Where did I read it?

The news item was that a jury had found in a defendant tractor operator's favor and awarded no money damages against him. The situation: The plaintiff was driving his car on the highway at night, and upon topping a hill saw a single headlight on his side of the road, aimed toward him. He ran his car into a ditch to avoid what he believed was a motorcycle or one-eyed car going the wrong way in his lane. It turned out that what he had seen was the rear-facing work light of a farm tractor going the same direction he was. He sued the guy with the tractor, claiming that if the taillight had been red or yellow, he wouldn't have wrecked his car. The article noted that the motorist's being drunk at the time of the accident probably didn't help his case any.

I either read this story here in the Forum, or in the N-Newsletter, or in our local newspaper. If it was in the local paper it's worth passing on here, and if it's from one of the other sources I apologize for repeating something you probably already heard.

I never drive my "N" on the road at night, but my work light's a plain white light and I can kind of see the motorist's point. A single headlight on my side of the road, if it was close enough, would probably make me hit the ditch. Of course, in this case the drunk was probably driving bad and caused the problem.

There was a snap-on red plastic lens carried inside the truck. The lens had spring clips, and when there was a fire call you could snap it over the spotlight and "roll code 3" to the fire.

It was a rinky-dink system for an emergency vehicle, but one of those lenses would be just the thing for turning a tractor's work light into a red taillight for highway driving. I wonder if they're are still available?

It's kind of a shame that this tractor operator is getting off scott free for his illegal and dangerous practice. If all he was endagering was himself, I wouldn't care. But since he's endangering others, I do care.

Of course, it also doesn't take much to recognize that the white light you're seeing in front of you is not moving towards you. Such as the many time a porch light suddenly becomes visible directly in front of you as you drive around the turn of a country lane.

That the plaintif was driving drunk is inexcusable, but I do not think that should excuse the defendents actions.

Bill Malpass