OVLOV JAY:
I don’t have a problem with people running on sidelights, if you can see that, you’ve seen the car. A bit like the argument I put up if tackled for not wearing a hi viz I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
The problem is that people drive on sidelights in conditions where they aren’t as easily seen as if they’d had headlights on. I can’t see a problem with having headlights on all the time, (not main beam) and in certain European countries its a legal requirement.
OVLOV JAY:
I don’t have a problem with people running on sidelights, if you can see that, you’ve seen the car. A bit like the argument I put up if tackled for not wearing a hi viz I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
Missing the point a bit there mate. It’s not that they can’t be seen at all, it’s that they become noticeable much later than cars with dipped beam, problem being that side lights are not anywhere near as visibile as head lights and the contrast between side lights and the surrounding environment is negligable. This means that chances of you not seeing them in good time, especially amongst cars with headlights on, are greatly increased, all because the driver is daft enough to be using the incorrect lighting for the conditions.
Interesting you’ve got a problem with people driving with lights on at 2 in the afternoon. I often do just that - especially in my own car, isn’t it better to be more visibl, why else would the EU be introducing daytime running lights? I recall one particular time in the depths of winter,the ground was wet after some rain which caused a lot of glare in the spray when combined with the low winter sun. Since the sun was generally behind me given the direction I was heading, I was driving with dipped headlights so that oncoming vehicles could see me earlier in these conditions amongst the glare. I stopped at a set of traffic lights, and some old fella knocked on my window and gave me some stern advice about how my battery was going to go flat if I kept on driving with headlights on during the day time I replied, something along the lines of; I’ll be prioritising my conspicuity over the potential risk of a flat battery, as a flat battery’s much easier to fix than a dent caused by one of the “sorry mate, didn’t see you there” brigade. Must be an old timers attitude, from the good old days of crank handles and indicators which unfolded out of the side of the car.
manowar:
. Must be an old timers attitude, from the good old days of crank handles and indicators which unfolded out of the side of the car.
That is exactly it, see and be seen.
I have noticed that it is the older bods and dare I say it women who are the worst offenders.
My OP was because of this:
I did a night stint last week and while driving along the A46 towards Lincoln on a black stretch I glimpsed something in the mirror every now and then but couldn’t quite make it out and just put it down to reflections or my imagination playing with me - again , after about 20 minutes I could still see something so I just moved the wheel to throw the trailer out a bit and there it was - a heffin car on sidelights right under my tail, I nearly jumped out of the seat he was so close, I pulled in at the next lay by and this car passed me with what seemed like 2 old uns in it, they must have just latched on to the back of me at some point when I wasn’t looking and stayed there, christ knows what would have happened if I had to hit the brakes.
Anyway I am all in favour of permanent headlights just like in Euroland, summer/winter/day or night, I do not see a problem with this at all.
Wheel Nut:
You young lads know nowt, we managed to see during the war with headlight blinds and we didn’t even have any sign posts.
LOL - I wonder how many people got killed during the war just by drivers in the blackout alone? Lets face it most of them never even had an eye test and then to tell them to drive at night with no lights and no street lights and the moon painted black just seems suicidal.
What I’m trying to say is head lights are for you to see others and side lights are for others to see you. If they don’t want to see where they are going then who am I to judge? The daytime running lights came from Scandinavia, where they have limited day light. I’ve no problem with it in the winter but not in July ffs. And for the record, if a car was that far up my barn doors, I couldn’t give a toss what happens when I hit the brakes. And you did see him, so his side lights did the trick
OVLOV JAY:
I don’t have a problem with people running on sidelights, if you can see that, you’ve seen the car. A bit like the argument I put up if tackled for not wearing a hi viz I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
The problem is that people drive on sidelights in conditions where they aren’t as easily seen as if they’d had headlights on. I can’t see a problem with having headlights on all the time, (not main beam) and in certain European countries its a legal requirement.
Agree 100%, on murky mornings/evenings you see the dark silhouette of the car way before you see the sidelights - always seems to be silver cars as well.
The situation will get worse over the next few years as all new cars have daylight running lights meaning those just on sidelights become relatively even less visible.
If a driver has enough brains to see the need for lights surely they can work out that just putting sidelights on doesn’t do the job…
I was talking to a driving instructor from the AA the other day. He didn’t seem to know why all these cars all of a sudden were driving round with their lights on. I asked him if he noticed anything about them all which was similar? He said no… (i was expecting a reply, ‘they’re all 11 or 61 regs’) I progressed to tell him now that it is law that from Jan 2011, all new cars, trucks and buses on the roads will have DRLs fitted (Daytime running lights).
Surprised me that as a driving instructor he didn’t know this.
