Driving cars with only 1 working headlight on Wexford county roads

St Senan

As the title says. Has anyone else noticed this.

I was driving from Marshalstown to Ballyhogue last Monday night
and i counted 4 cars all driving towards me at different times with only 1 headlight working.
Tuesday night i was driving from Cleirestown to Marshalstown up the N11 and counted 11 cars along the route all driving with only 1 working headlight.
Last night i counted 7 between Gorey and Scarawalsh with only 1 working headlight.

Each evening this was around rush hour time 5-6 pm.
Surely to god the speed vans or the Gardai could have cameras or cars setup at these times to catch people who are blatantly driving on 1 headlight.

The sad thing is that if you happen to be on a secondary road and the drivers side headlight is not working on the car coming towards you how can you can tell difference if its a law breaker or motorbike until its to late.

Blubs are not that expensive.

Fatswaldo

This is an issue countrywide. I dont actually think that it is down to laziness or lack of concern. I drive more than 40,000 miles per year (unfortunately) and I maintain my vehicle very well - I have to. In the last month, both of my dipped beam lights have burnt out and even though I had a replacement in the boot each time, a miserable wet evening meant that I waited until the next morning to replace the bulbs. So, I had an hours driving each time with just one dipped headlight.

Im fortunate that I am able to change the bulbs myself, takes minutes, but not everyone can, so a blown bulb may not be changed fro a couple of days - especially in a rural area where even getting hold of the right bulb can be a problem. If a very small percentage of the drivers on the roads experianced the same problem, then you have a percieved epidemic.

jpb1974

I'll have a gripe when the going is good -

Slow moving lorry... say doing 70 in a 100 area
Car #1 approaches and decides to drive 10 feet away from slow moving lorry's arse, no intention of overtaking
Car #2 approaches, decides to drive 10 feet away from car #1's arse, no intention of overtaking
Car #3 approaches, decides to drive 10 feet away from car #2's arse, no intention of overtaking
Car #4 approaches, decides to drive 10 feet away from car #3's arse, no intention of overtaking

Ol' jpb1974 approaches and doesn't want to join the arse sniffing party... but if he wants to pass one he has to pass them all, because nobody leaves any gaps for overtakers to pull in between vehicles.

So... the road is clear and you have to take a shot, 4, 3, 2, 1... then you get to the lorry and you can see that something is coming in the opposite direction. You need to pull in between lorry and car #1 but car #1 would rather you crash and die than make that gap.

Eventually you do manage to pull in between lorry and car #1, and car #1 proceeds to flash at you and drive up your arse for as long as possible.

Please people.. leave sufficient space between you and the vehicle in front of you.

jpb1974

Gripe #2 -

Those drivers that brake every time a car is approaching them on the opposite side of the road. Got stuck behind a really bad one yesterday... going from about 90 down to 60 every time a car approached.

bmaxi

Gardaí have no interest whatsoever in enforcing traffic law except in those PR exercises advertising a "blitz" on whatever it might be tax, insurance, drink, etc. The truth is, if Gardaí did what we pay them to do on a daily basis, there wouldn't be so much flaunting of the law, instead they pay absolutely no heed themselves to observing traffic law. Take a walk up around Wexford Garda station an count the number of cars, including marked Garda vehicles illegally parked on the footpath, how can you justify giving somebody a ticket if you ignore the law yourself. I often drive through Blackrock, Co Dublin on Frascati Road, one of the busiest roads in the country and regularly see Garda cars parked in the filter lane opposite the Garda station. It's clearly a case of "don't do as I do, do as I say".
Back to the OP, I was driving into Gorey from Arklow on the old N11 when I was overtaken by one of these "one eyed jacks", just before the railway bridge there was a Garda checkpoint, the Garda on our side shone his torch onto the windscreen of the offending car and waved it through without so much as a word. It seems once his tax was up to date, the fact he was a danger to other road users didn't merit mention.

