A Good Year for the Outlaw

Why is it here in Illinois that people refuse to dim their lights until the last possible second, if at all? Is it that hard? Are the drivers that selfish?

Particularly maddening is as you approach a hill, you can see the glow from the oncoming car’s lights, and they’re bright. I ALWAYS dim my lights BEFORE I crest a hill, because that’s how I was TAUGHT to drive by my instructor in Minnesota. Common courtesy, it’s called. Also has something to do with safety. I don’t know how many times I’ve done this recently, dimming my lights well in advance of line-of-sight of an oncoming vehicle behind a hill, only to see the other driver just leave his/her brights on until we’re right on top of each other, meeting at the top of the hill, and I’m momentarily blinded. Thanks, jerks.

Another aspect of this is interstate highway driving. Just because there’s separation between the four lanes does NOT mean you can simply leave your lights on bright when approaching other vehicles. The most frustrating of all is when you give an oncoming car a flick of the brights…several times…and you simply get ignored. If I’m WRONG and you’re already on dim, then show me. If I’m RIGHT, then dim your damn lights, arsehole.

Besides, with improved headlights and the increase in “driving lights” on newer cars (we used to call them “fog lights”), there’s little need to EVER have your brights on unless you’re alone on a two lane road.

I’ve come to the conclusion that most people that do this around here do it on purpose. Just to be an ass. Guess what? Mission accomplished.