Evening star., 1922-07-23
Br WILLIAM ULLMAN.

While the District of Columbia pos
sesses Its quota of reckless speedeTs.
thoughtless motor spooners. careless
drivers. jaywalkers and flivver boobs.
who operate twentyfour hours every
day to make life lively for the timid
and i burden for the traffic force,
there is still another who appears,
here and elsewhere only at night
and who constitutes street ana
highway danger possibly greater than
all the others.
He Is the glaring headlight demon.
He is the highway thief OF the
night, and his toll is mounting higher
and higher. Death. injury. smashed
cars, tangled nerves and pounulns
headaches are some of the penalties
he imposes on other after-dark users
OF the roads and streets. Because ol
his selfshness and meanness many
automobilists will not venture out at
night, denying themselves the re-
freshing GOODNESS that comes with an
evenings spin in the open and there
by giving up one of the chief delishts
of motor car ownership.
Whether this dazzling light motor
ist be selfish or thoughtless-tor all
are not intentionally mean-a day OF
night Of reckoning is coming TO MN.
Because he is responsible for many
accidents. near-accidents and general
complaint from other motorists. a
special campaign is to be inaugurated
by the District of Columbia trathc
SQUAD and the Maryland state police
10 make the law operative where the
golden rule of the road is ignored.
Light Rule Ignored.
While both the Maryland and Dis
frict traffc regulations forbid the use
Of headlights "blinding and dazzling
to other users Of the streets and
hIehways. in the past there has been
more or less leniency on the part OF
rhe police This leniency has been
due TO the belief on the part OF the
of1cials that where lamps might have
worked loose from the required legal
adjustment. the usual road courtesy
would prevail when cars approached
each other at night.
But the common road rule OF dim
your lights when the other fellow sig
nails for 1t by dimming his lights" is be-
ing ignored by too many autcmoofhsts'
so consequently night driving is not
only marked with a growing number
of serious accidents, but filled with
terror for many motorists.
Aeeord'ns to ihspeetor ms 6is,r,ct Aps. tpsf.
fic force, complaints against glar-
ing and dazzling headlights are be-
coming so numerous that henceforth
his men will halt all cars showing
seemingly overnight lights and
make an examination Of the adjust
ment The District regulation cover
ing headlights reads:
"It shall be unlawful for the driver
Of any motor vehicle to use any
headlight or sidelight upon any
street in the District of Columbia
that is binding or dazzling to per-
sons using the streets: provided. that
said lights shall be SO adjusted and
arranged that the beam shall not rise
at greater height than forty-two
inches from the ground at seventy
five feet in front of the vehicle"
Prompt Action Urged.
Unquestionably there are many cars
running over the roads at night
whose lights do not conform to the
District regulations. Hence. it would
seem to be wisdom on the part of the
owners OF these cars to do their ad-
justing promptly.
But even bringing into strict en-
foroement the District headlight regu-
lation will not cure the CHIEF evils OF
nighttime motoring.
There are times when bright and
powerful lights are very necessary to
the safety Of those who go a-touring.
That is why the law allows such
lights. And as yet no state has been
able to frame a headlight law that
would at once safeguard the legitl-
mate user OF bright lights and be free
from abuse by the selfish or thought
less motorist.
Dependence on a certain amount OF
courtesy seems to have been found
necessary whenever headlight regula-
tions have been made. and the news
papers and motoring magazines have
devoted countless columns of space
to making the fact known and In
pleadings to motorists to extend