The RAC has offered advice on how motorists can maintain their headlights in excellent condition throughout winter.
With December featuring the year's shortest day, it becomes the most crucial month to ensure your lights remain as bright as possible. Over time, headlights can lose their effectiveness compared to when they were brand new.
While replacing the entire unit remains one option, the RAC (Royal Automobile Club) has stated there's a far more affordable method to restore your lights to their original brilliance - toothpaste, reports the Express.
Though this may appear an unusual approach to vehicle maintenance, the roadside recovery organisation confirms that properly applying toothpaste can deliver impressive outcomes.
They stated: "Thanks to the abrasive elements of gritty toothpaste, it can gently wear away a surface layer of scrapes and scratches on your headlight casing."
The RAC subsequently detailed the proper toothpaste application technique for vehicles. They advise using "the gritty kind" containing baking soda on the headlight lenses with a toothbrush until the toothpaste becomes "turn dirty, or start to discolour".
When this happens, they suggest allowing it to dry before carefully removing it "with a cloth and warm water".
Beyond toothpaste, the RAC also suggested using sandpaper, baking soda, white wine vinegar, or cola as budget-friendly alternatives to effectively revitalise headlights.
However, if you're not feeling confident about tackling this car-related task, the RAC reassures drivers that there's no harm in getting a professional to do it for them.
They added: "If you're not so confident tackling cloudy headlights yourself or it seems too fiddly, you can always leave the job to a garage. The cost of restoration will vary depending on whether you need to replace a bulb, restore or replace the headlight unit, and the type of bulbs you need."
This isn't the first time the RAC has offered advice related to headlights as we continue through the winter months.
The RAC has also provided guidance on the use of fog lights, which are only used by drivers in poor visibility conditions. To help drivers understand when they should be used, they posted a helpful guide on Instagram with a caption explaining when to use fog lights.
They said: "You're probably using your fog lights wrong, and it could cost you £1,000. According to the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency), you should only switch your fog lights on when visibility drops below 100 metres.
"That's about the length of a football pitch. If you can see further than that, your fog lights should be off, but research by eBay has found that 60% of drivers use their fog lights at the wrong time, and some even turn them on when visibility is well over 300 metres.
"If you get caught, you can face up to a £1,000 fine, and three points on your licence. And, if that's not enough, almost a half of drivers admit that they use their full beam headlights when it gets dark, regardless of oncoming traffic, and other road users.
"Drivers not using their headlights properly is exactly why the RAC say that headlight glare is one of the biggest nighttime driving concerns, with one in four drivers telling us that they drive less at night due to other vehicles' headlights being too bright."
