More Cibie headlights

"But for the elderly in particular, who are already handicapped by
night-time driving difficulties, glare from HID headlight encounters on
two-lane roads can be dangerous,"

So WTF are are the senile old cretins allowed to drive at all

 

No more than ever, I'd say.

What I *have* noticed is more cars driving around (lighted) town and
suburbs with no lights at all.

I think this is probably because lots of cars now have illuminated
instrument panels whether the lights are on or off, and so the drivers
don't actually realise they haven't switched on their lights.

 

I would argue that on any normal streetlit road, if everyone used
sidelights, it would actually make it safer and easier to see where
you're going as well as people see you.

It would also make it easier to see pedestrians and cyclists because
their light wouldn't get drowned out be over-powerful vehicle light.

It's only on unlit roads where you actually _need_ headlights.

 

There is certainly a case for compulsory eye testing to retain your
licence after the age of 50 rather than 70. To detect the particular
problem of 'dazzle' would, however, need something a bit more
sophisticated than the 'read a number plate' spot tests that have been
proposed (e.g. by West Mercia Police).
--

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So it seems.

They did. Joe Lucas, aka The Prince Of Darkness, produced those
fuckawful sealed beam lights that became OEM with every British car
maker for decades. I heard a Mini approaching the otehr evening and
turned to face it - "Shit", I thought: "He's got a nasty electrical
problem, his lights are a bit on the dim side". Then I remembered -
that's what they all used to be like.

I recall the first cars appearing with factory halogen headlights, and
the contrast on the road - oncoming, or in the mirror you could spot
the Sealed Beam Boys by their famous impersonations of stunned
glow-worms in brown beer bottles. So many cars then had their lights
adjusted downwards, so the pool of pathetic 'illumination' was at
least visible from inside the car. Lucas products were adequate for
lighting the front bumper and that was it.

That's me, that is. Building and driving road rally cars led me to
fitting halogen headlights with 100W bulbs in them, as well as
spotlights, foglights, driving lights and floodlights all over the
fronts of cars, creating mobile solar systems in order to see the next
corner - and round it a bit too. This led to secondary wiring looms,
fuse panels and relays for the lights, and eventually to having an
alternator rebuilt to run the wrong way to enable a second fitting on
the other side of the engine.

**** knows how much all this weighed and how much power it sapped, but
it was balanced by fitting a second battery in the boot on a
split-charge system to permit 24 volt starting, overcoming the
resistance to turning of a cold hi-compression engine.

I'm sure that all the retro-fitted lights taht I indulged in and felt
so vital at the time would be outperformed by modern OEM headlights
and driving lights.

There is that, for sure. I'm nowhere near as good in the dark as I
used to be and in recent years have frequently suffered a form of
night blindness which makes it very difficult to see past oncoming
headlights. I compensated for this by fitting higher-output bulbs in
my own lights and raising the aim so I could see down the left kerb or
verge. This only adds to the 'headlight arms race', of course.

Good job I'm now more reasonable and have discovered Silverstars,
then.

 

try riding your motorcycle at night with only a side light working , see
how long it is before you here that phrase
'' sorry mate i never saw you '' then come back and preach how safe side
lights are

 

Steve Robinson wrote

Oddly enough, on the thankfully few occasions I have not seen them first
and as a result heard that particular phrase directed at me it has
always been during daylight hours. I have yet had a blind **** attempt
to murder me in the hours of darkness and come anywhere near as close as
the day stalkers have done.

But then again I am at home in the dark, it is My Time.

 

You are a fuckwit aren't you?

If nobody else is running headlights, then sidelights are perfectly
visible.

 

Looked in a mirror recently?

 

**** off you slime eating toad
<flounce>

mirror mirror on the wall who..........

 

Aye they seem to be the kiddies.
Hope Halfrauds have them tomorrow

 

My MZ only had its pilot light and I used that for ages this winter
before I got around to fixing it.

Hey guess what? I wasn't knocked off you sanctimonious wanker.

 

For my money, it should be every 5 years from the date you passed your
test.

It should be compulsory, carried out by your optician, results notified to
DVLA. All non-attenders to be subject to an immediate 28 day ban.

It'll go a long way to reducing SMIDSYs.
--

Cheers!
Fr Jack
B12S (The Red Mist), CB450DX (The Moped)
FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM
Red death, to set you free

 

Nice. I've missed you.

 

"Wicked Uncle Nigel" wrote

I'm not too sure about this but ISTR that the dreaded MOT now requires
lights to be adjusted correctly, not just checked for being too high but
also for being too low.

 

In terms of current technology, I think it was some time ago. I can't
walk through the city at night without getting a pain in my eyes from
one or two of these modern very small very powerful white
headlamps. They are both brighter than other lights, and of much
smaller diameter, so the higher power is focussed onto a much smaller
spot on the retina. Not everyone finds them painful as I do, but there
are plenty who do. It's not a serious pain, but it does suggest to me
that the power-size ratio is approaching, and perhaps has passed,
retinal damaging levels.

 

I used to think bright lights would solve that problem, and outside
towns rode around in the daytime with both filamemts on in my cibie,
frying insects who flew into the beam. One bright sunny day, on a big
red and chrome bike, wearing my high-vis fluorescent yellow jacket,
and with my main beam on, and the only vehicle on the road, I came to
a screeching stop just feet from a car which had stopped at a side
road, waited several seconds (ah good, he's seen me), and then when I
was too close to stop safely, pulled out straight in front of me. The
terrified driver said he hadn't seen me. I believed him, did some
research, and found that visibility wasn't the important problem, it
was attention, i.e., what is called attentional blindness, or
sometimes inattentional blindness. It's a problem of expectations.

I tried counting the times it looked as though I hadn't been seen when
using lights, and not using lights, and I couldn't find a significant
difference. The most important point, however, is that however bright
your lights, there will still be someone who fails to spot you. Ask a
fireman if he's seen cars drive into a parked fire engine with its
light show in full blast and say "SMIDSY".

 

Having been smidsy'd, I ride like an old ****, carefully.

What difference does FOAK think the addition of a claxon to the
bright lights would make?

I often think of using my horns in relevant circumstances, but
it's not in the culture is it?

 

Howard wrote

None, you need a change in your thinking. I am an old ****, I do ride
and carefully is not in my vocabulary.

 

Hell for leather it is then.