Now that we’re back to GMT and dark nights, one of my standard complaints comes back to the forefront: the non-use or misuse of lights on the road. Every journey sees at least one problem, ranging from the merely annoying to the very dangerous.
I’ll start with the cyclists, because there’s only one comment to make: if you wear dark clothing, no hi-viz, and have no lights on a dark evening commute when it’s pissing down you are practically invisible. If you’re lucky your rear reflector or pedal reflectors might get picked up in the headlamps. Think about this when you’re on the road surrounded by 1.5 ton metal boxes that might kill you. This means all 3 of you I (just about) saw between Aldridge & Walsall Wood on Friday.
Now the car drivers. Many, many more things here, so we’ll need a list.
1. Sidelights are for parking with. Not for driving. Cars now have electrical systems that can cope with headlights: it is not the 1950s any more. While it is legal to use sidelights on a streetlit road with a speed limit of 30mph or less, it’s stupid to do so. Idiots like you are the reason we ended up with the aptly named Dim-Dip for a while.
2. If it’s dark, misty, rainy, or visibility is otherwise impaired, how about using headlights? That oh-so popular silver colour lots of cars are blends nicely with grey, dark murky mornings otherwise. Idiots like you are why we’re saddled with DRLs on new cars, which are not to be confused with….
3. Front Foglights do not make you look cool, and they glare off wet roads when there isn’t fog. Oh, and rear ones are not neccesary in a traffic queue, or if it’s a bit wet. Both are for when visibility is less than 100m.
4. If you have a blown bulb, fix it. It’s not hard. Halfords ‘technicians’ can do it. Putting your one remaining headlamp on to main beam does not compensate.
Rant over…..
Yes, a timely rant. The one that really gets me is the over-use of rear fog lights in the rain on the motorway which, as you say, creates hazardous glare.
Also, I get really pissed off by drivers whose dipped headlight beams have been set at too high an angle and so dazzle both oncoming traffic and the drivers in front via the rear view mirrors. Whilst this is one of the checks in the MOT test many drivers don’t seem to realise that if they are carrying extra passengers in the back seat or heavy luggage in the boot, the beam height rises. It is usually possible to easily lower the beam height in most modern vehicles.
SUV drivers need to take particular care simply because their lights are positioned at a greater height than the rest of us.
Too many people just jump in their car and set-off without thinking about the immediate driving conditions, to consider their vehicle settings be it tyre pressures, lights, window washers or adjust their behaviour – speed, distance etc
Oh indeed. Poorly adjusted halogen lights or illegally fitted, non approved Xenon HID lamps are a nightmare.
Rear fogs on a wet motorway, as you say, just created scattered glare that makes it hard to focus on what you should…
There is actually a £40 fine for using fog lamps unnecessarily I believe.
Rarely enforced though.
Its the same in Oz, winter (if you can call it that) comes along and people automatically start using their foglights, even in dry clear conditions day or night. I can’t say i’ve ever seen real fog here, occasionally you get a low level dense mist on a cold morning rising from feilds or wetlands, but never fog like you get over there where you need foglights.
This morning has been the reverse- work is south of Birmingham, and was misty this morning. Visibility around 150-200m, yet I counted 2 cars with no lights, and 5-6 with sidelights only, at before 8am (so not pitch dark, but not light properly either).
Only just found this in my RSS feed and had planned to come in and rant about HID, but the stymaster has beaten me to it,
The HID argument extends to after market light clusters and / or tinting film, both I suspect would fail a proper VOSA test against type approval as light emisions in the prescribed paths is not correct.
The blown bulb thing drives me potty, but i can say i have seen Halfords cock up a bulb replacement on a pug 206. i will say though that some new vauxhalls, subarus and renualts require a jack or lift to change the bulb as it can ONLY be down from underneath, often blind in the case of soem renaults, damn cheese eating surrender monkeys
Although most people manage, would you believe that the official procedure for changing a headlight bulb on a Golf IV involves removing the front bumper *boggle* ?
Certainly changing the Leon’s headlamp bulbs is fiddly (mutter mutter broken bulb holder –> new headlamp mutter mutter £150 and dropping the bumper), and changing front fog bulbs means dropping the bumper too. Changing front fogs on the Lupo involves scrabbling underneath, but headlamp access is easy.
Agreed on the window film and aftermarket lights: some are shocking. People forget what the lights are there for.
OEM HIDs have to have auto-levelling to cut dazzle: cheap aftermarket ones usually don’t bother.