~Tis the Season for misaligned Headlamps tra la la la la~

[highlander]

I drive with sidelights on all the time (during daylight hours). It works a little like DRLs in the sense that pedestrians are apparently more likely to notice a car with lights on than they are to notice one without. Additionally, with the sidelights on, you also get the tail lights; if it works on pedestrians, then it should work on other drivers. My sidelights and taillights are LEDs, and are brighter than standard, but not stupidly bright. I'd have LED brake lights too, but the ones I bought stay lit even if the brake pedal isn't being pressed.

I put the headlights on when it's getting dark, or when the weather is terrible (rain lashing down and loads of spray on the roads.

The foglamps ONLY come on when it's properly foggy (read: visibility is seriously reduced). Even if SWMBO tells me to put them on... Occasionally, I'll turn off the headlamps if the fog is heavy enough, but leave it on sidelights (so the tail lights come on), and rely on the front foglamp's greater ability to pick out the edges of the road (which they can do purely due to their lower height above the road). I've been in fog so thick that the headlamps only light up the fog, and you can either see nothing (with the headlights off) or pure white (with the headlights on). That kind of fog is no fun at all, and I'd rather find somewhere safe to stop than try to carry on through it.

I never have the front foglamps on without having the rear foglamp on. If it's bad enough for me to think "I need foglamps so I can see", then it's bad enough that someone behind me might not be able to see me.

I hasten to note that the foglamps (front and rear) always go off again as soon as visibility is restored. I hate being dazzled, and can't imagine anyone else finds it fun either.

[Welly]

Very sensible too HL

This morning was a f*cking joke; yes it was 'a bit foggy' and occasionally in dense patches but the sun* was up so it was essentially light so headlamps were doing very little other than to make you visible to others but oh no all the sheep were driving with the front fogs on because: fog

Will it take some kind of national campaign on TV to stop this? or better still show something on Coronation Street about how switching on front fogs does f*ck all bar annoying everyone else FFS.........

[Welly]

Having just replaced the bulbs on the Citroen C4 I can now understand how some people fuddle the bulb in wrongly and end up with a skyward aim.

What a pig of a job I'm pleased to report both bulbs aim correctly after about 30 mins of hard swearing.

[steve_earwig]

Next time use a bigger hammer

[Doggy]

I find joining all the known swear words plus a few originals together in new and imaginative combinations sometimes distracts me enough so I forget what I'm swearing at.

Try it.

[Welly]

The clocks have changed but the idiots have not

This week I've seen so many retro-fit HID's into reflector pattern headlamps, they really must crack down on this blah blah nothing will ever happen etc....

I even saw one oxygen thief in a Ford S-Max who'd cleverly* modified what should be the side lamp housings into full-on HID's with eleventy million Kelvins brightness, great; you fuckwit, the housing don't project a beam, they were never meant to, but oh no don't you worry fuckface just burn everyone's retina's out you'll be alright


annnnnnnd relax.......

[Doggy]

I haven't seen many of the retrofit morons so far this year, but the baton has been picked up by the misalignment corps who are delivering another truly dazzling performance. (Aided and abetted by the fog light contingent).

(FWIW the Highway Code advises use of foglights only when visibility is less than 100m).

My pet hate is those that insist on parking wiv their headlights on, (which is still illegal, not that it stops Dibble doing it either).

[/rant]

[steve_earwig]

Oh yes, especially on the wrong side of the road so they dazzle oncoming traffic. Fuckwits.

[PeterN]

I have noticed that some lights are almost as bright on dip as they are on full beam. I'm sure most of the problem is misalignment but some seems to be poorly designed headlights. The 406 has about the brightest lights that I have ever had on a car and they still look very bright on dip. You can adjust the height from the little thumb wheel under the dash on the estate which is very useful - providing the lights are aligned correctly in the first place of course.

Peter

[Captain Jack]

The worst things are bikes - push and motorised variety. They simply BLIND me every time... day and night.

Fuckwits.

[rwb]

Oh just skittle the buggers

[Bailes1992]

Having had automatic headlights for the last 6 years I have to confess that since having my new Focus 'Style' company car I have driven off several times in the dark without switching my headlights on.

I've had to put some masking tape on my instrument cluster with 'lights' on it to remind me.

[Welly]

I see loads of DRL-equipped cars driving without the proper lights on all-round at night. European "rules" say that the dash must be illuminated constantly so in the dark many people assume the cars main lights are on, especially as the DRL's are bright enough to give the impression the forward lighting is on

I'm sure some time soon all new cars must have automatic lighting as standard.

[stevewalsh]

In the past few years over here in France, They usually adjust them for you during the CT, (MOT).
But there is still a lot driving with 1 or more bulbs out as the test is every 2 years and most people don't check on a regular basis