Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-30
DRIVING AT NIGHT
REQUIRES SKILL
FAMILIAR OBJECTS APPEAR AS
STRANGE IN DARK
Helpful Advice Given Those Who Use
Cars in City or in Country
Districts After
Dusk

Unless one has had considerable ex-
perience in driving by night, and no
matter how we'll he may know the
road by daylight, he is often utterly
at a loss to recognize familiar objects
and will even pass the place to which
he desires to go without being aware
of it, 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 autoist sets the brakes, only to
find himself deceived. Due to the
combination of deep shadows and
strong lights with the general gloom
of the night, all sorts of objects Great
ed in the imagination seem to spring
up, causing doubt and anxiety. For
comfortable night-driving as well as
for the safety of the car and its pas
sengers, powerful lamps are an abso-
lutte necessity.
Recognition of familiar objects and
accurate judgment of road conditions
can only be acquired by practice. 1t is
not necessary to aCcuStom oneself
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 nervous state on the
part of the driver. The first drive
should not take over an hour, and 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 de-
CeptiVe appearances and explain their
true character, and in general act as
an adviser. Unnecessary talking should
be avoided by both as tending to dis
tract 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
himself, but acting when an emergen-
cy arises. As d general rule, no mat
ter how experienced an autoist is in
night-driving, there should be some
one in the seat alongside to watch the
road, and the majority of drivers are
only too glad to have such assistance.
Except when absolutely necessary,
goggles should not be worn, nor
should the windshield be raised, when
driving at night, as the reflections
from street-lamps or other sources Of
light on the glass surfaces of the gog-
giles and shield appear as direct lights
and obscure objects on the road, with
unhappy results. A hint in this direc-
tion can be taken from the locomotive
engineer who drives at night with the
car windows down to prevent any pos
sibility 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
11fCiaa n the illuminated nv the
lamps are almost invisible, 50 that care
should be taken in making a turn or
when passing a road-crossing. 1t
would be well TO have movable
searchlight fitted, and this should be
played on road crossings in both di-
rections as the car approaches them,
and on the road into which the car is
to turn in order to illuminate objects
not shown up by the headlights. 9th
erwise the searchIight can assist the
headlights in Illuminating a greater
vertical area and give warning of dan
gerous objects at a distance.
For properly Illuminating the road
and objects surrounding it the lamp
equipment should consist of one or two
headlights, a pair of side-lamps, a tail
lamp and a swiveling searchlght, al
though the latter is not absolutely nee
essary in some cases. The headlights
should be carried low down and well
forward not only to better illuminate
the road, but to cease to dazzle other
road users. Each lamp should be set
on the forks or bracket so that its
principal rays will be thrown horizon
tally. and should be pointed directly
ahead, especially if only one headlight
is fitted, as the autoist unconsciously
follows the beam of light in driving
The searchlight is usually mounted on
a swiveling bracket on the dash where
it can readily be moved by the hand
Side lamps rest in brackets on each side
of the dash and act as auxiliaries to the
headlights. In cities where the use of
side lamps must be depended on alone,
and when any driving is done in cities
fairly powerful lamps should be used.