The Washington times., 1925-05-06
With the
|AlibiArtists.
Ia Cross Section Of the.
Daily Grind in Judge
Schuldt's Court
Read EN- and Wee
BY DONALD McDOUGAL.

We played hockey from traffic
court Monday night SOS to hear
the Director speak over the radio.
We got some good pointers and
were especially interested in his
remarks on headlights.
What he said agrees pretty
well with our idea of the sub
ject, so we reckon he must be
right.
He said the only solution to
the problem was proper street
illumination, and any intelligent
person can see that's true.
But here in Washington well
have to do the best we can with
headlamps until about the year
1856 or so, (Alibi Man speaking)
when Congress may reasonably
be expected to see it too, and
permit us to spend some of our
money for a street lighting sys-
tenn. So that's out.
Az we understood the Director,
the trouble with headlights is
that If yours are strong enough
to see jay-wa1ker in time to
dodge him, you're likely to blind
oliver two blocks down the
line, SO he can't see his jay
walker. It's a rob-Peter-to-pay-
Paul sort Of proposition, and a
mean one.
That's probably why we got In
terested in it, because mean prop
ositions is the fondest things we
Is OF, except strawberry short
cake.
We have a suggestion to offer
that may reduce the danger from
headlights considerably come to
think of it, the Director indorsed
the establishment of traffic
schools, first suggested in the
AIibi Column (see issue OF April
and May y and recognized the
good results of abolishing the col
lateral system, also first suggest
ed In the Alibi Column (see issue
of November II, 1924, and follow
ingl-so we may not be far off
the track in the headlight. Ques-
tion.
If IT'S tried out and found help
full, and results IN saving a
couple of hundred lives, say, be.
tween now and 1856, Wen feel
amply repaid for our efforts
and that's fair enough, because
it seems to be about the only re-
payment we're likely to get.
The trouble appears to be-the
trouble with the headlights that
is-appears to be with the ref1ec-
tors. Thus:
Your headlight throws q beam
powerful enough to render clearly
discernible q person, vehicle, or
Other. substantial object the size
of a small child, 200 feet ahead.
All right. Now let's walk down
I there, stand beside this extraordi-
nary child, and look back at the
headlight. It'll nearly put your
eye out.
Now let's walk down another
hundred feet, and look back. The
light Is a little DINNER. but not
much. Now we'Il walk back zoo
feet more-it's still going strong.
Even a block further on, you'll
have to take the beam out of
your eyes before you can see
much of anything, like the
what's his name in the parable.
And there's the trouble. We only
need the light for q distance of
200 feet-probably $50 feet would
, do in a pinch, for city use-but
the beam goes on and on for an
indefinite, and, as far as the reg
ulations are concerned, devil.
may-care distance and blinds some
helpless driver quarter OF a
mile ahead so he can't sec his
speedometer.
Don't take our word for it
try it out on Connecticut avenue
beyond the Zoo some evening
when the headlights gild the hill
tops far away.
Oh! but the regulations say the
beam can't rise above q horizon
tai plane AZ inches from the
ground. Bolony! That regulation
is about as effective as passing
law against roosters growing.
Suppose the rear wheels Of your
tin lizzie are three inches lower
than the front ones. Then liz
zie Is three inches per hundred
off the level, and the beam is
six feet above the level of the
lamps at a distance of 200 feet
eight and a half feet off the
ground altogether. If Washing
toms streets were bowling alleys,
the regulation about a. horizontal
plane parallel with Nthe level
street would work. But some of
Washington's roadways are so
different from bowling alleys.
There's no use trying to keep
hill level. When you're running
up Thirteenth street from E to F,
your beam will blind everything
this side of H.
Leaning forward and back,
switching off your lights and
then switching them on again,
every hill you come to, is too
much like rowing. You're likely
to take your speedometer for a
compass, and be ten days find
ing out your mistake.
The thing to do Is get rid of
the extra light-the part you
don't need and the other fellow
doesn't want-the part beyond
the $50 or 200 foot point. How?
Well, you can't get rid of it all
but you can reduce it a lot, bring
it down to one-half Of 1 per cent,
say. Thus:
Decrease the lighted area Of the
filament to the minimum; in
crease the brilliancy to the maxi.
mum; reduce the proportion of
reflected light by using the
smallest reflector; consistent with
obtaining the minimum required
illumination at the $50 or 200 foot
point. and the maximum illumlna-
ton permitted at, say, the 400
foot point.
Any lamp manufacturer can do
that and any of them will If
they have to.