By EWAN KENNEDY
9 June 2008

Do we need to drive with our vehicles’ headlights on all the time in Australia? It’s becoming quite a common requirement in some European countries, with drivers being told to have the lights on, and some countries are telling makers to design all new models with headlights that come on automatically with the ignition.

This has led to some interesting design ideas, rather than just have normal headlights on, companies like Audi and BMW have special lights with clever shapes and angles that really stand out from the crowd from a styling point of view.

But, I repeat my question, do we need all lights on in Australia all the time? There are major differences between Europe and the land down under. Over there they have very long hours of twilight, especially in the northern regions and cars can be much more difficult to see for several hours before sunset. Over here it’s different. Twilights are short and our sunlight is famed for a brilliance that often astonishes overseas visitors who see if for the first time.

This is a huge country with a vast range of driving environments. The differences between Hobart and Darwin, for example, are enormous. Yet even in Hobart having your car seen in normal daylight conditions is seldom a problem.

Equally, there are huge differences between city and country roads in Australia. At peak hours in Sydney or Melbourne you can see as many cars in a minute as you will come across in a whole year in remote bush areas.

The problem with having headlights on in suburban driving is that they create a lot of glare, something that can actually be counter-productive. The more vehicles the greater the glare, all the more so when headlights aren't adjusted properly – which, sadly, is far too often.

Things are exacerbated by the clowns who drive with their headlights and foglights on at every opportunity. It seems that being a ‘lights-on type of guy’ is pretty cool at the moment and dazzling problems created for other drivers simply don’t come into the minds of those fashion conscious guys and gals.

Personally I like to get my car’s headlights on early, as soon as being completely visible is in any way doubtful, either due to bad weather or daylight coming to an end. That's in the suburbs – in the bush I generally keep them on all the time.

Just because something works in Europe doesn't necessarily mean it will work in Australia. That has been discovered by many people, to their regret, from the famines of 1788, through plagues of rabbits and cane toads, onwards.

Before the politicians, bureaucrats and other do-gooders jump, knee-jerk fashion, into daytime headlights I would like to see some proper, independent research done on the subject. And the research must be done in Australian conditions, not simply imported from other countries.  

ewan@marque.com.au

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