No lights in the rain

Capt'n Midnight

dudara wrote:

Plus, that thing about the indicators reminds me of my dad. When he was teaching me to drive, he told me not to use the indicators so much as it would wear out the bulb!!

Actually he is quite correct. Orange bulbs are not fit for purpose. many cars fail NCT's because the coating wears/flakes off. The bulbs cost about 3 times as much as brake lights so the provision "bearing in mind the price paid" of consumer legleslation should apply.

I've replaced many orange bulbs , none because the bulb blew. By rights the colour should outlast the filament.

_Kaiser_

I always have my dipped lights on, regardless of the time of day but just this morning when coming to work it got very dark and overcast for a few minutes (stretch of the N3 with overhanging trees on both sides) and the amount of cars that I passed with no lights on at all was unbelievable. Because the road is normally overshadowed anyway it can be hard enough to see a dark-colored car, but in weather like that and at speeds of 100kph it's just madness! :eek:

prospect

WhatsGoingOn wrote:

Alfa is the same (obviously I suppose...). Don't think I ever touched the light switch when I had an Alfa. Lights were just left on at all times as they automatically switched off when the car was switched off.

I think alot of cars have this feature, I know Renault do it aswell.

The other thing with modern Alfas is the fog lights. They go off with the ignition, but you need to turn those back on every time you start the car. So if you see an Alfa driver with the fogs on, they have had to make a concious decision to turn them on EVERY time they get into the car.....

dicks.....

peasant

Three very simple rules of thumb when to switch your lights on:

1) pick the display on your dashboard that is hardest to read (in my car thats the mileage counter). If you find that easier to read with the lights on ...leave them on

2) watch cars in your rearview mirror ...if you wish they'd rather had their lights on ...stick yours on

3) when you find it significantly easier to make out oncoming traffic with the lights on ...then would be a good time to turn yours on as well.


And remember a low sun can be even worse than darkness/rain ...when you see the sun in your mirrors ...stick on those lights, for your own safety

Bogger77

peasant wrote:

Three very simple rules of thumb when to switch your lights on:

1) pick the display on your dashboard that is hardest to read (in my car thats the mileage counter). If you find that easier to read with the lights on ...leave them on

unless you've got a Toyota Corolla, new model which have dial lights that are on FULL when lights are off, enabling you to view the dials, and then go dipped when you turn on the lights, so in fact it's harder to read when car lights are on.

Big Balls

Some modern cars are now ditching sidelights..

My car does not have them. I have a xenon bulb and if I have the switch turned to where your sidelights would normally come on, the indicators light up a faint orange a la 5 series style.

IrishRover

Good advice there Peasant.

cormie wrote:

Seeing people drive correctly on our roads is such a rarity that I often wonder, are the ones I do see drive properly, the same guys who post in this forum. It seems nearly everyone here does the correct thing, why can't the same ratios apply on the roads

Me too. I often wonder why I don't see more of the good drivers on this forum out on the open road!

Then again, there are some people on here who have posted saying that they don't like to pull into the left on a dual carriageway or motorway or hard shoulder or put their lights on or indicate etc, so not everyone here is "exemplary" or at least saying they are.

cormie wrote:

I think it's good to be in the habit of indicating "correctly" regardless of who's around.

I agree. Sometimes there are people you can't see who can see your indicator. I'm not only taking about cars you may not have spotted either. Often times a pedestrian around a corner can see the amber flashing in a road sign or on the pavement or in a puddle on the road surface. A smart pedestrian will look for signs like this that a car is approaching from around a blind bend before crossing the road he is on.

Silvera

Guys.....

This has been my BIGGEST pet hate (motoring wise) for years!!

Shortly after I started driving in 1988, I began reading up on driving habits/rules/etc. in other countries and one of the things that really caught my attention was that UK drivers had a motto/saying 'If you need to use your wipers, turn on your dips'.

I began to do likewise and I would safely say that I was one of the few drivers to do so back then!
I was constantly been flashed by other drivers to tell me that my dips were on?!

I also recall reading that in many EU countries, it is actually illegal to drive a car on parking lights (i.e dips only when moving!).


Nowadays I generally use dipped headlights every time I drive....and I have noticed that many other drivers are doing the same.

However, I am still amazed at the amount of people who steadfastly refuse to turn on their lights until it is pitch dark??!!
........and it generally seems to be older drivers who refuse to do so.

And as for those individuals who drive in lashing rain with no lights on ...crazy!!


Hence my signature below!
v

netman

Silvera wrote:

I also recall reading that in many EU countries, it is actually illegal to drive a car on parking lights (i.e dips only when moving!).

Not only is it illegal, but the law is actually being enforced.

I remember stopping to refuel at a petrol station in Slovenia and this woman pulling up behind me, totally disgusted at being fined 50 euro (I think) for not having her dipped lights on during the day, in perfect visibility. She did have parking lights, and she still got fined.

Unless you hit people's pockets, they'll never change. Sensible ones will know the benefits, but they're the ones who are already doing it. The majority of the drivers here I wouldn't call sensible

luckat

I didn't know you were meant to put your lights on in the rain!

Being a conformist weakling, I mostly put my lights on if I see others with their lights on, though.

KeRbDoG

Ever since I saw that campaign for people to use their dipped lights during the day it got me thinking and ever since I always have them on. I do notice that people are less likely to pull out in front of me at the last second because of the dipped lights. Can't explain it but there yea go :rolleyes:

Silvera

kerbdog wrote:

I do notice that people are less likely to pull out in front of me at the last second because of the dipped lights. Can't explain it but there yea go :rolleyes:

I agree!

_Kaiser_

kerbdog wrote:

I do notice that people are less likely to pull out in front of me at the last second because of the dipped lights. Can't explain it but there yea go :rolleyes:

Yep.. noticed that too. Plus since I got the Passat, I find there's less people tailgating me too than there was in the Mirage. Must be cause she looks very big and new and they're afraid of the costs if they ran into me?

Stephen

Daytime running lights ftw!

I recently drove a rental car in Switzerland where daytime running lights are compulsory. The car doesn't allow you to turn off the lights at all, unless you go pulling fuses. It really does make a difference. Not being able to turn off the lights also has the bonus benefit of preventing the parking lights morons from existing

cormie

Aren't you actually supposed to put the parking lights on if you're parking it at the side of a road though? Definitely safer.. right?

fletch

cormie wrote:

Aren't you actually supposed to put the parking lights on if you're parking it at the side of a road though? Definitely safer.. right?

Once again FIAT have a good system....ya turn the key anti-clockwise to activate the parking lights.

dudara

Drove from Cork to Waterford Friday evening in the middle of the vicious thunderstorms. Going over the Youghal bypass, the heavens opened and started lashing. You really couldn't see more than a couple of feet in front.

What did I see in my rear view mirror but a dark purple astra on my backside with no lights on. I could barely make him out and the idiot was driving too close to me for comfort given that it was raining.

He wasn't the only one though