With oncoming traffic, always dim your lights;
And walk on the Right, both in Daytime & at Night!
I want to praise the article in the 14, January, 2022 issue of The Anguillian; “Night-time Safety on Anguilla’s Roadways”. The importance of these two main topics: walk facing traffic, and dim high beams to oncoming traffic; have always been serious safety concerns, and should not be taken lightly!
It is VERY important dim your high beams to oncoming traffic, so as not to impair the other drivers vision; BOTH as a simple courtesy as well as an important SAFETY measure! The seriousness of the potentially blinding effect on oncoming traffic is specifically being addressed by many automobile and truck manufacturers. High end, and newer vehicles are now equipped with mechanisms which AUTOMATICALLY dim high beams, when sensing oncoming traffic! Unfortunately, most less expensive or older vehicles don’t have these modern safety features yet, and without being manually lowered, high beams continue to interfere with oncoming motorist’s vision!
We must practice this simple safety measure, and ALWAYS quickly dim our high beams to oncoming traffic!
With the issue of pedestrians walking with their backs toward oncoming traffic at Night; I respectfully disagree, in part, with the Article. Although nighttime makes things even more dangerous, pedestrians should ALWAYS walk FACING traffic, DAY or Night! Motorists, even in daylight can easily become distracted from the road ahead or have a short lapse in concentration for a variety of reasons: cell phones, passengers, potholes, goats, dogs, sun in eyes, a passing friend & etc. Walking on the right, facing oncoming traffic, gives you the Pedestrian the ability to ALSO observe and react to any possible problem! Thus doubling the protection.
As encouraged throughout the world, in the absence of sidewalks, ALWAYS walk facing oncoming traffic!
Perhaps these two simple, but extremely important safety measures, if not already, should be mentioned in school classrooms? They certainly should be taught with any driving lessons!
A Respectful Belonger
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
