LIGHTS OUT OF FOCUS

NZ Truth, Issue 1197, 8 November 1928, Page 21

LIGHTS OUT OF FOCUS

Glare Strains Motorists' Eyes

■■ ■ ' . .' • ■ '■' •• •'■■ . ■•■ ," ■'- ■ ••''".'. .■;.%■■.- > .."..-.., •-. ,' - - - OOW often do drivers who find night driving very tiring and , trying on the nerves ascribe their trouble to the right cause?

A LMOST invariably it will be found t\ that unsuitable headlights V.are, at '< the root of the whole matter. ' The essentials of a perfect driving light are — evenness over the whole road at a point riot > more than 10 yards ahead of the car, absence of any bright spot, and good illumination of the track immediately ahead of the wheels/but without glare. ■ Not more than 25 > per cent, of cars conform toallthe, above .conditions.; , A, very common fault is that a' glaring light is , thrown on the road at exactly the point where the .average driver keeps his eyes. . ■ ■/ The result is that the eyes quickly become tired, and after a while the act of driving becomes a hardship. "If the lamps are altered :so "as to ; throw the bright spot further forward, the road just ahead' of the wheels b.ecomes.bliirred by contrast. , ,•■.

Other, lights are too much of the •searchlight .variety, giving a magnificent illumination 300 yards ahead, but nothing where jttie -driver needs it most. Other lamps, again, diffuse the light too widely, so that the road receives too little and the fences and other objects, on the side too much. 'This type of light is most disconcerting to drive behind. . In most cases of bad illumination, a good deal can be done by altering the focus and tilting or'dipping the headlight itself. "A cure for lamps which will persist.in throwing a blinding spot of light > a few yards ahead of the wheels is to paste a circular piece of white pape ( r m the middle of the • glass. . , The size .necessary can be found by experiment.