One Headlight Wonders

120_Minutes

is anyone else as pissed of as me when meeting one of these drivers at night? the type that have one full/one dimmed headlight and refuse to dim? on one ocassion i met one with a busted left light followed by one with a busted right and from my angle of approach it was like one car with full beams!

To me it screams laziness, and lack of consideration for safety and other motorists. its not as if you "dont notice" a busted headlight. if mine went tonight i'd have a new one got tomorrow. Bulbs arent that expensive!


rant over

starn

That really pisses me off, its just laziness on there behalf. If Im not in a rush. I normally turn the car around. Put my full lights on and follow them for a few miles.

Mailman

For me it's more annoying when you see a bulb blown on a model of car that you've owned and you know that a warning light is illuminated on their dashboard but they choose to ignore it.

Of course if it is a Peugeot 307 you can only sympathise as they blow all the time.

bman

starn wrote: »

If Im not in a rush. I normally turn the car around. Put my full lights on and follow them for a few miles.

I can see no benefit to this sort of behavior. The person with the busted headlight isn't going to know why the b0llox behind him won't turn off his full lights. And now instead of having one pissed off person on the road you have two!

Mr.Boots

Saw one of these tonight....looks like a motorbike froma distance....however this idiot had one main beam on the front and when he passed i glanced in the mirror...and guess what....no tail lights....just a single ultra bright lower fog light.......Dim Wit.....litterly:D

halkar

Isn't it illegal to be on the roads with busted headlight ? Recently I was fined abroad 30 yoyos over busted headlight. It was an hire car so in my case it happened on the road. There were lights everywhere and I did not notice the stupid thing but got stopped and fined :rolleyes: Only paid about 20 yoyos though. They had discounts on the fines if you pay in 14 days

Saruman

I have seen a car as im heading to dublin, he is heading towards enfield. He has NO working dipped headlights (not even parking lights) and only ONE working highbeam.. so he drives around with only the 1 working high beam on all the time... first time i thought he was a motorbike... that is lethal.

Then there are the idiots with either no working back break lights or their break lights are stuck on all the time.

Wishbone Ash

starn wrote: »

I normally turn the car around. Put my full lights on and follow them for a few miles.

:rolleyes: You must lead a very dull life (pardon the unintended pun)!



*shakes head*

_Kaiser_

Saruman wrote: »

Then there are the idiots with either no working back break lights or their break lights are stuck on all the time.

I've seen a lot of cars (and even a 40 ft truck or two) around lately with no working tail or brake lights. Lethal - and of course the Gardai do nothing about it! :rolleyes:

Owen

starn wrote: »

That really pisses me off, its just laziness on there behalf. If Im not in a rush. I normally turn the car around. Put my full lights on and follow them for a few miles.

Well that's retarded.

120_Minutes wrote: »

its not as if you "dont notice" a busted headlight.

Unfortunately, some people actually don't notice.

L1011

A few days ago down the Outer Ring Road, I had a jeep hauling a trailer merge in front of me, with:

1: One working fully and one working but coverless (so white) light on the tailboard
2: No brake lights on the tailboard
3: No right indicator on the tailboard (so it seemed that he just sailed over in front of me indicatorless)

When I overtook it on the N4, he was driving on his sidelights and foglights, I'd assume it was due to both dips being gone...

Couldn't get his reg plate, pity as was tempted to phone it in for lethalness

_Kaiser_

MYOB wrote: »

When I overtook it on the N4, he was driving on his sidelights and foglights, I'd assume it was due to both dips being gone...

Not necessarily. I've see a lot of idiots driving around like this at night in the last 6 months or so. I guess they think it looks "cool" or they don't need dipped lights in urban/lit-up areas.

Easy way to fix it though. In my Passat the (rear) fog light can only be switched on if the dips are already on.

tuxy

In most cases it's on rural roads. Are the guards not pulling for this?
And the front fogs + parking lights are becoming far too common.

mikemac

In 2003 there was a European directive that motorcycles have to have their lights on always.
Not all motorcycles are designed like this yet.
But I do own a moped and it's impossible to turn the lights off, you have dims or full and that's it.
I can see this being introduced on cars in a few years.

There are way too many cars going around with weird combinations of lights not working.
You'd think the NCT would have sorted this but 2 years is a long time and it seems people don't bother fixing these problems until they have to.

When I near them on the bike I automatically raise the alert levels. They might have "not give a damn attitude"
I feel the same way about the L plates that have the white background missing

L1011

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

Not necessarily. I've see a lot of idiots driving around like this at night in the last 6 months or so. I guess they think it looks "cool" or they don't need dipped lights in urban/lit-up areas.

Easy way to fix it though. In my Passat the (rear) fog light can only be switched on if the dips are already on.

I know, I'm just assuming that if he maintained his tailboard that badly he might maintain the car that badly too!

and yeah, my fogs won't go on without the dips either, Fiat Panda.

