DAZZLING HEADLIGHTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16514, 26 August 1921, Page 6

DAZZLING HEADLIGHTS.

The decision of the Senior Stipendiary Magistrate that the driver of a motor-car who uses headlights of such dazzling brilliancy as to adversely affect the vision of other users of the highway is committing a public or common nuisance will be endorsed by public opinion. The nuisance—it is nothing less—is a serious one, and it is far too frequently committed. Cars are driven into the well-lighted streets of the city with glaring headlights burning, and the possibilities of accident are always present. The City Council might very well consider whether such lights should be permitted at all, as it seems that their principal purpose is to enable motorists to indulge their mania for speeding. The careful motorist, who proceeds at a moderate pace with dimmed lights, is a sufferer just as truly as the drivers of other less mobile vehicles. The use of brilliant headlights on the country roads is not unreasonable, but the onus is on the driver using them to exercise proper care when approaching other users of the highway. The Magistrate’s judgment, we hope, will have the effect of reducing a danger which has been permitted to increase, and if it leads to more stringent action being taken there will be a general feeling of satisfaction.