Use Daytime Dipped Lights ....It could save your life!

netwhizkid

Oh my god, this is the stupidest idea ever, Oh yes having your lights on in the day is such a good PC idea, lets in future have two men walking in front with red flags while driving no faster than 5MPH.

Driving with daytime lights is dangerous in normal conditions, I regularly get blinded by those bluey/white spearmint type lights during the day, I find Punto's to be the worst culprits. It is dangerous and I regularly flash those who blind me. Switch em of people it will benefit the environment and show you are a driver with at least some competency.

kippy

Not trying to be smart but what are your Daytime Dipped Lights, i have 3 settings on my lights,

1st is just crappy lights i turn on when its just dull,

2nd are what i use when driving at night on well light roads

3rd i use on back roads and where there is no street lights

So are u saying use 1st or 2nd??

You shouldn't be on the road mate if you dont know what your lights are and when they should be used.

Oh my god, this is the stupidest idea ever, Oh yes having your lights on in the day is such a good PC idea, lets in future have two men walking in front with red flags while driving no faster than 5MPH.

Driving with daytime lights is dangerous in normal conditions, I regularly get blinded by those bluey/white spearmint type lights during the day, I find Punto's to be the worst culprits. It is dangerous and I regularly flash those who blind me. Switch em of people it will benefit the environment and show you are a driver with at least some competency.

I agree, there are a lot of muppets out there with stupid coloured lights, and those that dont actually use their lights dipped, but on full beams.
I think these coloured lights should be banned,maybe they are already, I dont know.
However driving at all times on dipped normal lights should be something we all do.
Cars are more visable. The arguments for using dipped lights at all times far outweigh the arguments against.
Kippy

dahamsta

I can honestly say that in over 15 years of driving, I've never once been blinded by dipped headlights or even foglights during the day.

adam

Rew

I always drive with mine on as well. Over taking a week or so ago I nearly didn't see a an on coming silver car with no lights, but I could clearly see the car a good bit behind it with their lights on.

Iv never been blined by a car during the day, once or twice people have had their fulls on I assume by accident.

whizkid if your being blinded during the day id hate to get ina car with you at night!!

dubstub

I was driving in Italy about a month ago and my first impressions (besides the dangerous tailgating and regularly being cut-up) were how great it was that everyone had their dips on during the day, made a huge difference to the visibility of other drivers.
I found out afterwards that it has recently been introduced as law there for all motorways and outside urban areas to keep lights on at all times. It also looks like the EU will be moving to make this compulsory:

http://verify.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2401786,00.html

prospect

On a clear day I drive with my side lights on, which are quite bright actually.
Dusk and dawn or adverse weather conditions I will go up to dipped beams.

Personally I think dipped beams on a bright sunny summer afternoon is a waste of time.

alias no.9

netwhizkid wrote:

Oh my god, this is the stupidest idea ever, Oh yes having your lights on in the day is such a good PC idea, lets in future have two men walking in front with red flags while driving no faster than 5MPH.

Driving with daytime lights is dangerous in normal conditions, I regularly get blinded by those bluey/white spearmint type lights during the day, I find Punto's to be the worst culprits. It is dangerous and I regularly flash those who blind me. Switch em of people it will benefit the environment and show you are a driver with at least some competency.

Dipped headlights simply aren't bright enough to blind you during the day.

mike65

Agreed, though I DO agree about those crappy Punto lights which scroll through the colour spectrum when bouncing over undulating surfaces.

Mike.

Squirrel

franksm wrote:

I use these Hella Daytime Running Lights (DRLs) on my '5

http://www.tagfahrlicht.de/EN/index.html

They're pretty good, 16w bulbs, and sit nice & discrete in the radiator intake.

On any other car I'm in, I used dipped beams - have done so since day one.

Not to diverge too much from the topic but I had occasion to drive in the early hours on the N7 and M1 at the weekend - the number of cars with foglamps on was REALLY appalling. I know we're used to it, and it's been talked to death here, but every second car had its rear fogs on, and every car with front fogs fitted had them switched on. Made it really painful to drive. I can only think that people think they're safer at night with fogs on (and don't give a sh!t really about blinding anyone else).

I don't like people driving with front fogs on either, but some are driving lights, not fogs. Not all auxillary front lights are fogs. This isn't aimed at you, but there are a lot of people who seem to think so.

Sandwich

What is the purpose of sidelights anyway?
Is it just me, or have they been getting dimmer over the years, to be virtually useless now. I seem to remember reading somewhere that by law they are limited to a % brightness of your dippeds.

Stark

I think they're to be used when you're parked in a poorly lit area so that other cars will see you.

netwhizkid

I have never been blinded by daytime dipped lights, however when you get lights of a different spectrum ala Punto and full lights on during the day it is harsh on the eyes. Funnily enough I drive perfectly at night and even when the moron on the other side don't dip in time my sight still stays ok. Punto lights during the day = Camera Flash affect. I am shortsighted with Myopia so I guess there is a little bit of weakness in my sight but still I find my sight perfect to drive with.

Stark

netwhizkid wrote:

I am shortsighted with Myopia so I guess there is a little bit of weakness in my sight but still I find my sight perfect to drive with.

