Ages ago, when the wheel had just been invented, I learned to drive, and was taught that, "Courtesy is the Golden Rule of the road." Doesn't seem to be any more:
There's currently a raging debate about the new, LED headlights, which many oncoming drivers find too bright in the first place. There are movements in several states to ban them. Worse are the aftermarket Halogen and LID headlights, which are even brighter than LEDs. This is often exacerbated by truck drivers who haul heavy loads or pull heavy trailers without adjusting their headlights, but that's not the worst of it.
Worst are the stupid, discourteous, evil idiots who refuse to dim for oncoming traffic, or even deliberately flash their high beams in your eyes just as you pass, ON PURPOSE to blind you. Of course, you can't report them to the cops. By the time your eyes recover enough to see any details, they are long gone.
Last week, on a seventy mile trip on a rural, two-lane highway, half of the drivers I encountered fell into this category. Half a dozen dimmed for me, but only after I dimmed for them, then flashed my high beams at them at least once more. Only ONE actually dimmed for me when he was supposed to. Many of the worst offenders were semis, presumably driven by professional drivers. I suppose they don't care if you blunder blindly into their lane. You'll die, and they'll have some paperwork to fill out.
I've only been able to think up three possible solutions:
1. Shoot their headlights out--difficult if you're not left-handed, and probably illegal everywhere.
2. Install a rotating beacon and imitate a cop, which is also illegal.
3. Install a set of halogen or LID headlights on my old pickup truck, and flash them with my own high beams as they pass.
Come to think of it, maybe a laser would be even better...
