I saw the light Published May 4, 2010 By Daniel Heald 5th Bomb Wing Ground Safety MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- What is that light on my dashboard trying to tell me? We have all seen them on our vehicles and sometime just ignore them. But what are they really trying to tell us? Do we need to pull over immediately or can it wait? Some people call them idiot lights. They are actually called Critical Warning Lights or Maintenance Lights depending on what system they are monitoring. This is how many of our vehicles communicate with us. The Critical Warning Lights identify something that requires immediate attention. These include the brake light, ABS (antilock brake system) light, and oil light. Normally, these are red warning lights. As soon as possible pull into a rest stop or a parking lot and break open the owner's manual to see what the problem might be. Maintenance Lights are generally amber and identify a system in the vehicle that is not functioning as it should. Some of these lights are the check engine light, air bag light, battery charge light, and emissions lights (O2 sensor, EGR, check emissions). Once the driver is home or at a convenient place to stop, they should get out that owner's manual to find out what is wrong. A driver should not wait for one of these lights to come on before they check out their vehicle. Sometimes it may already be in an unsafe condition before the light comes on. In certain engines, the engine oil can be down one to one and a half quarts before the warning light comes on. This could cause serious damage to the engine before the operator is warned. If the vehicle has a Tire Pressure Monitoring system, some of the sensors can allow your tire to be up to 20% under inflated before the light comes on. This will reduce the vehicle's fuel economy and grip on the road, possibly endangering the driver and their passengers. Once a month and before heading out on a trip, take the time to inspect the vehicle, top off the fluids and check the air in the tires (don't forget the spare) or have a shop perform a safety inspection on the vehicle. Hopefully, this may help minimize some of those "early conversations" people can have with their vehicle.