Well yes your sight should be perfect to drive with if you're wearing glasses.

Capt'n Midnight

Sandwich wrote:

What is the purpose of sidelights anyway?
Is it just me, or have they been getting dimmer over the years, to be virtually useless now. I seem to remember reading somewhere that by law they are limited to a % brightness of your dippeds.

No they have not been getting dimmer.
Head lights have been getting brighter,
- by increased wattage
- more efficient bulbs - side lights aren't halogens
- bluer - this I really hate since it's so harsh

saobh_ie

I only use my dips during lighting up hours or where enviromental conditions limit visiblity. Rain, fog, smoke... If another car driver doesn't see me coming because I haven't got my lights on I don't really think they should be driving.

I also believe the widespread use of DRL's are detrimental to the safety of other road users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Cars do not need DRL's to be seen.

As for DRL's making it easier for cars to be seen by the pedestrians and cyclists, the car driver should really be looking out for them instead.

It also adds to this whole, 'I've got my dipped lights on and I'm driving at the speed limit I'm safe me', culture we've got going.

The bikers DRL thing, a bike with no light amongst cars with no lights is effectivally invisible to a large percentage of road users, the bike puts on its headlight your average road user with all the intelligence of a moth is drawn to the light. If everybody drives around all day with thier lights on poof, the bikes invisible again. But it doesn't really matter a jot because the biker should be riding as if he's invisible anyway. Hell, some motorcyclists still get swept up when thier blue lights and sierns are going.

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

CrowdedHouse wrote:

I think cars should be wired so it's not possible to drive with only sidelights.

welcome to the world of Saab and Volvo

kippy

I only use my dips during lighting up hours or where enviromental conditions limit visiblity. Rain, fog, smoke... If another car driver doesn't see me coming because I haven't got my lights on I don't really think they should be driving.

I also believe the widespread use of DRL's are detrimental to the safety of other road users, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Cars do not need DRL's to be seen.

As for DRL's making it easier for cars to be seen by the pedestrians and cyclists, the car driver should really be looking out for them instead.

It also adds to this whole, 'I've got my dipped lights on and I'm driving at the speed limit I'm safe me', culture we've got going.

The bikers DRL thing, a bike with no light amongst cars with no lights is effectivally invisible to a large percentage of road users, the bike puts on its headlight your average road user with all the intelligence of a moth is drawn to the light. If everybody drives around all day with thier lights on poof, the bikes invisible again. But it doesn't really matter a jot because the biker should be riding as if he's invisible anyway. Hell, some motorcyclists still get swept up when thier blue lights and sierns are going.

Thats just a bit "shortsighted".
Yesterday evening while going home from work, around 17:30 in pretty dull conditions, the amount of cars going round without dipped lights on was huge.
These cars were "a lot" less visible than those with the dipped lights on. I am not saying you couldnt see them but they werent as easy to spot. I dont care how good your eyesight is, but cars with dipped lights are easier to see in the distance at any time.
Now, who is going to determine if the conditions are bad enough for the drivers to use dipped lights? What is the rule/law for this? Is bad visibility to one person the same as bad visibility to another? I thought it was conditions for dipped lights but these didnt. Now, if it were the law to have dipped lights on during daylight hours then this "grey area" wouldnt be so grey anymore.

Even without that, cars with lights on ar far easier to spot. I dont know what you are taking about with your culture thing but if you have your dipped lights on and you are driving within the speed limit you are a darn sight safer that a driver breaking the speed limit on a dangerous road in dull conditions with no lights on.
Kippy

prospect

Meant to say,

My megane has a feature where the dipped beams come on autmatically at a certain level of 'darkness'! Even driving through tunnels, and multistory carparks, the lights come on themselves, and then go off when it brightens up again. A feature like this on all cars would make more sense to me than permanent DRLs.

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

anything that makes one more visible on the road must be a good idea

Garth

Always drive with lights on, a habit picked up in Canada where they have DRLs on all cars.

It vastly improves visibility, not only that but if a biker wants to improve their visibility and all car drivers have their lights on, a reflective jacket will be a lot more visible than it was when nobody had lights on.

Del2005

Garth wrote:

Always drive with lights on, a habit picked up in Canada where they have DRLs on all cars.

It vastly improves visibility, not only that but if a biker wants to improve their visibility and all car drivers have their lights on, a reflective jacket will be a lot more visible than it was when nobody had lights on.

How will a reflective jacket make someone more visable if everyone is driving with lights on in daylight? And if cars can't see a bike with it's light on then how the hell will they see a jacket?

Tabnabs

I would like to add my support for DDL use at all times. I found that as a pedestrian in Norway it made road crossing safer in residential areas with lots of cars parked along the side of the road, straight away you could tell who was moving and who was not.

And to the poster who said that these countries are dark for half of the year, is a bit like saying Ireland is all green fields and a land of a hundred thousand welcomes begorra! These countries may have less daylight during the winter but have far more daylight during the summer, duh!

Am I the only one who finds motorbike headlights far too intense and aimed too high, so when there's a bike behind me, the rear view mirror is lit up like a bloody searchlight!