Headlights

[ILoveTuna]

Is it me or are there more and more cars on the road with defective headlights! 

Driving home from work tonight it seemed like every other car had one headlight out or badly adjusted, how do people get MOT's and dont they ever check there headlights? 

[Squeeguk]

I have noticed this too lately and have wondered the same. I can understand why they want to introduce bi-annual MOT's, people cannot be trusted to take care of their cars.

Also seem to be a lot of cars with defective indicators when changing lanes, on roundabouts and just in general

[JackG]

I have noticed this too lately and have wondered the same. I can understand why they want to introduce bi-annual MOT's, people cannot be trusted to take care of their cars.

I cannot agree more

In my line of work (Service advisor) the state of some people's cars isn't even funny, tyres on 1mm brakes worn etc etc...."oh I'll wait untill I'm back from holiday" we get all sorts of silly things said! It's hard for me to grit my teeth at some of them! Especially when they have child seats in the car! The problem with today is that no one trusts anyone! Everyone thinks someone is trying to shaft them in some way (that's due to previous motor trade services) so there is no trust and people Want to hold there money for longer and this is why half the cars on the road are not in a safe condition!

I blame lazy society, when you wash your car is when i spot most of my problems like tyres etc.....most of the general public use a car wash so don't check them! With longer service intervals on cars= more non safe cars!

Rant over 

[Matto]

Totally agree with the comments above. I know people always go on about incorrectly fitted/adjusted hids but its normal headlights too. The amount of people who pass me that have one headlight higher than the other is a joke. I had some tool in a C4 follow me yesterday morning and his lights lit the whole inside of my car up. Good job for anti dazzle mirrors. This along with people not being able to use fogs correctly really annoys me.

[GolfGIT]

Definitely seem to be more cars than ever with blown headlamp/brake light bulbs on the road.
What makes it worse is these drivers often use their main beam or fog lamps as a supplement and dazzle everybody else.
Have always carried a spare bulb kit in every car that I've owned, as its a pain in the a$$ not being able to see where you're going.
It also gets a bit tedious reading a "Headlamp Failure" message every time you switch the ignition on

[hugh jass]

 I knew fogs would get mentioned in this thread. I hate them I was in front of a merc on the A1/A66 yesterday and he had every bloody light on the front of his car pointed at my bald patch.
 People just dont know how or when to use them.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Definitely seem to be more cars than ever with blown headlamp/brake light bulbs on the road.

Yup - and I've seen plenty of coppers following or passing said cars and failing to pull them over . . . so hardly surprising they get away with it.

What makes it worse is these drivers often use their main beam or fog lamps as a supplement and dazzle everybody else.

If a front fog lamp is dazzling you, then it categorically is not adjusted correctly.  A front fog will give off much less dazzle than normal dipped headlamps.



What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

[stealthwolf]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

That winds me up too - it can be very uncomfortable to look at if you're stationary for a long time.

I tried driving with fog and headlights on whilst going down a lonely, unlit country road at night and TBH it gave sweet FA in terms of extra illumination. I think the grass banks on either side might have been more prominent but nothing in terms of forward throw. Driving with only fogs on must give horrendous illumination.

The other thing I hate is when they have one light that's not working and the other light seems to be much brighter - almost full headbeam strength.

[Gti_Mad]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

wot about dsg then ?? u ment 2 put it in neutral everytime u stop at lights ??

[Teutonic_Tamer]

I tried driving with fog and headlights on whilst going down a lonely, unlit country road at night and TBH it gave sweet FA in terms of extra illumination. I think the grass banks on either side might have been more prominent but nothing in terms of forward throw.

That is the whole point of front fogs - they are not meant to illuminate far into the distance, or even middle distance which dipped headlamps illuminate - when it is foggy, you should be travelling at a noticeably lower speed than you would on the same stretch of road in clear visibility.  The whole idea of front fogs is that they provide a very low, but very wide beam - which is meant to highlight kerbs and verges.  When you drive in thick fog (especially when you arn't in a queue of traffic) - you often have to 'navigate' by following the nearside kerbs, verges, hedges etc - and a properly designed, properly set up front fog will do this just fine.

Driving with only fogs on must give horrendous illumination.

You should never use front fogs alone when it is dark.  If it is daytime, that is the only time they should be used in isolation.

The other thing I hate is when they have one light that's not working and the other light seems to be much brighter - almost full headbeam strength.

Hmmmm . . . I think I know why - when you 'notice' a car coming towards you with headlights that arn't correct (a bulb out, incorrectly aligned) - then we all have a tendancy to actually stare and focus on said dodgy lighting (rather than looking at the road ahead).  We may not actully be aware we are doing it, but it does happen (I think the TRL did a study about 30 years ago on this - sort of the time when halogen bulbs started replacing old skool tungsten bulbs - and the whingers started to complain that halogen bulbs were dangerous).  Anyway, advanced driving instructors will (should) tell you when this scenario occurs, then you actively need to focus your eyesight on your left kerb/verge (obviously at a distance appropriate to see for your speed being travelled).  It really does work - and if you try it, you should notice it is much less irritating.

[Teutonic_Tamer]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

wot about dsg then ?? u ment 2 put it in neutral everytime u stop at lights ??

Yup - you should never sit stationary in gear in a DSG for anything more than about 30 seconds - you will cook your oil, wear out your clutch, and use more fuel.

There are many independent reports to support this.

[markymark]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

wot about dsg then ?? u ment 2 put it in neutral everytime u stop at lights ??

Yup - you should never sit stationary in gear in a DSG for anything more than about 30 seconds - you will cook your oil, wear out your clutch, and use more fuel.

There are many independent reports to support this.

I always knock mine into Neutral when stopped for any period of time, I learnt this info from TC!

[Teutonic_Tamer]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

wot about dsg then ?? u ment 2 put it in neutral everytime u stop at lights ??

Yup - you should never sit stationary in gear in a DSG for anything more than about 30 seconds - you will cook your oil, wear out your clutch, and use more fuel.

There are many independent reports to support this.

I always knock mine into Neutral when stopped for any period of time, I learnt this info from TC!

Who would have got his info from me! 

[mad_pete]

that's interesting about the DSG.  I'd thought about knocking it into netual (like I do on my automatics) but assumed the computer would hold the clutch out.  So the clutch is always a little bit engaged ?

[Gti_Mad]

What really winds me up is when cars in front of you sit for ages with their foot on the brakes whilst waiting at red traffic lights and the likes - especially as cars now have the 3rd high level brake light. 

wot about dsg then ?? u ment 2 put it in neutral everytime u stop at lights ??

Yup - you should never sit stationary in gear in a DSG for anything more than about 30 seconds - you will cook your oil, wear out your clutch, and use more fuel.

There are many independent reports to support this.

Well i certainly just learnt something new thanks TT