Full Beams Question

glic71rods46t0

Can anyone tell me the law on using full beams in a lit up area i.e. built up urban area with on street lighting?
My father in law uses full beams driving in his estate, I challenged him on it and he claims that its up to the driver to use full beams or low beams unless faced with oncoming traffic.
Is this correct?

Lawless2k12

I believe it's illegal from what I learned during my EDT's...

glic71rods46t0

Lawless2k12 wrote: »

I believe it's illegal from what I learned during my EDT's...

Any chance you know the particular legislation - I would love to be able to quote it if you are correct in saying its illegal!

TestTransmission

From the ROTR

Use dipped headlights:

just after the beginning (dusk) and before the end (dawn) of lightingup hours,
as long as they are needed to let you see clearly,
when stopped in traffic,
when meeting other traffic,
in built-up areas where there is good street lighting,
on continuously lit roads outside built-up areas,
when following behind another vehicle,
where there is dense fog, falling snow or heavy rain,
when daylight is fading, and
generally to avoid inconveniencing other traffic.

It is good practice to use dipped headlights or dim/dip lights, where fitted, instead of only sidelights in built-up areas where there is good street lighting.

Use main beam headlights in situations, places and times outside of those listed above

Bigcheeze

Not meant to be used in built up areas according to ROTR, which I would interpret as anywhere with street lighting.

Don't know if that's the law or just common sense.

Peanut Butter Jelly

The rules on using dipped lights from The Rules of the Road:

Use dipped headlights:

• just after the beginning (dusk) and before the end (dawn) of lighting up hours, as long as they are needed to let you see clearly,
• when stopped in traffic,
• when meeting other traffic,
• in built-up areas where there is good street lighting,
  
• on continuously lit roads outside built-up areas,
• when following behind another vehicle,
• where there is dense fog, falling snow or heavy rain,
• when daylight is fading, and
• generally to avoid inconveniencing other traffic.

It is good practice to use dipped headlights or dim/dip lights, where fitted, instead of only sidelights in built-up areas where there is good street lighting.

dahamsta

Rules of the Road ain't laws though. In many cases they reflect the law, but if the OP wants to put the father-in-law in his place, they should be citing the law. Personally, I'd smile and nod and let him thinks what he wants. Sh*tting on your own doorstep and all that...

CiniO

sv70f18rwogbxm wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the law on using full beams in a lit up area i.e. built up urban area with on street lighting?
My father in law uses full beams driving in his estate, I challenged him on it and he claims that its up to the driver to use full beams or low beams unless faced with oncoming traffic.
Is this correct?

Here you go:

(2) (a) Head lamps shall be dipped in good time whenever, while the vehicle is being used in a public place and the head lamps are lit, failure to do so is likely to cause undue inconvenience to other traffic, and in particular—
(i) where the vehicle is about to pass an oncoming vehicle, or
(ii) where the vehicle is travelling close behind another vehicle (except while overtaking such vehicle).
(b) Head lamps shall be dipped whenever, while the vehicle is being used in a public place and the head lamps are lit—
(i) the vehicle is being driven on a road to which a speed limit under section 45 or section 46 of the Act applies, or
(ii) the vehicle is being driven on a road to which a speed limit does not apply, and either—
(I) conditions of visibility are good and the road is continuously lit, or
(II) in conditions of dense fog or falling snow, or
(iii) conditions of visibility are reasonably good during a period after the commencement and before the ending of lighting-up hours.

By section 45 and 46 of the Act they mean Road traffic act 1961 and those sections describe built-up area.

So in general you can't use full beams in built-up areas where lit or not, and on top of that you can't use them on the lit areas no matter if they are in the built-up area or not.

Anyway - from my own experience - it is not smart to be playing smartas$ on your father-in-law!!!

Mycroft H

Only time I can thing of full beams being handy in a built up area is to light up road signs. Think exit signs on the M50 in the dead of night.

Guy:Incognito

As a matter of interest , why does he use them? Is he a bit blind or just decided one day thats the way hed operate?

bazz26

Imo if you need to use full deams on a road with street lighting then it's time to get your car's lights checked or your own eyes tested.

