Headlights

I found myself in two situations during the past week where I was astounded at how people blatantly refuse to do something absolutely trivial to greatly increase their safety on the roads (why this continues to astound me remains a mystery...).

Situation 1 - I was driving on I-95 South during a deluge. About 1 out of every 10 cars coming at me in opposing traffic did not have its headlights on. Well, maybe more - it's really hard to see cars without their headlights on in the pouring rain!

Situation 2 - Iwas driving the stretch of MD-32 between MD-108 and I-70, which is a non-separated road with one lane each way at 55+MPH, and has many signs proclaiming mandatory headlight use, even in the day time. During this ~5-mile stretch of road I passed 40(!) cars that did not have their headlights engaged. (OK, for those wondering why I was counting cars without headlights, 1. I'm weird like that and 2. Melissa was reading so I was bored). This wasn't even counting the cars that had some weak-ass running lights on - 40 of them had no lights at all.

First of all, this is really stupid because it's illegal in both cases and very easy to ticket. Sure, in Situation 1 you are unlikely to get a ticket, but in the second situation, they even have multiple signs warning you that they are actively looking! But much more importantly, you are needlessly endangering yourself (not to mention those around you). How much effort does it take to turn on your headlights? I understand people who don't want to drive slower - it takes you longer to get places, and makes you feel like you're driving through molasses. But, unless your car requires you to dance a jig and sacrifice a small farm animal to the gods of radiation just to turn on the lights, you're just being lazy and stupid.
My personal opinion is that everyone (including you!) should have his/her headlights on whenever his/her car does not have its gear set to "Park." Just turn them on no matter what and once you're in the habit it will take effort to not turn them on. The extra cost of this is so trivially small - a normal headlight costs like $10, so even if you go through one extra bulb every year (which you won't), it's still next to nothing. If you even avoid one accident in your lifetime because somebody saw your car when they wouldn't have, you come out way ahead. The next time you are driving during the day, take note of how much easier it is to see a car that has its headlights on - it's rather suprising. And certainly you should have them on anytime the light is not perfect, even if it's not mandated by law.