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https://freedium.cfd/https://worldhistory.medium.com/americans-think-about-safety-the-wrong-way-656c7b12708e>
"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.
There's just one minor problem: they blind drivers heading in the opposite
direction.
These LED headlights are great for the people using them, but they're a safety
hazard for everybody else. They're a perfect representation of the messed-up
ways that Americans think about safety."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
