NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Perhaps it's just because I'm getting older and my eyes find it harder to adjust to sudden light changes, but I'm wondering if it's not an issue for a lot of other drivers as well.

In my years as a sheriff's deputy I never wrote a ticket to a driver for failure to dim his headlights even when some of the state patrol officers with whom I worked would stop anyone for the violation. It just didn't bother me all that much.

Now I find myself wishing I could turn around, flip on the red lights and cite a few drivers for that very thing. And even worse sometimes than the high beams are the extra fog lights and auxiliary lights which people run all the time down the highway. The bright lights blind me and make it difficult to see even when I do look away toward the edge of the roadway.

But the issue which I wish to address is not the violations of the law related to the use of headlamps and auxiliary lighting; I want to see if others have an issue with all the strobe lights on police cars.

In my days as a sheriff's deputy, I never had or installed the fancy light bars with strobes which projected reds and blues and yellows in every direction. I had red lights in the front - usually mounted in the grill - and alternating amber or yellow lights in my rear window. It made the cost of lighting very inexpensive because it only required four lights and a couple of alternating flasher switches, but it was also very efficient. The red lights were clearly visible from the front and the alternating ambers could be seen for miles to the rear of my car - of course, this was rural northwestern Kansas where a person could see for miles.

Many of the younger officers in the area were pushing for the new lightbars and lights projecting in every direction, but I was quite satisfied with my simple setup and thought it provided ample warning for approaching motorists when I was out on a traffic stop. It's true I drove an unmarked vehicle for a number of years because of my duties investigating child abuse and domestic-violence cases, but the four lights were more than enough when I worked traffic accidents or made vehicle stops, whether in a marked or unmarked car.

I know the reason for all the lights on patrol cars these days - officer safety. Officers want to be seen when they are out there on streets and highways. They don't want to be struck by passing motorists when they are out working traffic accidents and making vehicle stops. Far too many officers are hurt or killed in the line of duty by other drivers.

But are all the flashing lights really safer?

Yes, you can see the lights ahead and slow down. My old alternating ambers were visible for miles, too. But what about when you've slowed, moved over and are passing that patrol car with lights flashing? Can you see then?

With my old alternating ambers, passing motorists could still see the roadway with their headlights. If I was out beside a stopped car, my headlights illuminated me out there too and I could see the approaching motorist.

I don't think that's the case with the modern strobe lights. The bright flashing blue lights are about like old flash bulbs going off in one's face,except that they go off repeatedly, keeping a driver's eyes from recovering and seeing if the officer is out beside a stopped car or, perhaps, for reasons unknown, in harm's way further out on the roadway.

Even when slowing and moving over a lane, how does a driver know for sure where the officer or others may be if the intensity of the strobe lights is so blinding it makes seeing the roadway difficult or impossible?

I realize that police officers may not want to go back to the simple setup I used for years, but I do wish someone would look into the dangers of using too many bright lights and blinding drivers who are trying hard to be safe out there and keep officers safe as well.

Some moving thoughts

In case anyone saw me haul pickup-truck loads of precariously-stacked stuff the few blocks between our old abode and our new one, you guessed it: Mrs. Griz and I spent the better part of three days moving.

In spite of the fact that the truck loads would not have passed a Department of Transportation inspection, we lost nothing except for a bathroom wastebasket which blew off and we quickly retrieved.

I threatened to have Mrs. Griz sit atop the load in her rocker, but she declined, and probably wisely so.

The whole experience, along with the aching back, sore muscles and knees that don't want to bend any more, has taught me that I never want to move again.

If we do ever have to move again, I suggested to Mrs. Griz that we contact the folks who bid on abandoned storage lockers and take the high bid on all our household goods and let them go to the trouble of sorting and hauling.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be reached by email at rmoll@ nwaonline.com.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 02/22/2012