so we can see you
One of my pet irks is the lack of vehicle illumination when out driving.
As I live ‘in the hills’ with the forest overhanging the road it can be badly lit or, sometimes, a fog/low lying cloud may blanket the road.
Most of the inhabitants drive with their parking lights or full lights on. It does no harm to the car and is a godsend for other drivers as we can see their vehicle in this subdued light.
Drivers with no lights on in these conditions may say “I can see perfectly well without my lights on”.
Yes, maybe so, but other road users can’t see their vehicle if they have no illumination and, hence, it’s a potential accident waiting to happen.
Latest technology versus human instinct
Wise in design, a lot of European cars, like the Volvo, have lights that come on when the car is started. There’s even places in the world where full lights come on when ignition is begun—for instance, in Victoria in BC, Canada, a sea fog may suddenly blanket the city. Thus, all Vic BC vehicles have full lights illuminated day and night. A brilliant idea … you can see the other vehicles in all conditions.
Now, a lot of the latest cars have an automatic thing to detect low light and put on the lights. I tell you : don’t trust the car, go with human instinct … you know better. You should be in control, not the car.
So … please, please put on your lights when driving at dusk or in subdued light.
