Dipped head lights question

Bomag said:
Good for you but not helpful to the cyclist behind you who cannot be seen due to the glare of your lights
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You wa'?

I don't do town driving. A cyclist would only be near me for like 3 seconds. And besides, headlights don't dazzle when it's light outside. That's like saying a torch dazzles you when it's sunny outside... If you do get dazzled by lights when its perfect bright outside then you shouldn't be on the roads I wouldn't have thought. Medical condition?

Oh and it has been law for some years now that motorcycles always have their headlight on. Do these dazzle you?
 
Sidelights get left on when I'm parked somewhere in the dark for a short time, but on the road (or one-side parking light, which I discovered I have).

Anything other than bright sunshine and I'll generally stick the headlights on. Side lights are rubbish. Especially when it's "hazy"... not so much foggy (although the number of people that think sidelights are sufficient in proper fog is shocking)

I want to be seen, I'll use full beams if there's no one coming the other way and it's dark enough to warrant them, if it helps to see the road/verge ahead a little better.

Fog lights used.... hardly ever. Maybe in really really heavy rain on the motorway and I can't see the guy behind me's lights (so he knows I'm there)
 
JIM_BOB7813 said:
Doesn't it make it harder for people to judge your distance if the only thing they can see is two headlights coming towards them? i'm sure i heard that somewhere.

Some interesting articles here
and here
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I'd say that was a good thing. If they're not sure they won't take the risk.

I always have sidelights on, most journeys have headlights on due to the time I commute and the gloomy weather. Habit from biking.
 
OllyM said:
I drive with my dipped lights on all the time.
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I wish everyone would, driving down busy unlit country lanes can become quiet a task when people don't bother to dip, So many time's I've nearly hit a hedge because I go round a corner and some chode with a Focus has some aftermarket bulbs in that are far too powerful that completely blind me and the people behind me. I've had to come to a sharp stop when they had full beams on :(

And on lit a roads and motorways it's not needed, you only need the light to see you not have the car light up the road next to your door.
 
I usually dip the headlights as I come toward blind corners, not only so I don't blind anyone who comes the other way but also because with your own lights down, you can see if anyone else is coming from their lights.
 
Ditto.

Also, it annoys the hell out of me the number of cars with misaligned headlights I see, with one of the other going at a crazy angle. I'm sure i'm not crazy, do others notice this too? How does it happen? Is it people driving into their garage/house wall and knocking them out of alignment?
 
Griffo said:
Ditto.

Also, it annoys the hell out of me the number of cars with misaligned headlights I see, with one of the other going at a crazy angle. I'm sure i'm not crazy, do others notice this too? How does it happen? Is it people driving into their garage/house wall and knocking them out of alignment?
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Yup happens, and yup thats how it happens.
 
BeatMaster said:
It's a pet peeve all these people going around with dipped lights on as opposed to sidelights when it's clear and visible. It's a distraction I find as you tend to get dazzled in daylight by dipped lights, well...that's what I find.

I've always thought that:

- Sidelights are for when you want to be seen but you can see fine.
- Dipped lights are for when you require light to be able to see.
- Main beam for night when no cars are in front or coming towards you.
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Same for me.

In mornings and dusk I just stick sidelights on.

People can still see the lights, they just aren't as bright, since they are for letting people see you, not aiding your vision, and are less annoying.

I don't need the dipped beams to see, and I can find no discernible difference from switching to them at these times, so how people can need them in these conditions is beyond me, and if they do, I think they need to see a doctor or something.

I only go to dipped beams when it is raining heavily, or when it is getting gloomy enough to restrict my vision, and enough that turning them on would actually increase what I could see.

My car doesn't have foglights :p
 
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For those people who have their dipped headlights turned on during a clear day...
Why? It annoys me so much. Your dazzling other drivers on the road...
Probably just as annoying as when people drive with fog lights and sidelights turned on!
 
NathanE said:
You wa'?

I don't do town driving. A cyclist would only be near me for like 3 seconds. And besides, headlights don't dazzle when it's light outside. That's like saying a torch dazzles you when it's sunny outside... If you do get dazzled by lights when its perfect bright outside then you shouldn't be on the roads I wouldn't have thought. Medical condition?

Oh and it has been law for some years now that motorcycles always have their headlight on. Do these dazzle you?
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Yep, using headlights even in mildly dark conditions will reduced the conspicuity of other objects within a few degrees of the light. The exact amount deepens on the size and luminance of the object i.e. whether Webber's or Ricco's laws apply. If you look into a torch when it is sunny the relative intensity of the sun light will reduce.

As long as motorcyclists drive in the centre of the lane then the extra offset by 1.5-2.0m significantly reduces the veiling luminance.
 
Mr.Bon said:
For those people who have their dipped headlights turned on during a clear day...
Why? It annoys me so much. Your dazzling other drivers on the road...
Probably just as annoying as when people drive with fog lights and sidelights turned on!
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Because my car is lower than a 10 year old child? People just don't see me coming without headlights on.

And they don't dazzle. Don't be daft.

I would use my sidelights but they are barely visible on my car. Infact the dipped headlights on my car are more comparable in brightness to the sidelights on another car.
 
Mr.Bon said:
For those people who have their dipped headlights turned on during a clear day...
Why? It annoys me so much. Your dazzling other drivers on the road...
Probably just as annoying as when people drive with fog lights and sidelights turned on!
Click to expand...

I have incentive to continue using mine now :D.
 
Mr.Bon said:
For those people who have their dipped headlights turned on during a clear day...
Why? It annoys me so much. Your dazzling other drivers on the road...
Probably just as annoying as when people drive with fog lights and sidelights turned on!
Click to expand...

Youre one of these morons that flashes me then :rolleyes:
 
Bomag said:
Side lights are for being seen Headlights are for seeing.


Most people have this bind spot for the setting between off and headlights. IIRC somebody who drove round with their headlights on all the time (i.e. without adapting to the circumstances) got done for for dazzling somebody and causing a crash.
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I wish people around hear new that ,99% go straight to headlights 30 mins before dusk and blind each other ,they are so STUPID :rolleyes:
 
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Dull days I dont bother, every morning at this time of year I put headlights on, even if its getting fairly light, never just bother with sidelights, waste of time, if I need wipers at all then lights come on too.

Bike, dipped beam 100% of the time, in 2003 it became law for all bikes to me manufactured with headlights on at all times.
 
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