A dim view of safety concerns

Sir, – I am increasingly concerned about the road safety risks posed by drivers using permanently dipped headlights on rural roads at night.

Driving with headlights permanently dipped may well apply on dual carriageways and motorways, where there is constant oncoming traffic and very little chance switching up to full beam or encountering a pedestrian.

Driving on rural and single carriageway roads is an entirely different matter. Here, one is quite likely to encounter a cyclist riding an unlit bike, a pedestrian or a stray animal, yet time without number I have seen traffic being driven on rural and single carriageway roads with headlights permanently dipped, and at speeds quite outwith the capability of stopping within the illuminated distance. This is most noticeable when approaching a bend in the road, where the glare of the full beam of the oncoming vehicle is noticeable by its absence.

I myself have sat as a passenger beside drivers gaily careering along an empty rural road at night on dipped headlights with vision restricted to a few yards and absolutely no chance of stopping within that range – and no conception or the least concern of what could exist in the darkness beyond.

I do not suppose I am saying anything new, but why do drivers in general seem to persist in such dangerous and irresponsible conduct?

James A Hamilton. Cairneyhill Road, Crossford.