OVLOV JAY:
I don’t have a problem with people running on sidelights, if you can see that, you’ve seen the car. A bit like the argument I put up if tackled for not wearing a hi viz I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
The problem is that people drive on sidelights in conditions where they aren’t as easily seen as if they’d had headlights on. I can’t see a problem with having headlights on all the time, (not main beam) and in certain European countries its a legal requirement.
Agree 100%, on murky mornings/evenings you see the dark silhouette of the car way before you see the sidelights - always seems to be silver cars as well.
The situation will get worse over the next few years as all new cars have daylight running lights meaning those just on sidelights become relatively even less visible.
If a driver has enough brains to see the need for lights surely they can work out that just putting sidelights on doesn’t do the job…
TC
I don’t use my sidelights AT ALL. My DRLs are brighter than my sidelights therefore the sidies are rendered useless.
OVLOV JAY:
I don’t have a problem with people running on sidelights, if you can see that, you’ve seen the car. A bit like the argument I put up if tackled for not wearing a hi viz I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
The problem is that people drive on sidelights in conditions where they aren’t as easily seen as if they’d had headlights on. I can’t see a problem with having headlights on all the time, (not main beam) and in certain European countries its a legal requirement.
Agree 100%, on murky mornings/evenings you see the dark silhouette of the car way before you see the sidelights - always seems to be silver cars as well.
The situation will get worse over the next few years as all new cars have daylight running lights meaning those just on sidelights become relatively even less visible.
If a driver has enough brains to see the need for lights surely they can work out that just putting sidelights on doesn’t do the job…
TC
but that bit about murky mornings/evenings is also covered in section 226
ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise
use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified
use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226)
Night (the hours of darkness) is defined as the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise).
Also from the Highway code
115
You should also
use dipped headlights, or dim-dip if fitted, at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather, to ensure that you can be seen
Side lights become a very useful thing if you enter a yard in the dark and another artic is trying to reverse. Knocking them from head lights to side lights makes it 1000x easier for the other day to see what he’s doing.
Out of the road I’m pretty meh about them. It’s game on afaiac unless you’re being a ■■■ and driving with them on wet motorways as you get ‘lost’ in the spray.
The police never seem to enforce the law concerning the misuse of lights on a vehicle. Drivers using fog lights as well as dipped lights never seem to be pulled over and warned or receive a ticket.There’s nothing worse than some idiot following you with a load of lights in your mirrors.
ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise
use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified
use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226)
Night (the hours of darkness) is defined as the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise).
I believe the definition has been revised to sunset to sunrise. Reg 24 RVLR 1989.
Dave the Renegade:
The police never seem to enforce the law concerning the misuse of lights on a vehicle. Drivers using fog lights as well as dipped lights never seem to be pulled over and warned or receive a ticket.There’s nothing worse than some idiot following you with a load of lights in your mirrors.
+1 on that. For once it’s something the Yanks do better than us; they (correctly) call side lights “parking lamps” and AFAIK it’s an offence over there to drive with only sidelights on.
Sidelights aren’t so bad if they’re the old-fashioned seperate type, but these days they’re just a little titchy bulb in a huge lump of perspex, which renders them even more useless when the vehicle’s in motion.
And whilst we’re on the subject of modern lights on cars; am I the only one who has difficulty seeing the rear indicators on some new cars now they’ve all got these fancy new-type lenses where everything’s blended in?
Dave the Renegade:
The police never seem to enforce the law concerning the misuse of lights on a vehicle. Drivers using fog lights as well as dipped lights never seem to be pulled over and warned or receive a ticket.There’s nothing worse than some idiot following you with a load of lights in your mirrors.
+1 on that. For once it’s something the Yanks do better than us; they (correctly) call side lights “parking lamps” and AFAIK it’s an offence over there to drive with only sidelights on.
Sidelights aren’t so bad if they’re the old-fashioned seperate type, but these days they’re just a little titchy bulb in a huge lump of perspex, which renders them even more useless when the vehicle’s in motion.
And whilst we’re on the subject of modern lights on cars; am I the only one who has difficulty seeing the rear indicators on some new cars now they’ve all got these fancy new-type lenses where everything’s blended in?
As well as rear indicators, front ones when the sun is bright. The old orange lenses were much easier to see.
I have more of a problem with dicks driving at 2 in the afternoon with headlights on
, after about 20 minutes I could still see something so I just moved the wheel to throw the trailer out a bit and there it was - a heffin car on sidelights right under my tail, I nearly jumped out of the seat he was so close, I pulled in at the next lay by and this car passed me with what seemed like 2 old uns in it, they must have just latched on to the back of me at some point when I wasn’t looking and stayed there, christ knows what would have happened if I had to hit the brakes.