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Highway and headlight codes
• A peer, who had just driven more than 100 miles in mist or fog, last week expressed surprise at the number of heavy vehicles being driven on sidelights only.
He was also struck by the way in which, in middling light, the drivers of heavy vehicles were inclined to flash headlights at other drivers with dipped headlights.
"I rather wish they would not, but that will come with time", commented the peer, Lord Ferrier.
He was speaking during a House of Lords debate on the new Highway Code—a debate in which the thorny problem of the lorry drivers' code of flashing headlights was mentioned several times.
Really expert opinion came from a baron who was once a truck driver—Lord Lucas of Chilworth. He did not like the clause which said that the flashing of headlamps was nothing more than an indication of a vehicle's presence.
Twenty years ago, when he was driving trucks for a living, there was a quite simple light code. This had been in use for years, and suddenly there was a change from what had been a reasonably accepted practice, and one which, so far as he was aware, had not contributed greatly to dangerous driving but to understanding of sensible road use by sensible road users.
It should not be changed overnight, said Lord. Lucas.
The Earl of Shannon drew attention to the difficulties which bus drivers would meet when obeying the instruction that vehicles must move off in such a way that other rOad traffic did not have to change direction or speed.
If traffic was heavy, drivers coming out from a bus stop could not possibly do so according to the code, he maintained. They were driven to just putting on their flashers
and coming out regardless. He did not know whether it was right to allow one class of road-users to do something which was considered highly reprehensible in others, but it seemed to hint that it was putting bus drivers coming out from a stop at a considerable disadvantage.
The Lords finally approved the new Highway Code—as did the Commons when they returned to the subject after an earlier debate had been adjourned.
During the Commons discussion Mr. David Waddington (Tory, Nelson and Caine), wanted more positive wording for the section on flashing headlamps.
The Government was entitled to say: "Whatever lorry drivers may do, and whatever Lord Justice Russell may have said, we shall not say that flashing lights mean 'Come forward. T am waiting for you' ".
If that was the Government's view it should be said so in the clearest of terms, because some people on the roads used flashing lights as an indication to come forward.
He wondered why those who drafted the Code had not said: "The flashing of lights must not be taken as an indication to come forward or to cut across another vehicle's path."