Cantona's Collars

jpb1974 wrote: »

Gripe #2 -

Those drivers that brake every time a car is approaching them on the opposite side of the road. Got stuck behind a really bad one yesterday... going from about 90 down to 60 every time a car approached.

That turns me into a maniac in the car,I'd fill a swear jar in no length when stuck behind an eejit like that.

On the subject of missing bulbs in headlights,there's a thread in the motors forum about these one eyed monsters.
Met one the other night & in the bad weather,I thought it was a motorbike until I got close.
The Gardai were proclaiming the launch of a campaign against defective lights on vehicles but I've yet to hear of anybody being fined,compare this to other countries where it's strictly enforced.
It's a nightmare at this time of year when it's dark from 4pm to almost 9am,bulbs aren't expensive folks.

jpb1974

Drove behind the absolute worse one ever yesterday... serious hard braking every single time without fail.

I drive Enniscorthy to Carlow for work most days and it's a friggin nightmare of a road. Very few decent stretches to overtake and a it's own disproportionate share of bad drivers and tractors.

jpb1974

Although.. my absolute biggest gripe are the drivers that drive tailgate right up your arse.. they're the ones that will give me the road rage in it's ultimate form.

vicwatson

I think people just couldn't be arsed changing the bulbs when they blow tbh. This is a disease at this time of the years, so many cars out there looking like motorcycles on low light/bad weather nights.

The thing that bugs me is that most if not all cars 10 years and younger have a warning sound/light to tell you when a bulb has blown - there is no excuse not to know.

Driving out without taking notice of this warning is not only dangerous but reckless.


Another problem on the roads that really bugs me is the idiots that don't turn on lights AT ALL when the weather is crap and if there is really bad/low levels of light. Rules of the road state one should drive to the conditions - or so I learned when I was getting lessons and doing my test, but there is a massive tendency to ignore the rules, period.

I also believe that older people (70 plus) should be made sit some type of 2 yearly test on rules and regulations, as it's not just the young "boy racers" that disobey the rules of the road, infact at least the "boy racers" have recently done a theory and practical test. Think about all those that never ever did a test in their lives as they got an amnesty in the 70's (when there was no motorways or hardly even traffic lights arbout the place), they are lethal when it comes to drivin IMO.

jpb1974

Navigating a roundabout at least 25 times should be mandatory in the driving test... (although this won't fix the vast majority of gobshítes who already passed the test).

The roundabout at the top of Bohreen Hill has to have one of the highest fúck up to navigated correctly ratios in the world.

Cantona's Collars

jpb1974 wrote: »

Navigating a roundabout at least 25 times should be mandatory in the driving test... (although this won't fix the vast majority of gobshítes who already passed the test).

The roundabout at the top of Bohreen Hill has to have one of the highest fúck up to navigated correctly ratios in the world.

That & the roundabout at Aldi where people believe that once your car is full of groceries it gives them the divine right to drive out in front of you.

The one at Bohreen hill is unreal,either everybody stops or everybody drives towards each other at the same time.

Another thing with lights are the cars which have one light pointing onto the ground & the other up in the sky dazzling oncoming cars.

SusanneKn

jpb1974 wrote: »

Although.. my absolute biggest gripe are the drivers that drive tailgate right up your arse.. they're the ones that will give me the road rage in it's ultimate form.

Mee

Me too, and if they do that I slightly lift my foot of the pedal ...

Now with those people braking when an oncoming car is coming, I might be actually one of those. Well when I am driving on the country roads I am not familiar with I always drive slow, esp' if I am approaching a bend. I had a car accident ones under those circumstance and although it happened years ago, it is still on my mind.

You don't know who the person in front of you is, so be a little bit more patience. You will get to your destination eventually.
I am rather safe than sorry.

Another thing that bugs me. People not using their indicators, esp' at roundabouts.

Cantona's Collars

Driving down Irish St. this evening in the lashing rain & out of the dark appears a car with just the parking lights on,the thing was barely visible.

cabledude

jpb1974 wrote: »

Drove behind the absolute worse one ever yesterday... serious hard braking every single time without fail.

