MOTOR-CAR HEAD LAMPS.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17940, 7 December 1923, Page 5

MOTOR-CAR HEAD LAMPS.

ENGLISH VIEW OF DAZZLC

QUESTION

"Should I swileh off my 'headlamps when meeting another car?" Thus several readers have written, since the evenings have darkened. They are apparently unaware that the Royal Automobile Club has already pronounced against the practice on Safety First grounds (States a writer in an English exchange.) The question, therefore, i 3 answered: You should not switch off, e\-en though the other driver does!. And do not be influenced in the future by any rude remarks lie may hurl at you about vour "lack of courtesy."

Courtesy doesn't enter into it; safety is the only thing that matters. There are one cr two points that may be mentioned to amplify - the R.A.C.'s bald negative, however. lu justification of the club's pronouncement, jpst ask yojirself whether driving into the absolute blackness that succeeds switching off is any more safe or any more comfortable than striving to penetrate bpyond the zone of comparative invisibility caused by approaching headlamps. In the latter case, the road beyond that "zone" iB illuminated hy your <ttvn lamps, and you can easily avoid being blinded by not looking directly at the other car's headlamps. You can then see far enough for safety. Avoiding "Dazzle." There are several "wheezes," to avoid dazzle., Holding your right hand at arm's length before your eyes Will "black out" that spot in your area of Vision occupied by the blinding lamps, and you will be little inconvenienced by them. Or you can wear goggles with two-piece lenses,, and by holding your head down interpose the upper portion, of smoked or coloured glass, between the glare and your eyes. Some people merely shut their right eye, and claim that this is the only perfect "anti-dazzle device." Then, again, it is often possible to steer your car bo that the lamps do not shine directly on an approaching car. If the other driver docs the same, neither is much inconvenienced, and the driving-safety factor is much higher than if either or both switched off. A "Dimmer" Tip. So far I have ignored the questions of "dipping" and "dimming." Of the two plans, I am inclined to give my vote to the former. There are several sets of dipping apparatus on the market, some of them at quite moderate prices. Dimming devices, if used, should be steadily variable between maximum and minimum intensity, so that the operator need dim his lamps no more than he feels to be safe.

If you are a wireless enthusiast, you will grasp the idea when I suggest the use of a filament rheostat as a dimmer. If you are not, you might buy one for about 3s Gd, and interpose it in the battery-to-headlamp wire. lou can get them cheaper, but don't, as it is essential that the resistance coil should be capable of carrying the current—that is, the amperage—that is flooring over this wire, or it will heat up unduly. Concerning Appearance; Undue heat will melt the composition of which the article is made, so make sure on this point, and test the rheostat when it lias been in use for a minute or so. If you don't burn your fingers, it is all right! A little ingenuity is required in fixiiif the dimmer, but it can probably be fitted behind the dashboard by boringone hole, so that only, the spindle and its knob project into' visibility. And you can use a combined ebonite knob and scale if you want to, with rather effective results from the point of view of appearance.

When Viseount Leverhulme arrives in Auckland on December 27th, he will be met by Mr W. H. Trevannfi, manager of Lever Bros. (N.Z.)j Ltd.; who has just completed a quarter of a century's service with the firm, 4 J during which time he has put up something of a reputation as a globe-trdtter. Two years he spent in Switzerland, three in Australia, two ia Germany, and also a considerable time in France, Belgium, Holland, America, Canada, and South Africa, completing his £5 years' record in this farthest portion of the British Empire. Needless to say he has a very thorough knowledge of the ramifications of the firm in practically every corner of the world. . He started as an office boy with Lever Brothers, and has beep. through every department of the business, so that he is fully acquainted with all the processes.