Driving with no headlights on at night

How the hell can you not realise like..

Its dark (pitch black these days from 5pm onwards) - so unless you've spectacular eyesight..

But we have automatic headlamps now!!!

What's the difference between fog lights and full beams...? Or are they the same thing? Because in my car I have like....not-so-bring lights, brightish lights, and then the full beams

tobytobe wrote: »

You have headlights (the not so bright things!) which you can turn on full (full headlights/full beams - british lights!!) to assist visibility in darker conditions as long as it is safe and practicable to do so, and then you have a completely separate switch which operates your fog lamps.

Interesting...

I drive for a living so I see more drivers than most.

Women are most likely to drive using the wrong lights for the conditions or none at all. It is mostly old people and women as hard as that is to hear from some people.

Front fog lights - I use them on the country road to my village because the roads are so bad they light up the immediate road in front of me. Front fog lights are not blinding as they are low level. SUV fog lights, Nissan Micra/Almera for lights and Subaru Imprexa WRX are the only contentious fog lights in my opinion and are not too much of an issue because they are an added extra on most vehicles in this country so not many people have them against the amount of vehicles on the road. Yes, they are used as a fasion accessory also and are not "SPOTS" except in this case and others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:BMW_E46_front_20080822.jpg

Rear fog lights are a pain in the neck. It is mostly women who do this also, sorry. It can be mostly ford drivers because of the system for activating the lighting system. People tend to just turn the dial all the way to the right basically turning on everything but the indicators. Some people do not use mirrors nor do they look at the dash, hence why women run out of petrol more than men. They therefore notice that the rear fog lights(usually amber light) is on.

Driving with full beams is a pain for me because some drivers do not drop their full beam in a fast enough time for me. Its not too much of an issue though as the others are.

Misalinged dipped beam headlights drive me insane and provide less light on the road for the driver. The reason for that is because they are pointing into my retinas so obviously are not pointing at the road. Idiots should not be allowed change their own bulbs. Problems, let Halfords or similar help you.

People driving at night with only their sidelights drives me insane. The problem is that because in urban areas headlights provide little road light anyway and it does not matter how many lights you have on the dashboard is lit up the same so people dont seem to be aware they have a badly illuminated car.

And how in gods name do people drive around with a missing headlight or completely messed up lighting?

javaboy wrote: »

Just have to disagree with a couple of things there. In my experience women tend to be far more scared of running out of petrol than men so they don't let it get even close to empty. And I find men are much worse for front fogs. I think a lot of them just see them as a fashion accessory.

/puts away brush

You cannt disagree with me about the fog lights being used as a fashion accessory because I said in my post that some people use them in that fashion. Were both singing of the same hymn sheet there. Yes men use them more as a fashion accessory and if a man is buying a car he is more likely to want front fog lights whereas most women probably dont care less if the car has alloys, fogs, xenon etc etc

If women are so afraid of running out of petrol then why after I ran my own petrol station was it women who were mostly walking in buying Jerry cans and petrol. I would always drive them back to their cars to be helpful so in my experience it is women. Sorry thats not attempting to be sexist its just life.

quirke_folder wrote: »

If women are so afraid of running out of petrol then why after I ran my own petrol station was it women who were mostly walking in buying Jerry cans and petrol. I would always drive them back to their cars to be helpful so in my experience it is women. Sorry thats not attempting to be sexist its just life.

Fair enough. After running a petrol station you would have more experience of it than me but I know quite a few women drivers who see the needle drop below halfway and head straight for the petrol station for fear of running out.

javaboy wrote: »

I know quite a few women drivers who see the needle drop below halfway and head straight for the petrol station for fear of running out.

They must not be getting very good MPG because in a diesel for example I can 500kms on half a tank.

I stopped on an off ramp one day because it was obvious the abandoned car belonged to the women heading off up the ramp. I offered to drive her to the station and back. She said to my surprise that this is the 4th time this month that it happened to her. It happened the day before in fact because she will only put €10 in at a time. I felt like kicking her out right there. She buys a 5ltr worth and as I dropped her back to her car she said she would drive home and get her husband to drive to the petrol station to fill it up. *Sighed*

Anyway headlights of course being the main topic. There are people buying 100watt bulbs from Halfords mostly as motor factors do not carry them much. 55watt are the only road legal bulbs as the 100watt will blind you.

I personally have Osram Nightbreaker in my fogs, mains & dipped. They provide 90% more light and 10% whiter. They are simply brilliant. 55watt of course.

javaboy wrote: »

I'm curious. If they are brighter, surely they are more blinding to oncoming traffic? The fact that they are 55 watt and legal is a bit like following the letter of the law but not the spirit.

No, the arc of light is longer than a standard halogen bulb. Basically its shines the beam further down the road than any other.

http://www.osram.com/osram_com/Consumer/Automotive_Lighting/Products/Headlights/NIGHT_BREAKER/index.html

One of the only ways to blind another driver is to drive behind them in an SUV / Van or by having misalinged headlights or by having 100watt bulbs.

What can also be frustrating are drivers who drive without their front or rear fog lights on in the fog or heavy snow. WTF.

Some people cannot use the functions in their own vehicles. I met a woman over the weekend who was thinking of getting a sat nav like me. I asked if she had another car I knew nothing about. She of course asked me why?

I suggested to the nitwit that she had a full DVD/Sat Nav unit in her Range Rover. What a Fvcking numpty!!

BMW cars now come with an anti dazzle function. You switch on your full beam and when the vehicle detects oncoming traffic it switches them off and them back on once that car passes.

I dont think it will solve the issue of people who drive behind you with their full beam on because they think that because your are over 300mtrs away it wont affect you. Sorry knob, its the only thing I can concentrate on after trying not to crash.

quirke_folder wrote: »

One of the only ways to blind another driver is to drive behind them in an SUV / Van or by having misalinged headlights or by having 100watt bulbs.

or if you have your front fog lights on.