Zaph

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

I've seen a lot of cars (and even a 40 ft truck or two) around lately with no working tail or brake lights. Lethal - and of course the Gardai do nothing about it! :rolleyes:

I was driving down Clonsilla Road the other day and three cars directly in front of me at various stages had at least one brake light not working. At one stage the only reason I knew one guy was stopping was because his eye level brake light was just about visible through the grime on the back windscreen. Neither of the other brake lights were working. The cops just don't seem to enforce this at all like they do in the States, for example.

tuxy

Enforcement of the rules is fairly poor here all right. For example I have never head of anyone here prosecuted for failing to indicate.

patrickc

The number of cars I see on a daily basis on my drive to from work with only one light is really annoying.

recently there was a 40ft truck in front of me, with his hazards on, as I got closer i could see he had no tail lights, when I overtook him on the motorway he had only dipped beams and no main beams either.. thats just dangerous

Alun

Coming along the N81 tonight .. came up behind a car with one sidelight working. Not that unusual you might say, but then when he braked, only the high-level 3rd brake light came on, the other two were blown. Overtook him (one of those 80km/h everywhere wonders) and looked in my mirror .. one headlight and one front foglight working on one side. On the other side, not a dicky bird, not even a sidelight. Surely that must be some kind of record? Out of 9 lights, only 4 working !!!!

rebel.ranter

micmclo wrote: »

You'd think the NCT would have sorted this but 2 years is a long time and it seems people don't bother fixing these problems until they have to.

Some people don't even bother with the NCT either, this is not enforced that well either. So th ewait to fix the bulbs could be longer.

Wishbone Ash

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

even a 40 ft truck or two) around lately with no working tail or brake lights

It's possible (and I'm not making excuses) that the driver picked up the trailer but inadvertantly didn't connect the rear light suzi properly and that is why the rear lights were off. Of course he should have checked them but how many of us check our rear lights before making a journey. As I have said, I'm not excusing it but merely offering an explanation.

tuxy wrote: »

the front fogs + parking lights are becoming far too common.

Yes, even Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann drivers have got in on that act! :rolleyes:

patrickc wrote: »

when I overtook him on the motorway he had only dipped beams and no main beams either.. thats just dangerous

If he was travelling on a motorway he would have no need for full beams and how do you know they weren't working if he wasn't using them?

tuxy

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Yes, even Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann drivers have got in on that act! :rolleyes:

In my area many of the school buses do it also.

L1011

Think I've seen a new record, three cyclops in a row driving down James Street tonight on the way back from town. One of them still had a working side light but no dip.

Also came up behind an 05 Merc with no lights on at all, but the driver was clearly pissed: pulled up in a bus lane beside me as if to make an illegal left turn through inchicore, got away ahead of me and back in to the correct lane when the lights changed; and when on the N4 decided extremely late that they wanted to go in to Ballyfermot. While in the outside lane.

Keith186

I drive a motorbike to work usuallyso I see literally hundreds or thousand or so cars and it's unbelieveable the amount of cars you see with lights not working.

In this season you think everyone would get them sorted for the darkness as it dark real early.

Mostly Corsa's have lights blown IMO.

It's real awkward driving against these cyclops as most have one full beam on and it can really confuse you and make you think it's another bike. There was a comment earlier about having lights compulsory on cars/bikes on order of an EU Directive. Apparently motorbike lobby groups are opposing this due to the fact that if you were a biker and always drove with your lights on day or night you would be less noticable if every other car had their lights on and would cause more accidents. I can see the point a bit but I always put my lights on in the car too if it's a slightly dull day.

RE: Fog lights; I can't put on my dips without turning on my fogs (front) and I get flashed for it but there's nothing I can do about it. 98 SEAT Ibiza..

Also the amount of ****ers I see on the phone while driving is even more unbelieveable. I'd say at least about 3/4 out of 20. I don't mind it if your sitting in traffic or even cruising in the slow lane but there are some ignorant ****ers out there that piss me off bigtime.

patrickc

[QUOTE=Wishbone Ash;54666221}
If he was travelling on a motorway he would have no need for full beams and how do you know they weren't working if he wasn't using them? [/QUOTE]

I mean't his parking lights were on. apoligies

_Kaiser_

I personally always have the dipped lights on in the car regardless of time of day. I do most of my driving on N/M roads and find it makes such a difference in that other drivers don't take the same chances (like pull out in front of you from a side road - which is how I lost my first car) as they might otherwise.

Plus with a lot of the route being covered by overhanging trees, and my car being black it's a good thing from that perspective too. Lights aren't just for seeing, they're there to make you be seen too.

As a test, I'd suggest people try it for a week and see if it doesn't make a positive difference to their experiences on the road

Wishbone Ash

Keith186 wrote: »

RE: Fog lights; I can't put on my dips without turning on my fogs (front) and I get flashed for it but there's nothing I can do about it. 98 SEAT Ibiza.

A previous owner(?) must have got them wired like that. I used to have a car that a previous owner had retro-wired. The front fogs used to come on with the full beam and off again when dipped.

Loveless

MYOB wrote: »

Also came up behind an 05 Merc with no lights on at all, but the driver was clearly pissed: pulled up in a bus lane beside me as if to make an illegal left turn through inchicore, got away ahead of me and back in to the correct lane when the lights changed; and when on the N4 decided extremely late that they wanted to go in to Ballyfermot. While in the outside lane.

I was driving along on Saturday night when I spotted a car behind me after coming out of a side street with no lights on at all. I slowed down a bit, tapping the brake lights a few times and eventually put on my hazard lights to try and get the driver's attention. But I had to actually stop the van, get out and alert the driver that she had no lights on. :rolleyes:


Really starting to notice quite a percentage of drivers with only one working headlight.