Please, do not blind fellow drivers

To the editor:

Please, study Article 2, 13 Alaska Administration Code 04.020. Headlights:

“(1) when the driver of a vehicle approaches an oncoming vehicle within 500 feet, the driver shall use a distribution of light, or composite beam, so that the glaring or high-intensity portion of the light is not projected into the eyes of the oncoming driver; and

(2) when the driver of a vehicle approaches another vehicle from the rear, within 300 feet, the approaching driver may not use the highest distribution of light.”

Too many people seem to not care that they are blinding other drivers, especially those who are driving straight at them on our poor, undivided highways often under poor conditions. I counted every 10th car in violation of this law on Parks Hwy. I almost drove into a ditch trying to turn into a business, because an obnoxious, on-coming driver had their bright beams shining directly into my eyes. After he passed, I could not see the edge of the driveway, because I could only see the after-glow of those bright lights for a critical second. I suspect that many head-on, serious, traffic accidents may be caused by such obnoxious drivers. Please be mindful that as we get older, our eyes become more sensitive to after-glow from bright lights and take longer to re-adjust, and we have many older drivers on the highway.

It is not just polite to dim your lights when you approach another car both head-on and from the rear, but it is against the law to continue to drive with high-beam lights on, because you may cause someone to drive into your car or have an accident, if you blind them at a critical moment.

Please write a letter addressed to:

Colonel James Cockrell, Director, Alaska Troopers

5700 East Tudor Road

Anchorage, AK 99507, asking him to begin enforcing both section (1) and (2) of this law.

Daniel N. Russell

Willow