| czar |
Posted
on 31-Jul-03 01:06 PM
Picking curtains that nauseate the neigbhours is one thing, using headlights at high beam and/or fog lights in city driving can cause death or injury or both. While there is no accounting for bad taste, bad driving, on the other hand, is well within the realm of correctable afflictions. It is simply inexcusable.
Daylinght running lights used in the gloom of Nordic winters is one thing. Driving with headlights on at highbeam on the well lit roads is quite another. Of particular dislike is the the quirky addon, the fog light. Quite a few sporty vehicles and SUVs provide them for driving in low light conditions, such as FOGs or stormy conditions. In practice, only the yellow ones are any good, really. Still, the bright xenon white/blue white lamps are de rigeur on the popular cars.
Drivers love to flick these lights on at most inapporpriate moments too. Seeminly uncaring for the effects they have on incoming vehicle drivers. The offenders can hardly plead ignorance either. Anyone who drives has had at least one scary experience due to being momentarily blinded by the headlights of oncoming vehicles.
Highway dividers ago provide some relief in reducing the glare of incoming traffic headlights. Average vehicle height is now considerably higher with the trucks and their variations being the dominant vehicles on the road. Most road dividers were designed for an era when the sedan was king and are not up to the task anymore.
I read in Nepalnews that there are moves afoot in Nepal to pass laws to force vehicles to paint over the top quarter of the headlamps of all vehicles. That's a practice implemented in India years ago. Too many inconsiderate and ill mannered drivers on the road forced the authorities to create such a law. One can not successfully legislate good behaviour or consideration for others. Still, given the appalling driving habits of people in some parts of the world, the authorities felt they have no option. Such a law is damning evidence of a lack of civil sense. A damn shame, really.
Of particular idiocy and irritation are the miswired headlamps. One runs on high beam, while the other one is set to lowbeam. Blame it on the mechanics perhaps, but drivers own some responsibility for it too. How many people bother to do even a cursory external check of their vehicle, even once a month, before diving into it and speeding off ? After all, you are entrusting your life, and those of your loved ones, to a 1-2 ton machine in which you will hurtle at 75 mph down the highway. Just do the math for the impact momentum, m X v (where m=mass and v= velocity), and you start to get some bone pulverising numbers.
So the next time you flip the ignition key, give some thought to driving carefuly and with consideration for others. If not, someone may not return home. Even you. I almost didn't.
|
