Idaho’s California Transplants Can’t Grasp One Simple Concept

Ah, the great state of Idaho, where the potatoes are plentiful and the burgeoning transplant population can't grasp what local teens learn at age 14.

Blinded by the Transplant Light

Unlike many of my fellow Idahoans, transplants, even the big and scary ones from California, don't bug me...until they friggin' blind me‍.

Not all, of course, but A LOT of transplants flip their high beams on the moment fog hovers over Boise. One minute you're headed west on State Street, and the next you're being thrown into a blinding EDM show minus the fun mind-altering supplements because Joe California won't use his foggers.

And it's getting worse. A few years ago I would've dealt with two, maybe three people, using their brights in the fog. Last night, I felt lucky to make it home alive on my drive from downtown Boise to Star.

How do I know they were from California? I kid you not, last night every single car had a California license plate, sticker, or what-have-you on their car.

What is fog?

In short, Nat Geo defines fog as a cloud that touches the ground. But it seems like our friends from the Golden Stage liken fog to rain or a drearier-than-usual day. Anyone who's lived here longer than a minute knows how very wrong that is.

Locals know driving through Idaho fog takes skill, patience, reduced speed, and fog lights. Not brights or tailgating the guy in front of you to follow the road lines.

But don't high beams help you see better and further at night?

High beams serve no purpose in foggy conditions unless you want to meet your Maker or me to meet mine. That's not a criticism; "thassa fact" as the youngins say.

It doesn't matter if it's a light overcast or a dense blanket of doom, high beams cast a retina-searing glare, making it impossible for everyone on the road to see. It also makes us hate you for the while it takes us to regain our eyesight, but you kind of deserve it.

The solution is a no-brainer...or it should be, anyway. Don't use high beams in foggy weather. I know the dim nature of fog lights puts a lot of us on edge, but that's what we're working with, y'all.