Dirty lights

I had a bit of a near-miss on the road Tuesday evening between Christchurch and Ashburton, on the way home from Nelson.

In the dark at 7pm, we encountered a truck ‘‘parked’’ in the middle of the road . . . he had stopped to turn right into a minor road but his rear lights were either so dirty or were not working properly that he was pretty much invisible until the last moment.

I didn’t see him at all, it was only my partner shouting from the passenger seat that made me see it. Emergency braking and a swerve avoided impact . . . but I’m very fortunate there was no traffic behind me.

It’s a long haul from Nelson to Timaru, but we had been doing all the necessary things to stay vigilant.

We stopped every 90 minutes to two hours, had coffee, swapped over, the non-driver had a snooze etc.

We were as alert as possible. I honestly don’t think fatigue was the main issue in not seeing him.

I reckon though, had we hit the truck at 90 to 100kmh, the headline probably would have read ‘‘Tourists fall asleep at wheel’’ (we immigrated to Timaru a year ago as an aside).

How else would you explain going into the back of a truck for no reason?

Especially as at that stage all the lights would be smashed to pieces.

Could I urge drivers to please check that their rear lights are working and clean. Taking enough breaks while driving is also important. JAMES BRADY Timaru