Shedding light on dangers of driving in dark

From: Mr SB Oliver, Churchill Grove, Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire.

GILL Driver (The Yorkshire Post, May 5) re-raised the subject of cyclists and joggers who wear drab, dark clothing. She is right to promote the use of high-viz clothing which gives motorists advance warning in daytime, but is only of use after dark if the motorists use dipped headlights which light up the garments and reflect the beams; sidelights don’t do that and I have written before about this. Recently I witnessed stupidity of brainless, crass proportions.

We had to be at Leeds Bradford Airport for 5.45am on April 22. As I drove through Tong village, it was just starting to slightly lighten up. As I drove downhill, a small van, going uphill towards Tong, was doing about 40-50 mph .... on just one nearside sidelight, in almost dark visibility.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Any person, or hazard, on the roadway could not have been seen by the driver and the consequences would have been terrible. Minutes later, the A65 road between Horsforth and Rawdon was in almost darkness as the street-lights are switched off around midnight. There they were again, the usual suspects, driving on just sidelights. My question is this: do all the driving schools and tutors stress the correct use of headlights to all their learners?