I drive Enniscorthy to Carlow for work most days and it's a friggin nightmare of a road. Very few decent stretches to overtake and a it's own disproportionate share of bad drivers and tractors.

Bunclody,Ballon - Nightmare of a road. Totally of topic, how long is your daily trip?

cabledude

vicwatson wrote: »

I think people just couldn't be arsed changing the bulbs when they blow tbh. This is a disease at this time of the years, so many cars out there looking like motorcycles on low light/bad weather nights.

The thing that bugs me is that most if not all cars 10 years and younger have a warning sound/light to tell you when a bulb has blown - there is no excuse not to know.

Driving out without taking notice of this warning is not only dangerous but reckless.


Another problem on the roads that really bugs me is the idiots that don't turn on lights AT ALL when the weather is crap and if there is really bad/low levels of light. Rules of the road state one should drive to the conditions - or so I learned when I was getting lessons and doing my test, but there is a massive tendency to ignore the rules, period.

I also believe that older people (70 plus) should be made sit some type of 2 yearly test on rules and regulations, as it's not just the young "boy racers" that disobey the rules of the road, infact at least the "boy racers" have recently done a theory and practical test. Think about all those that never ever did a test in their lives as they got an amnesty in the 70's (when there was no motorways or hardly even traffic lights arbout the place), they are lethal when it comes to drivin IMO.

Theres talk of driving lights being made compulsory. Just like in Sweden.

bmaxi

cabledude wrote: »

Theres talk of driving lights being made compulsory. Just like in Sweden.

Great, now if we could only get laws enacted against breaking red traffic lights, parking in disabled bays, cycling on footpaths, cycling on motorways, stopping on clearways, parking in bus stops...........

oldyouth

bmaxi wrote: »

Great, now if we could only get laws enacted against breaking red traffic lights, parking in disabled bays, cycling on footpaths, cycling on motorways, stopping on clearways, parking in bus stops...........

Walked passed a couple of skangers sitting in a shitbox in a disabled parking spot this morning. Music blaring out the windows while they were making up a few rollies. Parking is non-existent in town today and they were taking up a spot that some person could have well done with. Knackers

vicwatson

oldyouth wrote: »

Walked passed a couple of skangers sitting in a shitbox in a disabled parking spot this morning. Music blaring out the windows while they were making up a few rollies. Parking is non-existent in town today and they were taking up a spot that some person could have well done with. Knackers

Shame on them.

Call Gardai ? to hell with traffic wardens that only hang out in the pedestrianised zone.

bmaxi

vicwatson wrote: »

Shame on them.

Call Gardai

bmaxi

oldyouth wrote: »

Walked passed a couple of skangers sitting in a shitbox in a disabled parking spot this morning. Music blaring out the windows while they were making up a few rollies. Parking is non-existent in town today and they were taking up a spot that some person could have well done with. Knackers

Well you'd expect that from them. In my experience however, the biggest offenders in this and other road traffic offences are those who would probably consider themselves our betters, driving Range Rovers, BMWs etc. plus of course those from a minority group who we are not allowed to criticise.

vicwatson

bmaxi wrote: »

Well you'd expect that from them. In my experience however, the biggest offenders in this and other road traffic offences are those who would probably consider themselves our betters, driving Range Rovers, BMWs etc. plus of course those from a minority group who we are not allowed to criticise.

Go ahead and generalise why don't ya?

oldyouth

It is the spot in Cornmarket opposite the PTSB. More & more able bodied people leaving the car with the hazards on :rolleyes: while the just 'nip in for a minute' to do their banking.

In fairness to the wardens, they don't give any leeway to offenders if they see a car that's not entitled to be in the bay

MJ23

The people who brake everytime there's a car coming in the other direction should be taken off the road. Experienced this a good bit lately, and it's very annoying. The worst one was some idiot driving up Munster hill in Enniscorthy, and he brakes half way, for no reason at all.
Who the fcuk brakes going up a steep hill?