Omaha daily bee., 1909-11-07
DRIVING A CAR At NIGHT
Practice is Essential to Proper Man
sgement Of the Car.
AUTO MUST BE WELL LIGHTED
Goggles should Not BE Worn by
Driver-He Must Observe
speed and Courtesy
Rules.

ANF pave " MT ~ utHlItS 10 EO WlLlOuL ]
being aware OF IL, when travelling over the
same road after dark. objects by the road
side have an unnatural appearance and
seem out Of proportion; what appears as a
dark patch in the road may be either a
pool Of water or a depression, and light
colored objects by the side Of the road may
even be taken for the road itself. The
road, too, apparently disappears a short
distance ahead and the autolst sets the
brakes, only 10 find himself deceived. Due
to the combination Of dcep shadows and
strong lights with the general gloom Of
the night. all sorts Of objects created in
the Imagination seem to spring up. causing
doubt and anxiety. For comfortable night
driving as wen as for the safety OF the
car and its passengers, powerful lamps are
an absolute necessity.
Practice Essential.
Recognition OF familiar objects and ac-
cutate judgment Of road conditions can
only be acquired by practice. 1t is not
necessary, TO accustom one's-self, to. drive
night after night for periods OF from six
TO eight hours on a stretch. as such long
periods give rise to, a high-strung and nerv-
Gus state on the part Of the driver. TIL
first drive SHOULD not take over an hour
yand the autoist should be accompanied by
a companion familiar with night driving
and the roads that are to be traversed.
This companion should point out deceptive
appearances and explain their true char
acter, and in general act as an adviser.
Unnecessary talking should be avoided by
both as tending to distract attention from
the work in hand. Subsequent drives can
be Of greater duration and on some Of these
the companion should not give instruction,
allowing the driver to take care OF him
self, but acting when an emergency arises.
AS a general rule, no matter how expert
enced an autoist is in night driving, there
should be someone in the seat alongside to
watch the road, and the majority OF drivers
are only too glad to have such assistance.
Effect OF Street Lights.
Running in city streets or on lighted
roads Is OF course much easier than run
ming on dark roads, but in such cases the
eyes are constantly accommodating them
selves to the changes in light as the car
approaches and passes a street lamp. With
the powerful arc lights in use in many
cities, the view will be obscured for "a
short time as the car passes out of the
circle thrown by the light I'd a feeling
of blindness VIII result, soon assing off,
however, as the eyes adjust ~aw " Ses
to the change in quality OF the | ~ s is
due to this effect on the eyes that a num-
Der Of the minor accidents occur at corners,
not only to autos but to horsed vehicles
and foot passengers. When emerging from
light into what seems total darkness, as
when leaving the last light Of a city and
going along the unlighted road. an involun-
tary sensation Of being lost is experienced
and even with powerful headlights the feel
ing Of blindness occurs for a short time.
Goggles Not to he Used.
Excep, when absolutely necessary, Cog
-I.a -ha-Ha NeaN h. MORN n ghnat1T the
windshield be raised when driving at
night, as the reflections from street lamps
or other sources Of light on the glass sur
faces OF the goggles and shield appear as
direct lights and obscure objects on the
road, with unhappy results. A hint In this
direction can be taken from the locomotive
engineer who drives at night with the cab
windows down to prevent any possibility
I Of reflection, the only light In the cab, the
gauge lamp, being placed directly In front
OF the gauge where no angular reflection
is possible. objects outside Of the area
Illuminated by the lamps are almost in
visible, so that care should be taken In max
eihg a turn or when passing a road crossing.
II would be well TO have e movable search
light fitted and this should be played on
road crossings In both directions as the car
approaches them, and on the road into
which the car is to turn in order TO illum-
mate objects not shown up by the head
lights. Otherwise the searchlight can as
sist the headlights in Illuminating a greater
vertical area and give warning OF danger
Z GUS objects at a distance.
Speed and Courtesy.
Only a very reckless driver or one under
the influence Of liquor would drive a car
at extreme speed at night. Not only would
he endanger the other occupants Of the car
a. -. a-4.a k.e al .Vk.- "a $3.50 ana
cially those who lights are not as powerful
as his own. To be on the safe side and to
accord fair treatment to an others on the
road, q car should never be driven at such
a speed as will necessitate the use of Cog
giles or a windshield. Courtesy on the road
does not disappear with the sun and be-
cause one has a powerful car and large
lamps he Is not justified IN causing annoy
ance or Injury 10 less fortunate users OF
the road. To the credit Of the majority
Of autoists, most Of the violations Of cour-
tesy are on the part OF horse drivers OF
other road users. a striking example being
the moving van driver who perslstently
occupies the crown OF the road. thus pre-
venting others from passing him. or who
picks out the narrowest part Of the high
way as a suitable place 70 breathe his
horses. The cattle driver with his herd
occupying the entire width Of the road and
without any lights at all is another Of
, fender who constitutes an element OF
danger. IN addition. Both OF these must be
watched, for on summer nights and in To-
calities where market wagons or herds are
driven from one place to another by night
moderate speed is an that can be INDUCED
la with safety. As in the daytime, the
same courtesy should be extended to an
other road users at night ana IL should be
remembered that In case OF accident, Il
gul go harder with autoists at night than
Il the trouble occurred by daylight.
The Lights Of Traffic.
Iraffie on our roads les. unfortunately,
.0uceable In the main b. the absence OF
.lshts OF any description. Though nearly
al states specify that all vehicles shall
carry lights, the laws are honOred more In
the breach than ia the Observance. Most
OF the mishaps on the road at night are
rear-end collisions, or as a result OF en-
deavOring TO avoid sue collisions. When
horse traffic carries any lights, they cons
sist OF either a pair OF OH dash-lamps or a
Lantern slung under the running gear. and
none - these lights can be seen for any
.,nrafrrahIa distance So Whenever a faint