so-called “witching hours,” when sunlight hits cars at just the right height to erase everything a driver needs to see.
In technical terms, it’s called sun glare or sunstrike when light reflects directly off the road or windshield and temporarily blinds the driver. For a few seconds, lane markings, signals, and even pedestrians vanish. Those seconds are often enough to end a life.
Across the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attributes around 3,000 crashes every year to sun glare, though researchers believe the real number is much higher due to underreporting. A landmark analysis published in the American Journal of Medicine found that the risk of a life-threatening crash increases by 16 percent during bright sunlight compared with normal conditions.
In Britain, Department for Transport data show 33,000 casualties over the past decade where “dazzling sun” was a contributing factor an average of 650 deaths and serious injuries each year. More than 14 percent of UK drivers admit they’ve had a crash or near-miss caused by glare.
The danger windows are consistent everywhere: roughly 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., when the sun sits low on the horizon. These hours line up almost perfectly with peak commuting times. Autumn and winter bring the toughest conditions, especially after the clocks change, when evening traffic drives directly into the dipping sun.
Experts call it “the invisible hazard.” The brain simply can’t adjust fast enough from glare-blindness to normal sight. Recovery takes five to seven seconds long enough to cover the length of a football field at highway speed.
Guardian-style simplicity often protects drivers best.
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Keep your windscreen spotless, inside and out dirt and film scatter light into a blinding smear.
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Fit and wear polarised sunglasses to cut reflected glare.
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Use visors early, even before the glare blinds you.
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Slow down or pull over if vision drops. You aren’t cautious you’re surviving.
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Turn on daytime running lights to help oncoming drivers see you through the glare.
Safety specialists at the RAC Foundation say drivers often underestimate glare because it happens in good weather, lulling them into a false sense of security. The truth is more unsettling: most fatal glare-related crashes occur on clear, dry days, with perfect visibility except for that split second when the world disappears in light.
The next time the low sun hits your windshield and everything turns white, remember that you might be in the witching hour. It’s not the storm you should fear, but the sun.