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Re: Daytime Running lights - The facts



I think many things like DRL's are a mandatory substitute for good 
driving practice. 

How many people have been driving along and there's a guy approaching 
that's totally blinding you. You flash him to dip his beams and he blasts 
you away with an additional billion candelas ?  People don't understand 
that high beams can be terribly dangerous in wet weather and fog. Lots of 
people don't understand that lights can be equally useful to enhance 
visibility in poor conditions. That's why the DRL laws have come into 
force, but it seems to me that they ignore the fact that there's a 
balance required and clearly, at 80% of full beam, there are situations 
where they will do far more harm than good ?

There are many factors that govern road safety. One is the ability to 
see, and another is the ability of other drivers to see you (and the 
road). If you can see everything for 100 miles, including the blinded 
driver that's just about to collide with you head-on, you're doing no 
good at all. You'd be better running dark.

Here's a variation on the theme. New Jerseyand other states are talking 
about a law that states that, if you've got your wipers on, you've got to 
have your lights on. Now that's all very well, but I use one of these 
water-repellent coatings on my screen, and I often find wipers 
distracting. In fact, with these coatings, if you've got a shallow 
windshield angle as I have, there are many occasions where visibility is far 
superior without wipers, because the water runs off far faster than the 
wipers can displace it. 

Does that mean that, in the same conditions, I don't need lights ?
I always used dipped headlights in such conditions, but you see my point 
: Much legislation is useful, but ill-considered -- I think DRL's at 80% 
of high beam fall into this category.

Much of the problem lies with the enforcement of traffic regulations. 
If you've ever driven the Cross Bronx Expressway, or the Henry Hudson 
Parkway at night, you'll get idiots, obviously in stolen cars (Mercs, 
BMWs etc), running dark or with hazards only, in excess of 100mph, 
weaving through traffic. You NEVER see a cop on their tail. YOU get a 
ticket at 26mph in a 25 zone, or at 70 on a clear 55 highway. And that 
git that's been jumping tailgates and changing lanes with 2 inches 
clearance without signals, playing hide and seek with police radar 
doesn't get stopped either. Who is the greater hazard ?

It's time that real drivers spoke out against stupid regulations and 
against traffic tickets targeted at the average Joe for revenue generation 
rather than road safety.

Phil Logan


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