HEADLIGHTS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19155, 11 November 1927, Page 4

HEADLIGHTS.

SOLVING THE PROBLEM. WHERE THE REMEDY LIES. (SPECULLT WBITTES *OS THE FBEBS.) Bv Major F. A. C. Forbes-Leith. F.R.G.b. (Author of "By Car to India.") A warning has been issued by a nrovincial automobile club to the effect that motorists must pay the same attention to the condition of their headlights that is given to the petrol tank and the oil in the crankcase, it this glaring evil is not to add considerably to the list of highway accidents during the night-driving season. Agencies of all kinds and motor clubs are giving their attention to the solution of the headlight problem, but, really, the issue is "up to" car owners. There arc many ways of dealing with this evil. Headlight equipment can be improved. Automobile clubs and associations may provide free headlight clinics. It might be a good idea if they all joined Sands to develop certain standards It would also help greatly if various big cities and towns would provide official stations where headlights could be adjusted at little cost to the car owner.

Owner's ResponsibilityMany laws can be made requiring headlights to meet certain non-glare specifications. The police may wage intensive campaigns against careless motorists. But all these steps will fail to attain the desired end, unless the individual motorist is made conscious of his tremendous responsibility to his fellows It is difficult to understand the attitude of thousands of motoriste on this question. Every driver of a car in the country is aware of the evil, but they go on for years unconscious of their own dangerous contribution to it. Strange to say, the individual objectifies the condition, inasmuch as he denounces the other man's headlights but rarely sees the menace of his own.

Regular Inspection. Every car owner should have a regular time for inspecting the car's lighting equipment. This period should vary, of course, with the kind, condition, and quality of the lighting darices on the car. Even the best equipment will get out of adjustment if the car is driven at high speed over a rough road. This being true, it naturally follows that many headlights are almost constantly in need of attention. The careful and considerate motorist will never fail to ■ inspect his petrol gauge regularly. He will keep constant note'of whether the supply of oil in the crankcase is adequate, and also as to whether it is in good condition He will rarely fail to check the level of the water in his battery cells.

Crux of the Question. But judging by the blinding and perilous glare that is to be noted on almost any highway in any part of the countrj, too tew motorists pay regular attention to the condition of their headlights, grumble as they may about the state of the other fellow's lights. This is the crux of the present problem. Headlight adjustment should be made a weekly, monthly, or semi-an-nual habit, depending upon the car and the kind of service it is called upon to render.

Even without the headlight clinics which I have suggested, the car owner will find this item of proper earo relatively inexpensive, and there is no reason why he should not do it himself for no car is sold! to-day without complete directions for this work in the instruction book that accompanies the vehicle. The instructions are clear, concise, and effective, and if they were followed out properly by the owner of the car, the headlight problem would disappear over-night. This trouble is a universal problem, and its solution is definitely up to the individual car owner, who, by watching the defects of his own system, is doing his bit to create better conditions for the motoring public in general.