Editorial: Light up on winter roads

Linda Hall, Assistant Editor, Hawke's Bay Today.

When Daylight Saving ends people are urged to check their smoke alarms.

We are reminded to change our clocks and smoke detector batteries.

It makes sense. Smoke alarms save lives but if they are not serviced they are pointless.
The same can be said for our car lights. I think it would be a fantastic idea if we added a vehicle light check to the Daylight Saving list.

Get someone to stand in front of your car and turn your lights and indicators on - it would take one minute.

I've lost count of the number of cars I have seen on our roads this winter with a headlight out. It's so dangerous. People step from the pavement onto the road when they see one head light coming toward them thinking it's a motorbike.

I've also seen numerous people driving around town at night with no lights on at all.
I always flick my lights in the hope they will realise.

It's winter: the first thing you do when you get home at night is flick on the light, it's automatic. It should be automatic when you get in your car.

Then there are the cyclists. Most of them are well lit up with flashing lights and fluorescent clothing, however the ones that don't bother scare me.

Recently I just caught sight of the flash of a wheel in another vehicle's headlights before I came up behind them.

Dressed in black with no lights the rider was either ignorant or didn't want to be seen. Why else would you risk your life out on the road on a dark, rainy night?