Fashion Update

I mentioned a while back that someone gave me the perfect word to explain the sudden proliferation of High Intensity Discharge (HID) arc lamp lights on the streets of Santiago. That word was Fashion and the more I think about it the more I realize that fashion is a very important concept in a country as poor as this. Especially cheap fashion. Whereas before nearly everyone was content to merely blind you with their bright lights that they always use at night, now in the unholy pursuit of "Fashion" an incredible number of drivers have installed the new, colored, extremely bright headlights. They are really a danger. Of course the driver's don't care, they are in fashion. The new lights come in a range of colors. First the blue lights appeared. They were quickly followed by the even brighter yellow lights, and last night I was absolutely blinded twice by an even brighter sort of pink/lilac headlight. I did a little research before I started writing this (I was, after all, the Research Editor at Poker Life Magazine until its demise) and found that these HID headlights were originally offered on a few luxury cars. They had a very defined field of illumination and were safe when used. Now the fashionistas have adopted them for all cars and of course, as with everything else here "the more the better" so the field of illumination has been increased to make sure that oncoming traffic is blinded. Turns out that most of the new headlights have tinted bulbs rather than being the true HID arc lamp. This form of headlight is illegal in the US. They are more blinding to oncoming traffic, but they illuminate less. The thing that I get the biggest kick out of is checking out the types of cars that have these new lights. First were the over sized SUV's. (On a side note, I would bet that this country has a disproportionate percentage of Hummers. I am not talking about blow jobs, although they may have a lot of people doing that also). Next to install the HIDs were the low slung fast street machines. You have to be either an idiot or a show off, or both to have a low riding car in a country that never repairs its roads. What happens here is that the holes get so big that eventually someone comes and fills them with rocks and small boulders. The weight of the cars and trucks passing over them eventually breaks them up and they fill the pothole. Of course, after a few rains the holes are back to their old condition. These lights have proliferated to the point where all the junkers have them in their effort to appear cool, and now the newest class of vehicle to have these lights are the motorbikes and scooters. I can't wait to see next week's color. Fashion. AHHH, its wonderful.