[rant] Break lights at traffic lights [/rant]

degsie

I find it reeeeealy annoying that 'most' people insist on keeping their brake lights on when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. It is especially noticable on these dark mornings/evenings. The ones that really get on my wick are the higher light strips which seem perfectly designed to dazzle you. Have these people never heard of a handbrake???? Arrrrrgh :eek:

Anan1

Don't look at them. As has been previously explained, the footbrake is safer than the handbrake in a rear impact.

Bluetonic

Topic is nearly as boring as the Motoring section of The Irish Times.

Cyrus

degsie wrote: »

I find it reeeeealy annoying that 'most' people insist on keeping their break lights on when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. It is especially noticable on these dark mornings/evenings. The ones that really get on my wick are the higherer light strips which seem perfectly designed to dazzle you. Have these people never heard of a handbrake???? Arrrrrgh :eek:

some peope drive automatics aswell, would you rather a blast of their reversing light if they moved the lever to park!!

egan007

degsie wrote: »

I find it reeeeealy annoying that 'most' people insist on keeping their break lights on when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. It is especially noticable on these dark mornings/evenings. The ones that really get on my wick are the higherer light strips which seem perfectly designed to dazzle you. Have these people never heard of a handbrake???? Arrrrrgh :eek:

Yahoo another psycho to deal with on the road, the reason I leave everyone else to it these days. Man do you have life worries.

You know you can buy an unmarked gun for about 200Euro....

Alun

[rant]People who can't spell BRAKE[/rant]

Owen

degsie wrote: »

I find it reeeeealy annoying that 'most' people insist on keeping their break lights on when stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. It is especially noticable on these dark mornings/evenings. The ones that really get on my wick are the higherer light strips which seem perfectly designed to dazzle you. Have these people never heard of a handbrake?

Are you a moth? No? Then good news! You don't have to stare at the lights, you can ... [dah de dah dah dah dah!] ... Look Away(tm)! It's a radical new concept turning the Motoring world by storm. Dazzled by oncoming headlights, just Look Away(tm)! It's so crazy, it just might work

craichoe

I recon you wouldn't be long making crap of your handbrake if you used it everytime you stopped in Cork/Dublin monday morning traffic.. or friday evening traffic.

Malice

Anan1 wrote: »

As has been previously explained, the footbrake is safer than the handbrake in a rear impact.

Is this true? I would have thought that the handbrake was safer.

Alun wrote: »

[rant]People who can't spell BRAKE[/rant]

I would agree with the OP, some brake lights can be irritatingly bright. As well as simply not looking at them, you could also stop your car a little further back, not just so that you can see the rear wheels of the car in front.
To be honest, you could write a book about the stupid things motorists do at traffic lights!

degsie

egan007 wrote: »

You know you can buy an unmarked gun for about 200Euro....

Tell me which route you take and I'll gladly put it into good use

Táck

degsie, regardless of the rest of the moron's that take this place way to serioulsy, i agree with you.

Anan1

malice_ wrote: »

Is this true? I would have thought that the handbrake was safer.

The footbrake brakes all four wheels, the handbrake only brakes two.

craichoe

Anan1 wrote: »

The footbrake brakes all four wheels, the handbrake only brakes two.

Depends on the car, but the majority do not brake on the back.

A. Its usually drums on the back anyway.

B. Braking is always at the front due as all the weight us pushed forward and down when your stopping.

Handbrake should only be used for Parking and Hillstarts IMO

L1011

Person at the front of the queue is meant to use footbrake only I thought? Or so the auld lad told me in the mists of time when I was learning...

If I'm near the back of the queue on the N7 or N4 lights theres no way I'm trusting the car solely to the handbrake.

hottstuff

craichoe wrote: »

Handbrake should only be used for Parking and Hillstarts IMO

This is true.
OP you have issues.

egan007

degsie wrote: »

Tell me which route you take and I'll gladly put it into good use

I ride a motorbike you would not catch me, you would be stuck in traffic Fuming....

The Novacastrian

Depends on the car, but the majority do not brake on the back.

What does this mean? All* handbrakes work on the rear wheels.



*I'm sure someone will point out one or two cars that dont.

luckat

Of course the handbrake's safer - but there's a lunatic rule now that the person at the front is supposed to use the footbrake.

