Two settings for your headlights. Low beams are the normal setting: aimed down and short, so they light the road without shining into other drivers' eyes. High beams — often called 'brights' — are much stronger and aimed further down the road. Most cars switch between them with the same stalk you use for the turn signal, and a blue symbol appears on the dashboard when high beams are on.
Почему важно: Brighter is not the same as clearer. In rain, snow, or fog, high beams reflect off the water and snow in the air and bounce straight back at you — you get a bright white wall instead of a longer view. Low beams are the correct choice in bad weather precisely because they are dimmer and aimed down, under the glare. High beams also blind oncoming drivers and the driver you are following, which is why every state requires you to dim them near other traffic.
Пример: Use high beams on a dark, open road with no one around. Switch back to low beams as soon as you see oncoming headlights, when you come up behind another car, and whenever it is raining, snowing, or foggy. Your state sets the exact distance at which you must dim — check your handbook for the number.