Del2005

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

As a matter of interest , why does he use them? Is he a bit blind or just decided one day thats the way hed operate?

You can see more with full beams and more importantly pedestrians can see you.

Del2005

bazz26 wrote: »

Imo if you need to use full deams on a road with street lighting then it's time to get your car's lights checked or your own eyes tested.

I regularly use full beams in built up areas. My eye sight is perfect and my car has fully functioning lights.

Once there's no other traffic around what harm is it doing?

bazz26

Del2005 wrote: »

I regularly use full beams in built up areas. My eye sight is perfect and my car has fully functioning lights.

Once there's no other traffic around what harm is it doing?

You can have 20/20 vision but still have problems with night vision. Full beams are not designed to be used on roads with street lighting and to be honest I fail to see how full beams on a road with street lighting improves their effectiveness as the light gets distorted by the street lighting. I wear glasses all the time myself and have never had the need to use my full beams on a road with street lighting.

Mycroft H

bazz26 wrote: »

You can have 20/20 vision but still have problems with night vision. Full beams are not designed to be used on roads with street lighting and to be honest I fail to see how full beams on a road with street lighting improves their effectiveness as the light gets distorted by the street lighting. I wear glasses all the time myself and have never had the need to use my full beams on a road with street lighting.

What now?

pippip

Curious as to why people have a problem with it and why its even a law/rule?

The only time i would use them would be before a sharp turn that is blind.

Suppose I dont really care if people use them or not cause I cant see any problem once they turn them off if a car is coming towards them.

bazz26

BX 19 wrote: »

What now?

What I mean is that the high beam looses it's effectiveness and distance due to the street lighting compared to it's effectiveness on a road with no street lighting.

BlatentCheek

As a pedestrian I'm regularly blinded by oncoming cars using full beams on the fully lit up roads near my house. They dip them when I gesticulate to them to do so but I think its quite a nasty and antisocial thing to do: being blinded by a cars full beams is fairly uncomfortable and I worry about potential damage to my eyesight

Del2005

bazz26 wrote: »

You can have 20/20 vision but still have problems with night vision. Full beams are not designed to be used on roads with street lighting and to be honest I fail to see how full beams on a road with street lighting improves their effectiveness as the light gets distorted by the street lighting. I wear glasses all the time myself and have never had the need to use my full beams on a road with street lighting.

Night vision is fine. High beams still light up as far in areas with street lighting, it's an optical illusion due to the extra wattage of the street lighting that makes them appear less affective.

I find with high beams in places with loads of parked vehicles that you can see pedestrians easierl as any piece of clothes with reflective material pops out of the darkness and a lot more clothes than you think has reflective material built in, the reflective material in runners can be seen much easier.

Del2005

BlatentCheek wrote: »

As a pedestrian I'm regularly blinded by oncoming cars using full beams on the fully lit up roads near my house. They dip them when I gesticulate to them to do so but I think its quite a nasty and antisocial thing to do: being blinded by a cars full beams is fairly uncomfortable and I worry about potential damage to my eyesight

I dip as soon as I spot any other traffic, I consider pedestrians traffic. I've walked enough unlit roads to know how bad it is to be blinded by full beams, I used to flick my torch at them to try to get them to dip, since I started driving I've realised how invisible pedestrians are to driver's on unlit roads unless they are wearing high vis, but regardless it's pure ignorance to blind oncoming traffic.

Chimaera

I also tend to use full beams in lit areas once there is no oncoming traffic. While they don't extend general visibility much, they substantially improve visibility of reflective surfaces such as road signs, and reflective clothing.

The type of lighting used in most street lights is extremely poor at lighting up details: it happens to be quite cheap to run. Do a search on mercury vapour and sodium vapour lamps to learn more about them. The most significant problem with them is colour definition, or the lack thereof, making everything look the same colour.

corktina

Clearly you don't think that Pedstrians and Local Residents are affected by full-beams!

Del2005

corktina wrote: »

Clearly you don't think that Pedstrians and Local Residents are affected by full-beams!

That's why curtains where invented and I dip for pedestrians coming towards me.

Esel

Imo, using full beams in a lit area means the driver is a dick.