Are headlights really optional?

How are your driving skills?  Do you follow every rule?  Do you weave in and out of traffic?  Is your car in good shape?  Do your headlights work and do you use them?  I ask this because I’ve been traveling a lot in the last couple of years and let’s just say I think I’ve seen it all now.  Take this woman I saw once who was in front of the car I was a passenger in.  We entered the lane to pay the toll on a turnpike.  The woman apparently hadn’t followed the rules and didn’t have her ticket at the ready to pay.  There were cars behind us so we couldn’t just back up and go into another line.  People began to get angry – horns were honking as this woman was arguing with the toll booth attendant.  To add to the problem, every few minutes she would flip the bird to those of us behind her – like that was helping the problem somehow.  5 minutes went by, then 10, then we got almost to the 15 minute mark before the woman finally passed over some money and left.  As my friend who was driving passed her only a minute later (she was driving at a snail’s pace), we realized she didn’t have taillights or headlights on.  And given that it was well past midnight, this was a very bad idea.  Okay, she wasn’t the only one we had seen that night without headlight and/or taillights.  However, she was the first one without both.  At least her car was a lighter colored one, I have seen cars driving at night without light that are black.  Now, I remember back in my day, how hard it was to pass drivers ed.  And this was in the dark ages when many cars didn’t have seat belts.  You know, when parents still stuffed 10 kids in a station wagon by throwing a few pillows in the way back and called it a day as kids rolled around not even in a seat.  But back to learning how to drive, I had to know all of the rules of road.  I had to do hours of practice driving with an instructor and with my parents.  And all of this was before I could go take the test for the state.  Does this not happen anymore?  Or are cars so complicated now people have just given up trying to drive in a reasonable and safe manner?  It seems like politeness, manners and general consideration for our fellow man have gone out the window in everyday interactions with our fellow man.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that these are gone as far as driving is concerned as well.  Yet, how much damage can we do to someone by not saying ‘hi’ to the person in front of us in the checkout lane?  Whereas, how much damage can we do driving at night with no headlights on?  So, yeah, I’m glad I don’t drive.  And I’m thinking maybe I’m going to give up being a passenger in a car as well.  Yep, becoming a hermit is sounding better and better...