Recession showing in number of faulty head/back lights

CreepingDeath

Anyone else notice the increased number of cars with only one headlight or backlight working at night ?

Makes you wonder if people are skimping on car servicing, how long it'll take for their brake pads to wear out or the like.

smellslikeshoes

Have noticed this myself, crazy carry on with the weather the way it has been lately hard enough seeing in the evenings with all the lights working.

Theta

Wont drive my car at night with a headlight out!

It can be seriously dangerous esp if the drivers side is out!

Heroditas

CreepingDeath wrote: »

Anyone else notice the increased number of cars with only one headlight or backlight working at night ?

Makes you wonder if people are skimping on car servicing, how long it'll take for their brake pads to wear out or the like.

It was just as bad last year and the year before too.

People are utterly oblivious to the fact that they need to check their lights regularly.
Some of them seem to think that if one of their headlights is broken, it's ok to put the remaining light on full beam to compensate :rolleyes:

pyramuid man

I have noticed this alright.
Also if there is any bit of rain at all, some people seem to think that its ok to use fulls all the time.

Stupid stupid people.

neilthefunkeone

Recession my arse.. Stupidity more likely!! I may have to go on a rant!!!!!

monkeypants

I'd say it's due more to a lack of checking rather than deliberate skimping on service. Just noticed the other night that one of the bulbs up front has gone again. This is at least the fifth bulb that has been replaced in the calendar year.

I'll admit that I don't check my lights as often as I should. Especially the rear lights.

Tipsy Mac

This morning in the space of 5mins I spotted a Garda car with a headlight out and spotted another with a tail light out, I guess NCT exemption for Garda vehicles has its downfalls.

mailforkev

No worse than usual I reckon OP.

Several times I've been stuck behind vans (usually) or cars with no functioning brake lights, let alone the rear lights out. Great fun trying to guess when they're stopping to avoid ploughing into the back of them.

A lot of Irish people are not very good at looking after their cars, and the chance of being stopped by the Gardaí for faulty lights is pretty much 0% which really doesn't help.

R.O.R

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

This morning in the space of 5mins I spotted a Garda car with a headlight out and spotted another with a tail light out, I guess NCT exemption for Garda vehicles has its downfalls.

I'd say that's more to do with the fact they need to get 15 forms signed by everyone from Chief Super to the Pope to God, before getting a bulb replaced, has more to do with it.

enda1

pyramuid man wrote: »

I have noticed this alright.
Also if there is any bit of rain at all, some people seem to think that its ok to use fulls all the time.

Stupid stupid people.

What are fulls?

In my vocab...

Parking lights
Dipped Headlights
Full Beams
(Fog lights)

So do you mean full beams or dipped headlights? Cause from your post you seem to imply that with a lot of rain, full beams should be used or something...

monkeypants

Does anyone think that the state of our roads and the number of ramps littered around the place contribute to this? I'm just thinking that I'm replacing a lot of bulbs...

bladespin

Seems much worse this year I have to say, lots of one-eyed jacks around.

celticbest

mailforkev wrote: »

No worse than usual I reckon OP.

Several times I've been stuck behind vans (usually) or cars with no functioning brake lights, let alone the rear lights out. Great fun trying to guess when they're stopping to avoid ploughing into the back of them.

A lot of Irish people are not very good at looking after their cars, and the chance of being stopped by the Gardaí for faulty lights is pretty much 0% which really doesn't help.

It's not only brake lights being out sometimes they are permanently stuck on, on some vechicles, both are as bad as each other as you don't know when the car is going to brake. I always leave a good distance to the car in front of me just incase there brake lights are not working and they jam on suddenly.

Mr. Presentable

I blame the NCT.

Now people have a cert for two years showing their car is roadworthy.

"One of you headlights is out, mate".
"According to this piece of paper my car is in proper condition to be on the road. I'll look after it in time for my next NCT"!

r3nu4l

enda1 wrote: »

What are fulls?

In my vocab...

Parking lights
Dipped Headlights
Full Beams
(Fog lights)

You'll have to add daytime running lights (DRLs) to that vocab now

I've also noticed a load of cars with only one light working :mad: Can anyone tell me why in some makes, when one dipped headlight bulb is gone, the other seems to switch to full headlight mode? I see that a lot, some idiot with one bulb gone, nearly blinding me with his other bulb...

