>> You think kids aren't running across the street at night out in the country? Chasing a soccer ball?

> Only in well light areas, usually with a low speed limit too.

It would certainly be safer if that were true, but it's not. Kids play in front yards with zero street lighting all the time. And drivers speed.

>> People, deer, fallen branches, large roadkill, garbage cans blown into the road by the wind, the list goes on and on.

> Of those only people are at all common, and not on large roads.

I think there are a lot of places you haven't driven. In parts of the US, deer are everywhere. And who is limiting the subject to "large roads"? Headlights are used on all roads.

Also, we drive defensively because of the uncommon things we encounter. It only takes one collision to potentially kill you or someone else. Over a lifetime of driving, "uncommon" things have an unfortunate tendency to still happen at some point.