Where's Nader when you need him?

Is it just me, or have the "brights" on cars gotten brighter over the last few years? I'm pretty sure they have. I used to love driving at night. I really did. That was before every other vehicle on the road was equipped with stadium lighting.

I propose an equally effective, alternate solution for those with night-blindness. Don't drive at night. Keep your visually impaired ass at home. Or get a sighted person to take you to your destination, as opposed to blinding every driver on the highway with your 6,000-watt headlights. Or, go to an optometrist, they can usually help with afflictions of an ocular nature. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's their job.

Now, I fully realize that drivers are only partly to blame. The majority of the responsibility should lie on the shoulders of the automobile manufacturers. After all, they are the ones equipping these assholes with the ability to blind the average driver in the first place. I just can't believe that the brightness of headlights isn't regulated. Or maybe it is. I don't know. If it isn't it should be. If it is, then the standards should be changed.

As always, you may or may not agree with me. But, I'm pretty sure that anyone who's had the pleasure of being blinded in the middle of the night by a fast-approaching Hummvee urban assault vehicle will at least claim I make a valid point. Regardless of how fancy we continue to make cars, they will only be as good as the driver who operates them. But then again, that's just my humble opinion.