MY DEER IN THE HEADLIGHTS

Driving home from work in the dark the other night, I noticed a glimmer of movement ahead. I quickly pulled the stalk for my high beams, and right in front of my car were two large eyes staring back at me. Yikes, a deer…then two, then three. As I shifted my manual transmission to neutral and braked hard to a complete stop, I flashed my high beams to oncoming traffic to warn them. As the three deer casually crossed the road, several thoughts raced through my mind. First, I thought how lucky I was that I hadn’t smashed my car into one of the deer, for their sake as well as mine. Secondly, I thought of how instantaneous my response was as I multitasked through the process. Steering, clutch, brake, gear shift and high beam stalk; all simultaneously involved, all operated by intuitive reaction. It was pitch black, but I was able to reach each component effectively, successfully completing the task at hand. Everything in my Scion TC was placed logically, right where it needed to be, allowing me to escape unscathed.

Coincidentally, moments before this close encounter of the venison kind, I had been thinking about high beams. Driving home, I was constantly raising and lowering my headlights. My drive includes long stretches of dark country roads that require high beams, but the traffic is heavy during rush hour which requires low beams. As I drove, my hand repeatedly left the steering wheel to raise and lower the beams. It was annoying, not to mention potentially dangerous, as my left hand repeatedly left the steering wheel. I then remembered the ease and convenience of the old floor mounted high beam switches. A driver could just leave his/her foot on the switch, then raise or lower the beams as needed without the driver’s hand ever leaving the steering wheel. It was safe and convenient.

This raises the question: why is it that the floor mounted high beam switch has been eliminated in virtually all vehicles? Is it because the switches corroded and failed due to moisture from wet, slushy boots? Is it because it took too long for a driver to find the switch on the floor, making it a safety issue? Or is it simply a cost saving measure for manufacturers i.e. is it cheaper to install one complete switch assembly on the steering column, rather than running a separate line from the floor to wherever?

My research has yet to come up with a clear answer as to when and why the floor mounted high beam switch disappeared. But following my close call the other night with my three deer, I was thankful for the stalk mounted high beam switch. There’s no way that I could have operated my clutch and brake, as well as warn the oncoming traffic with a “flash”, if the switch was on the floor. I guess that I just answered my own question, the stalk is safer, at least for a manual transmission.