Please Light Up Britain's Dimmest

[TeaLeaf]

"Dreadful, wet and miserable"

That's how the radio described today's weather and so it was when I drove my kids to their school this morning.   The sky was dark, it was raining constantly and I needed to have my car's windscreen wipers on full-time.   And so to my grumpy old man pet hate in this type of weather:    driver's who seem completely unaware of either the conditions or the settings of their lights.

It staggers me that so many people are blissfully unaware.  So my best regards this morning to all the idiots out there that:

-drive around blissfully ignorant of the fact that without lights on that they are almost invisible to other drivers
-do not realise that the Fog Lights they turned on that morning in March 2011 are still ON and still blinding other drivers
-try to impress their girlfirends by installing cheap after-market fog lights and then 'setting them to stun' and pointing them at the retinas of oncoming drivers
-seem to think that the 'sidelights' option is the equivalent of the Blackpool Illuminations - wake up folks, you can light a wet fart and get more brightness out of something.  If you think you need sidelights then turn your headlights on because the sidelights are useless.
-bought a car they can't afford to run, which explains why so many 'self-levelling xenon' headlights only ever point up into my eyes and not down onto the road
-are unaware of the large blue light in the middle of their dashboard that tells them they have main beam on.


....may you all have solo accidents that keep you off the road until you get a brain.


That is all.   Carry on please.

[ArithonUK]

"Mister Sulu?"
"Yes Captain?"
"Set fog lights to stun"
"Aye Captain!"
"Now Spock, hang a pine-tree shaped air freshener over the middle of the view-screen!"
"But sir, that is illogical! It will obscure your view!"
"Yes Spock, but we'll smell fresh for the accident."
"Now, Mister Scott?"
"Yes Captain"
"Set stereo for warp factor five, full volume ahead!"
"I dunna think tha engines 'll take it Captain!"
"Nonsense! Set a course for space dock. We're getting the nacelles lowered and all the port-holes blacked out tomorrow!"


On a serious note, its about time the police gave up their OCD love-affair with speed and started pulling over people for bad driving and unsafe and unmaintained (or over-modified) vehicles. Since any modification to a car (even a steering cover) invalidates the insurance, unless you have informed your insurer, most of the "light-ships" that are menacing Tealeaf and the rest of us, would be uninsured in an accident! Considering the driving of these individuals goes from bad to appalling at the first sign of rain, snow, fog or dark, it is a concern.

[Tutonic]

I heard that weather report this morning, it had me laughing out loud. "The weather? Dreadful. Wet, windy and horrible." John Humphries, you legend.

One of the unexpected bonuses my Civic provides is having a spoiler going right across the rear windscreen - it's at the perfect height to block out those horrible xenon lights.

My pet hate: drivers who have no idea that they've lost a headlight. How hard is it to check these yourself once a month?

[Snokio]

Nice little rant there :thumb:

Pet hate No1: that 'make of car' driver that is always right up on my backside, not just mine either! no matter what weather/road condition (and it's not like I'm going slow or anything)   :eyebrow:
Pet hate No2: Mr/Mrs 40mph, 40mph in a national speed limit, continues 40mph in a 30mph zone, and sometimes 40mph joining a motorway :blink:

[Blunt]

Lightmare

[DuVeL]

My pet hate: drivers who have no idea that they've lost a headlight. How hard is it to check these yourself once a month?

Agree on this one! You can even see it yourself when driving in the dark.

Years ago I had to pick up my grandmother from her home and she made a remark that I had my lights on while driving during the day. It seems the old rule was not to have your lights on while driving during the day.

A thing I really dislike is the bicycles over here not using lights when it's dark and rainy. Bad thing is, should you hit them when you couldn't have seen them almost, it's still your fault.
They do have these new small lights they are allowed to use but even these are hardly noticeable sometimes.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1736[/ATTACH]

[Snokio]

With regards to HID's, I don't see them being a problem as per say as long as the vehicle and installation is correct, I have HID's installed on my car as it has the correct lenses unlike say an old Corsa / saxo which are not designed to.

Some people have DC ballasts installed which can flicker, or use incorrect colour temperature i.e 8,000 to 12,000K + (blue - purple in colour), incorrect Installation / lenses / car (which is bright no matter what distance you are from the car etc and can blind / dassle). It is these that need looking at

For years now, Volvo cars have the lights on during all times IIRC (I think they still do now or maybe they just have the fairy lights now?) as a safety aspect.

[TeaLeaf]

With regards to HID's, I don't see them being a problem as per say as long as the vehicle and installation is correct, I have HID's installed on my car as it has the correct lenses unlike say an old Corsa / saxo which are not designed to.

After-market or manufacturer installed?  Most after-market are not self-levelling, which makes them illegal.

I have no issue with properly installed and working systems.   My issue with HIDs is that so many are not properly installed and working, or with HID systems that are insufficient for the task (ie self-levelling systems that are inherently flawed and cannot level the light quickly enough or within a sufficient range).    When you point a HID in your face, it affects your low light vision just as badly as lack of lighting means a car is difficult to see in the dark.

[T-Bag]

There's no harm to having your headlights on during the day. You're not going to dazzle someone against sun light, but even when it rains people seem to avoid it, as if there's some finite amount of headlight energy and they have to preserve it for night time. When it rains headlights are appropriate, when it rains hard headlights are essential. Fog lights are my pet peeve. People either think they should be used in a light shower, or forget about them in the thickest of fog. Both are equally bad.

As for illegal headlights, there's no excuse they should get an on the spot fine just like they would for bald tires.

[faust82]

I live in a country where it's illegal to drive with your lights off, and where importers are required to program the car so that the lights are always on. If done properly, that means if your engine is running you still have low-beam on when the light switch is set to off.
My car was made before this rule, but I usually remember it. If I don't, I get a polite flash of the lights from one of the first cars I meet.

Driving with the lights off gets you a fine, and that's fine by me.

[Snokio]

Correct (although it is not the kit themselves that make them illegal as such, it is the car they are installed into that can be)

FYI, Not all aftermarket HIDs are illegal so long as:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component;  
2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place); and
3. comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.  

In practice this means:
1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. - who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.
2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and selflevelling (which can be for the  headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.  
3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly in the same way as any other headlamp.

You also need to remember that there are some older cars with OEM HIDS without leveling and without washers (Old Range Rovers) that still blinds.
 
HID's AM are not an MOT failure either so long as they are fitted correctly / in projector headlights. (the AA themselves reported this incorrectly :lol:).

There are some phenomenal spanners out there that carelessly install lights that are going to blind oncoming cars even on low beam just because they want cool icy blue lights...you'll also find missing dustbins attached to the back end of these same cars

[gromit83]

Lightmare

That page was full of BS

I live in a country where it's illegal to drive with your lights off.

What faust said, but I drive a 2011 Volvo V50 with HIDs. I just love em and buying a new car without LED or Xenon/HID lighting is just plain stupid. It also gives your car a higher aftermarket value.

And to answer that with blinding lights. All HIDs are mandatory to have self-levelling in Norway. If they don't. They are illegal.

[gromit83]

Lightmare

That page was full of BS