Driving around the island of Lanzarote, the road safety expert is strikingly struck by the fact that when visibility is restricted, the inhabitants of the island do not know which lighting of their car they are legally and reasonably required to turn on. Since out of 10 cars that one crosses on the road, two are driven by foreigners who already know what is said here, and six cars are not properly lit, it turns out that at least 75% of the islanders do not know either how or why they are obliged as drivers. Not even the professionals, be they taxi drivers, truck drivers, bus drivers, or, shamefully, the Police, are aware.
Well, allow an instructor who obtained his licenses in the 60s in Germany and Switzerland to tell you, three years after a "year of road safety education" was proclaimed in Spain unnoticed and without effect, the rules and reasoning in this regard.
The Traffic Code says that lighting must be turned on from and until the sun crosses the horizon and under any circumstance of restricted visibility. And this includes shadows and penumbras, fogs and darkness, rains and drizzles, snow (which is not yet here) and every moment when sun and shadow alternate or when the sun is low in the morning and in the afternoon drivers may be dazzled.
In addition, for several years now also in Spain the rule is that you should not drive at any time with the small position lights but always with the low beam. That's why it's called that. The small lights were invented by the pioneers of motoring only to illuminate the car when parked and with the engine off to save battery. Driving with them is an abuse and shows that the driver does not understand the safety needs and does not realize the danger in which he is and in which he puts others.
A conscious and responsible driving instructor explains to his student clients that in case of doubt the moment to turn on the lights has come as late as permissible, when they realize that other vehicles have the lights on. And for those who do not want to blindly obey laws and rules without understanding the reason, which is a civil right and a sign of intelligence, he will say:
Lighting not only serves to see, but even more to BE SEEN.
And the little position lights are ABSOLUTELY USELESS for this.
(The only exception would be total darkness, that is, when you have to turn on the low beams anyway to see.) It is not enough for cars to be visible. They have to attract attention: "Beware everyone, a danger is approaching here!" And this as soon as possible and from as far away as possible.
Those who ignore the dangers and speak without thinking first, will say that until now they have always seen all the cars they had to see. But in reality they have only been lucky that they have not yet collided with any of the many cars that have passed their way without them having been seen and without their drivers having been noticed in turn.
What the hell - I ask - is going through people's heads, who see other cars with the correct lighting and it does not occur to them to adapt even when warned?! Is it ignorance or stubbornness? Do they think that the fools are the others, who turn on the low beams for no reason?
Surely there are people who follow the false logic: "Slightly restricted visibility suggests little light. Very restricted visibility requires a lot of light." But the reality is the opposite: The less restricted the visibility, the less visible the small lights are.
Well, please let everyone know: A poorly lit car is not perceived only from the front when overtaking. Even less with the windshield wet. A poorly lit car with minimally restricted visibility is practically invisible in the small rearview mirrors. Whether it is in the central rearview mirror through a slightly dirty rear crystal or in the slightly wet exterior mirror or in the parabolic corner mirror. In addition, it is much more difficult to calculate the speed at which a poorly lit vehicle is approaching.
All this is extremely true for dark and grayish cars. They should be the first to go lit. But those who buy a car like this, have in their character the tendency to discretion. They do not want to attract attention. They go camouflaged and it does not occur to them that in road traffic this attitude can be fatal.
Everyone can choose the color of their car according to their personal taste but cannot drive according to their individual rules. The result is that cars without lights that go in front of or behind another properly lit car, cover the lights of the latter and make it imperceptible. And so one imposes their own bad behavior on the innocent.
There will also be people who believe that light costs gasoline and that they save money by turning on their lighting as small as possible and as late as possible. But know that it is no more than 5 cents per hour. And this is not in any relation to the danger they are running at every moment.
For all the above, in some more advanced states such as Sweden and Canada, the headlights must be turned on continuously day and night. And therefore the cars in these countries turn on the lights automatically with the engine by current regulation. There is a movement in the automobile clubs for this rule to be introduced throughout Europe. And it is true that this would be the simplest and most comfortable and safest solution for everyone; the smart and the clumsy, the ignorant and the clueless.
In many civilized countries a driver who, by failing to comply with a traffic rule, causes an accident with injuries or deaths goes straight to jail for injury or homicide due to reckless imprudence. And to help avoid similar calamities to my friends from Lanzarote, I have insisted on writing this somewhat controversial warning. May they always be careful and well lit. It can save their lives as well as others.
Thank you!
Thomas Zacharias
