OK, I work nights (irrelevant) and I am aware that if I take out a vehicle with a faulty light I am quite likely to get pulled by the nice Vosa people and reminded that it is naughty to do such a thing, and they are likely to ask for a contribution to their coffers. So, like all (most) drivers it is something I understand to be part of my job and make sure all lights work as they should.
So WHY WHY WHY are there so many cars on the road with :
headlights that point to the sky, are set to illuminate roadside forests, only one working, one stuck on main beam, aligned to light up the mirrors of a truck. designed to aid incoming aircraft, or seemingly don’t work at all etc etc.
I reckon there must be 50% or more of cars with faulty lights, if you fined them all £100 then you could clear the national debt.
Are car drivers now exempt from any legalities regarding headlights.
Its not just a simple fix changing car light bulbs nowadays.In the past I often helped out neighbours but with all of the “improvements” cant do it on a modern car.
alamcculloch:
Its not just a simple fix changing car light bulbs nowadays.In the past I often helped out neighbours but with all of the “improvements” cant do it on a modern car.
How right you are…!
I had a bulb blow on my car a few months ago, I went to Asda and bought a spare bulb kit, popped the bonnet and had no way on earth of having a fat chance in hell of changing it. HAD to take it to the dealers who booked it in in a weeks time and charged me £28. At least the works guaranteed
The chances of VOSA being about on nights are …zero…but i do agree that if you take a vehicle on the road everything should work…properly…Its very annoying when i see vehicles coming towards me, lighting up the sky, i do forgive them when i see they are foreign…what ■■■■■■ me off with cars ( foreign ones ) is when we go abroad in the car, we are reminded constantly…`Dont forget to adjust your headlights, conversion kits are available on board etc, where they charge the earth, same as halfords, ( top tip, just buy a roll of sticky tape and DIY ) anyway, all vehicles en route to blighty, are not required, well there seems to be no advertising for them, but plenty for us, so its only a one way thing then, they can blind us, we cannot blind them, and we get fined for it too.
Its got to be one of the most annoying things when driving, and some are too lazy to change their blown bulbs, but when you are forever hitting pot holes, and blowing your bulbs time after time, i can sympathise.
A lot of car headlight bulbs now require the removal of the front bumper to fit bulbs, my son is a mechanic and says he must change about 10 a week now, average cost is about £35 plus bulb but some take longer to change than others so the cost is higher. Manufacturers don’t want you to mess with cars anymore it seems.
This makes my ■■■■ itch as well. It’s not ■■■■■■■ rocket science to check you lights once a week. I’ve written before about the importance of a walk round check on ANY vehicle and I carry one out prior to driving anything.
Times I’ve told people about light not working and you just get “yeah mate I know cheers” well if you know ■■■■■■■ do something about it.
MIL has a scenic and Renualy wanted 90 quid for changing a headlight bulb (bumper off, battery and battery tray out). I took at it with a kwik cutter and had the bulb changed in 10 minutes. I don’t understand why they make it so difficult
Over here in Ohio,US half the dumbsh*** don’t know where their light switch is on their vehicles, especially when there,s a snowstorm and its whiteout conditions ( visability zero ) or even when a rainstorm hits. Plus trucks run at 70 mph on the interstate ( motorways) here and the standard of driving over here is diabolical. Also its state law that if you need your wipers then headlights must be on, quite a few choose to ignore that law.
Being a pleasant, helpful sort of a fella, when I noticed that the car in front had no brake lights,when we stopped at traffic lights, I went and told him. He replied " Why don’t you mind your own [zb] business? Its not due for MOT for two months"
I’m afraid that you can’t educate pork.
Danny_b:
I drive a mk3 capri, we could all get in beside the 2lt pinto and I could hold a class on how easy it is to change a bulb
Keep it well waxoyled and run it forever, my old Merc is the same, 2 minutes at the most changes any exterior bulb, and all normal types as found by the pack in my garage.
Normal simple bulb changing is one of the many requirements when i’m looking at a car to buy…number one no no is electric parking brake, equal first is automated manual or similar DSG type dross gearboxes, closely followed by runflat tyres, they can poke all of those and lots more not on your nellies where the sun doesn’t shine.
I read last week that if you change the battery on some of the latest cars, VW carp was mentioned which doesn’t surprise, that you have to get the new battery programmed in or it won’t charge correctly…plenty of room in the dark place where the sun don’t shine i hope?
i’ll post up some pics. I rebuilt it from a barn find. It is my 5th capri. I’ve done 2 x mk1, 1x mk2 and 1 other mk3 which I sold to pay for my wedding. YES I AM A TOOL but the good lady let me rebuild this one’s pinto engine on her kitchen table as there was 3’ of snow outside and I don’t have electric to the garage as it’s on the other side of the street to me
I’m at work just now. I’ll dig out some pics when I get home. My vice is the capri and the mk1/2 escorts but they cost too ■■■■ much to buy! I would be the happiest chappy in the world if I could get my hands on an original (not re-shelled or a xr4i shell) rs500.