Theta

r3nu4l wrote: »

You'll have to add daytime running lights (DRLs) to that vocab now

I've also noticed a load of cars with only one light working :mad: Can anyone tell me why in some makes, when one dipped headlight bulb is gone, the other seems to switch to full headlight mode? I see that a lot, some idiot with one bulb gone, nearly blinding me with his other bulb...

I have seen this a few times and I couldnt figure out how they did it to be honest!

My car tells me on the dash if a bulb goes so its handy I must say!

Voodoomelon

I think the american terminology is better, high beam and low beam.
Nice and simple. The word dipped seems to confuse people.

Shires

This was one of the little differences I noticed after returning to Ireland after 7 years abroad.. So many cars with knackered lights or fog lamps on.

Alun

Shires wrote: »

This was one of the little differences I noticed after returning to Ireland after 7 years abroad.. So many cars with knackered lights or fog lamps on.

Me too ... after 21 years on the 'continent' it was one of the first obvious things that I noticed. Try that in Germany and you'd be pulled over before you knew the bulb was even gone yourself.

pyramuid man

enda1 wrote: »

What are fulls?

In my vocab...

Parking lights
Dipped Headlights
Full Beams
(Fog lights)

So do you mean full beams or dipped headlights? Cause from your post you seem to imply that with a lot of rain, full beams should be used or something...

Well my vocab differs slightly. Allow me to explain.

Fulls = Full/High Beams
Dimms = Low/Dipped beams
Fogs = Self explanitory
DRL is the same.

I drive with "Dimms" on all the time. Also meant full beams but not always in city driving. I do maybe 80%Rural 20%Urban driving. And I do 110 miles per day at least.

r3nu4l

Shires wrote: »

This was one of the little differences I noticed after returning to Ireland after 7 years abroad.. So many cars with knackered lights or fog lamps on.

Alun wrote: »

Me too ... after 21 years on the 'continent' it was one of the first obvious things that I noticed. Try that in Germany and you'd be pulled over before you knew the bulb was even gone yourself.

Well in my part of England, it's just as bad as back home in dear old Ireland.

You get people in hatchbacks (mostly) driving with fog lights on all the time :rolleyes: and then a large number of cars and vans with one dipped beam bulb gone.

Then you get the guys with one dipped beam gone, the other dipped beam seemingly on full headlight (blinding) AND their fogs on (more blinding). ****ers!

Alanstrainor

I have to say, i've been noticing about the same amount of cars with one or more lights gone driving around, i'd say it's about average. I'd say most people are oblivious to the fact that one of their lights isn't working, rather than it being a concious decision to not replace them.

peasant

Alun wrote: »

Try that in Germany and you'd be pulled over before you knew the bulb was even gone yourself.

Try that in France and you'd get fined for not carrying a spare as well

TheNog

One evening in the space of half an hour stopped two drivers for having no rear lights at all. Both of them gave the usual excuse of "they are just gone a few minutes ago" and both looked at me like I had two heads when I asked them "have you got any spare bulbs in the car?". Incredible.

And yes one or more bulbs out does seem to be on the increase

Darragh29

I posted on this very issue last year and the year before, it had always amazed me how many cars you see at this time of the year with headlamp and sidelamp bulbs blown on one side of the car so it looks like a motorbike that is coming towards you, but it's by no means a new thing I think.

The-Game

Personally i notice its more the newer cars from mid 00s up that have taillights missing, or in alot of cases both tail and brake lights are out except for the little strip one on the top of the rear windscreen.

MaxFlower

I have a feeling all the flood waters in our area have contibuted to the blown bulbs. I had noticed an increase also but didn't link it with the recession.

CamperMan

Is that all you have noticed... you want to check the tax discs.... ouch, I see loads out of tax by several months....

bazzachazza

Best ones are the eejits with one headlight gone, and their foglights on to compensate but with a foglight bulb gone on the opposite side.

Foglight bulbs should never wear out through over use.

monkeypants

Even if I had a spare bulb, there's no way that I could replace it myself. The side lights have very little space to work in. I could get the connector off and the bulb in. Maybe. But I'd have no chance of getting the connector back on.