A Rant About our Governments Standards Regarding Driving Safety!

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I just can't understand why our government will not publicly recognize the growing problem with our automotive headlight surface corrosion.

Since they finally changed the standard from glass sealed-beam to the more versatile acrylic / polycarbonate headlight assemblies, and set the standard for optimal projection of the lights on high and low beams for driver safety; as well as creating laws against the application of any product that could distort or shorten the distance of the light projection, but does not specify natural build-up, which can be much worse than applying say a tinted film over your lenses.

(In my opinion this law should be revised).

Yet they only require auto manufactures headlight assemblies to last 3 years without becoming cloudy or hazy; after that our government doesn't seem to care or recognize that oxidation build-up is becoming more and more hazardous to everyone including pedestrians!

I have been reading more and more news reports about pedestrian fatalities from motor vehicles and attributing many of those accidents to low lighting conditions causing poor visibility, in areas where there are no street lights.

Never specifically  mention about whether or not the vehicles headlights were clear or cloudy or the possible cause of the poor visibility!

Below is a excerpt from a publication titled:

Driving After Dark
by Kenneth S. Opiela, Carl K. Andersen and Greg Schertz

As a matter of fact, approximately half of all fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes occur at night, even though the traffic volume is substantially less. According to data in Traffic Safety Facts 2000, published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fatal crash rate for nighttime driving is three to four times that for daytime driving.

problems with driver vision, vehicle hardware, or environmental conditions are cited as "related factors" in 15 percent of all fatal crashes. Since more than half of all fatal crashes involve only a single vehicle, the final statistic may greatly underestimate the impact of vision and visibility on driving safety.

I mean if our government does really care about our safety in a motor vehicle then why require manufacturers headlight clarity to only last a 3 years, when the average vehicle ownership period was 8 years before the economy crash, now predicted to be 10 to 12 years?

 And why don't police officers enforce or investigate these scenario's? Could the vehicle headlights be the cause of the poor visibility? ABSOLUTELY YES!

How many accidents or fatalities is it going to take before they wake-up and smell the coffee?

Frankly I'm surprised that the Insurance Companies haven't cashed in on this!

Within 5 to 7 years many vehicles on the road today have lost at least 20% of the light projection from their headlights starting to oxidize; that means at least 20% less visibility of potential obstacles on the road in front of you which shortens your stopping distance.

And clouded headlights will cause glare to oncoming vehicles because the light can no longer be focused and creates a shorter, broad area of light.

Well, I guess that's it for this rant, just questions that haven't been answered.
by: Scott Summerson