Spring is here, and with that, in many parts of the country, we see the build-up of heat all day, producing afternoon storms. Of course, tires and traction are important to keeping your drivers safe on the road, but there is another safety-related consideration – visibility.

Well, honestly, many people stress visibility. And visibility can mean different things.

One aspect is vehicle visibility. Nobody stressed that more than when I talked to lighting experts at Optronics for an article, 5 Things to Know When Buying Work Truck Lighting, two years ago. Not only do lights play a crucial role in illuminating your work truck, but they also provide some light for roadside workers, helping keep them safer. Plus, they can stay safer if they can see their work area.

Then there is the regular vehicle lighting aspect, making sure all your indicator lights, headlights, brake lights, and such are working properly. But that should be checked by your drivers during pre-trip inspections.

So, let’s talk about a visibility issue that can catch you off guard – having a clear view out the windshield.

Driver visibility can be affected in several ways.

I remember talking to Mike Hagaman, of FleetNet America by Cox, about Hot Weather Preventive Maintenance Tips. He stressed the importance of ensuring your truck's windshield wipers are in good condition and replaced before they degrade to the point where they don’t clear water and impede visibility.

Jane Jazrawy, CEO at CarriersEdge, likewise, told the same story. Windshield wipers must be in working order to maintain a driver’s visibility in inclement weather. In that conversation, we were talking about winter weather, but the sentiment echoes Hagaman's and applies to any time of year.

Another concern, again, at any time of year, is reduced visibility caused by fog. That is something you might encounter unexpectedly. However, Brendon Hill, senior vice president of product at Lytx, told me earlier this year that fleets can use the power of predictive analytics to warn drivers in advance about where and when they might encounter reduced visibility due to fog.

Okay, having all vehicle lighting working properly, checking to make sure the windshield wipers are functioning properly, and even using data to alert drivers to impending visibility challenges are all great. They all can play a role in keeping fleet drivers safer.

But last October, I learned some lessons about visibility firsthand.

Decreased Visibility, Increased Cognitive Demand

My wife and I were on a 1,493-mile motorhome trip to celebrate our anniversary. Midway through the week, we left Nashville, Tennessee, and pretty much drove all day across Kentucky until we stopped for the night in West Virginia.

We drove in the rain for hours; the wipers worked well, and as the driver, I had no visibility issues.

That is, until near the end of the day, when daylight started to fade, we faced even heavier rain and very dark asphalt, where, at times, it was hard to see the lanes.

The cognitive demand was high, and, out of safety concerns, we stopped earlier than planned. Mentally, I was tired, and the darkened interstate and constant rain were just too draining.

2 Simple Ways to Improve Visibility

A day or two later, I was on a mission to do two things I had put off.

One, buy a long-handled squeegee so I could clean the outside of the massive motorhome windshield. And, two, for the first time in my life, I purchased some of that anti-fog window treatment that you use on the inside of the windshield.

I cleaned the outside, and my wife applied the solution to and cleaned the inside of the windshield before we broke camp and headed home on a long drive day from West Virginia to Georgia.

Again, I spent hours driving in the rain. And as before, day transitioned to night, and the rain continued into the darkness.

But, bad pun intended, it was like a night and day difference after we had cleaned and treated the windshield.

The cognitive demand of driving at night for me was nowhere near what it had been several days earlier. The rain and darkness did not stress me at all.

But, that could be because I was riding passenger, eating my burger and fries while my wife drove that leg of the trip.

However, there was an obvious improvement in visibility.

So, clean those windshields; it can make a huge difference in visibility, and it is so simple.