Wipers on? Lights on, please.

I read your article this morning with great distress. The law requiring
headlights on in the rain is in my opinion one of the stupider laws we
have.
I can not count the number of times daily I must avert my eyes, re-aim my
mirrors, or just plain squint while I am blinded by pointless and
unnecessary headlights in broad daylight. I can except this as part of
driving at night, but I wonder why it is needed during the day.

Anyone who can not see oncoming cars in daylight should just stay home.
If cars were truly invisible in the rain, wouldn't drivers be hitting
parked cars all over town? Somehow we avoid them; why are moving vehicles
so hard to see? I have been driving all up and down the east coast since
1973, and this has never been a problem for me.

One thing that has become a problem for me in recent years is being
constantly blinded by excessively bright lights on other vehicles in
traffic. I have a small Ford Truck, and Saturn Wagon. My truck is tall
enough that only the largest of vehicles shine their lights through my
passenger compartment, but the Saturn is very low and vulnerable to high
mounted headlights on following vehicles. I am frequently blinded in both
vehicles to the point that I pull over to let obnoxious headlights go by.

Also, I have noticed in recent years an epidemic of drivers blithely
cruising through city traffic with their bright lights on. I seldom get a
chance to point this out to offending drivers, but when I do they are
often unaware of it. Some younger drivers have actually told me this was
for safety - if lights on is safe, aren't the bright lights safer? Need I
point out that dazzling oncoming drivers with the bright lights is also a
violation?

If we are discussing headlight laws, let's talk about the headlight
deregulation in 1976. Starting with that model year, manufacturers had
more freedom than the previously mandated sealed beam headlights (the law
in this country since 1939). Since then, headlights have been mounted
wherever the makers pleased. If you look at old trucks you will note that
the headlights are low, the same height as cars of that era. Now even
standard pickup trucks have bumpers and headlights mounted much higher,
above the window sill level of small cars like my Saturn. With one of
those behemoths behind me, I can't see a thing! Is this safe?

Now some vehicles have headlights that are so intense even the lower
register of lights are blinding to oncoming drivers. Even still brighter
lights are available in the aftermarket. These lights, in the interest of
safety, are quite a hazard to other drivers.

When I bought my truck many years ago, I chose it over the small Chevy
trucks because of the headlights. I noticed on the Chevys of that era
that I test drove, the headlights came on whenever the car was on. Not
only that, but Chevy used the bright lights for this purpose. The only
way to dim the headlights, even in broad daylight, was to turn them on.
This seemed absurd to me, so I bought the Ford instead. I note that the
new Chevy Colorado trucks have 10 lights facing forward. What's that
about? I won't be buying one of those either.

Not turning on your headlights in the rain, or during times of low visibility is very dangerous and is a pet peeve of mine! I am always flashing my lights at people to remind them to turn them on. I think, however, like one of the folks above, many people have their lights on "auto" and have the false impression they are on, when they aren't. And during times of low visibility, you may be able to see just fine, but you can't be seen! For instance, the wreck that killed the Durham high school student a few months ago occurred when the driver turned in front of a large van/bus during early morning, and when it was slightly drizzling; wonder if the van had it's lights on or if the driver even saw it? This is a dangerous situation, and perhaps the fine should be more, and the law enforced through traffic stops. And I also wonder if a new law on use of cell phones and texting is passed whether it will do any good unless it is enforced?

I have trouble because my car has automatic windshield wipers in the day, automatic headlights at night, but for some unfathomable reason, it doesn't automatically turn the headlights on when it automatically turns the wipers on. And since it requires no action on my part, I forget.