Americans Think About Safety the Wrong Way
Our selfish, confused approach to avoiding danger
I was driving to work on a rainy January morning. It was still dark outside, and I was descending a steep, twisty road. Back when I decided to take this route to work every day, it was still light at 7:15 in the morning. I liked driving through the woods; it was an interesting drive. But in the dark and wet, the road was a little too interesting. I worried that I’d miss a curve and end up in a ditch.
For a while, there was nobody else around, which was a relief. But then, up the hill came something big — an SUV, a pickup truck, I’m not sure. It had glaring LED headlights that, in the context of the darkness outside and the rain on my windshield, temporarily blinded me. I lost my bearings for a second. I didn’t crash my car, but I very well could have.
The headlights that blinded me that morning are standard on most cars now — manufacturers have been replacing halogen bulbs, which emit a soft, yellowish light, with LEDs that illuminate the road with a harsher glow for a while now. These headlights are now standard because they last longer and look cooler, but one of the most important reasons is that they provide more safety for the drivers using them. They light up the road ahead far more effectively than the old halogen bulbs.