Pray that you're not the pedestrian crossing in front of that car when someone rear-ends it and the foot comes off the brake and the car shoots forward to kill you.

cpoh1

luckat wrote: »

Of course the handbrake's safer - but there's a lunatic rule now that the person at the front is supposed to use the footbrake.

Rubbish as was mentioned already the footbrake holds all four wheels (the drums at the back engage when pressing the footpedal also) whereas the handbrake only covers the rear wheels.

Back on topic anyway, anybody who complains or gets angry about brake lights annoying them has some serious issues they need to resolve!

pburns

degsie, I'm not being funny or anything but maybe you need your eyes checked. I once had intermittent problems with glaring lights due to eye problems.

I have a friend who is big on 'rules', for years he'd be pulling up the handbrake at every single junction (sometimes twice if he was creeping out for a peek). Same thing in traffic - all because the driving instructor told him to do it at year dot. I began a compaign of taking the piss out of him for this, other friends joined in and eventually, despite initial protests, he quietly dropped the habit. He's a good driver and still likes to do the 'right thing', but not now to a ridiculous, impractical extent...

mike65

Blame automatics. When you come to a stop rather than put the car in neutral I tend to leave it in Drive with foot on brake (I don't have high-level light so its not so bad as most cars).

Mike.

plissken

ned78 wrote: »

Are you a moth? No? Then good news! You don't have to stare at the lights, you can ... [dah de dah dah dah dah!] ... Look Away(tm)! It's a radical new concept turning the Motoring world by storm. Dazzled by oncoming headlights, just Look Away(tm)! It's so crazy, it just might work

Wait ive never heard of this motoring term "looking away" can you explain in further detail please

Matt Simis

mike65 wrote: »

Blame automatics. When you come to a stop rather than put the car in neutral I tend to leave it in Drive with foot on brake (I don't have high-level light so its not so bad as most cars).

Mike.

Yeah, Im just getting use to this to in an Auto. Sometimes to spare the driver behind me (my rears are stupidly bright) I put it in Park (and dont brake), but that probably isnt terrible safe. I dont have an actual "handbrake" either, its also foot operated, so it isnt something that could be popped on and off if I wanted to regardless.

Usually I hold the foot brake on, bathing the angry face behind me in neon red.

seamus

General consensus seems to be now that the person at the front should use the footbrake (to aid a speedier depart from the lights), where everyone else should use the handbrake - to avoid hitting the vehicle in front when rear-ended.

I tend to use the footbrake most of the time, unless I know I'm going to be waiting for ages. I have occassionally been known to use no brakes when stopped on the flat and just take my feet off all of the pedals. I have no idea why.

Anan1

seamus wrote: »

General consensus seems to be now that the person at the front should use the footbrake (to aid a speedier depart from the lights), where everyone else should use the handbrake - to avoid hitting the vehicle in front when rear-ended.

Eh, no.:)

Gran Hermano

Alun wrote: »

[rant]People who can't spell BRAKE[/rant]

I thought this thread was about people breaking the lights, shows
what a misspelling can do.

mike65

Matt Simms, puting the car in Park is not wise esp if you are the last person to stop in traffic with someone approaching. If you get a whack in the rear, the pin(s) holding the
transmission could be damaged (bent or broken) and you'll have a a car jammed in P

Mike.

Matt Simis

mike65 wrote: »

Matt Simms, puting the car in Park is not wise esp if you are the last person to stop in traffic with someone approaching. If you get a whack in the rear, the pin(s) holding the
transmission could be damaged (bent or broken) and you'll have a a car jammed in P

Mike.

So the correct way is holding on the brakes I guess? Putting it Park plus E-Brake isnt practical realistically. Oh well, I tried being conscious of those around me!

crosstownk

Matt Simis wrote: »

So the correct way is holding on the brakes I guess? Putting it Park plus E-Brake isnt practical realistically. Oh well, I tried being conscious of those around me!

Emergency brake as it's known stateside but is of little use in an emergency. The correct term, afaik, is parking brake but for obvious reasons it is usually referred to as the handbrake.

Personally, I use the handbrake if I'm stopped in traffic on an incline or if I'm in for a relatively long wait at traffic lights, but other than that (roundabouts, stop start traffic, etc) I just use the foot brake.

seamus

Anan1 wrote: »

Eh, no.:)

Eh, no yourself.

Most test instructors tell students to do this.

milltown

My brake lights are nice and bright so I like to use them to have a good goo in my rear view mirror to see if there's any talent in the car behind.