Sidelights: Why do we have them?
Discussion
Now that the nights are getting longer, people are starting to drive with their sidelights on.
I've always wondered: why do cars still have them?
I have always thought that they are unnecessary. If you need to put the lights on, put them on dipped. Its at this time of year when cars drive around with the sidelights on for too long.
Are they a legal requirement to have them?
Will
I've always wondered: why do cars still have them?
I have always thought that they are unnecessary. If you need to put the lights on, put them on dipped. Its at this time of year when cars drive around with the sidelights on for too long.
Are they a legal requirement to have them?
Will
Here in NZ with our throwaway jap import car culture they are temed "Park Lighet" I think it's actually a legal requirement to leave your park lights on when parked by the side of a road at night although it's never enforced. I agree though, they really are kinda unnecessary.... I put mine on during bad-light conditions in conjunction with my driving lights hwich fills the gap nicely making the car much more visible from the front without being ufll headlight which some people find irritating in semi-darkness.
Having said that the BMW 5 series has cool sidelights (the 4 rings around the headlights) they make the car very visible espite not being all that bright.
Having said that the BMW 5 series has cool sidelights (the 4 rings around the headlights) they make the car very visible espite not being all that bright.
yes parking lights pure and simple , met some tw**s today in very bad visibility using just sidelights , lucky I didn't run into them for all the good they are . If you are a misguided fool and drive in bad visibility with side lights , Look at all the other fools (if you can see them )and ask yourself if you can honestly say they are worth using , silly thing is you never notice the side lights are on at all untill you are nearly on top of them.
obviously this rant is irrelevent (spelin?)on these pages because we are all inteligent car enthusiasts , it's all the other Idiots that worry me.....
obviously this rant is irrelevent (spelin?)on these pages because we are all inteligent car enthusiasts , it's all the other Idiots that worry me.....
Again it coming to that time of year , ive lost count of the number of cars ive seen in pitch black driving on foglights and sidelights 
why cant these morons think a little be a bit more considerate and use the proper lights at the proper time ,
Not only that twice last night ive had a car come towards me with fog lights adjusted to see further up the road blinding on coming traffic in the process
why cant these morons think a little be a bit more considerate and use the proper lights at the proper time , Not only that twice last night ive had a car come towards me with fog lights adjusted to see further up the road blinding on coming traffic in the process
Seconded - Driving lights are only legal with full beam.
Sidelights make a lot of sense as the daylight starts to fade. As the ambient light diminishes, it gets harder for the human eye to judge distance accurately. Way before its dark enough to need dipped headlights to see your way, sidelights give other drivers' eyes something to get a distance fix on.
Sidelights make a lot of sense as the daylight starts to fade. As the ambient light diminishes, it gets harder for the human eye to judge distance accurately. Way before its dark enough to need dipped headlights to see your way, sidelights give other drivers' eyes something to get a distance fix on.
quote:
Sidelights make a lot of sense as the daylight starts to fade. As the ambient light diminishes, it gets harder for the human eye to judge distance accurately. Way before its dark enough to need dipped headlights to see your way, sidelights give other drivers' eyes something to get a distance fix on.
I disagree - if having lights on at all makes sense, why not dipped headlights? Otherwise, when do you make the judgement to switch up from sidelights to dipped headlights?
Maybe we need to have a dimmer switch on the headlights, and adjust the brightness continuously as it gets darker... actually, with a light sensor, doing that automatically might not be a bad idea.
quote:
I disagree - if having lights on at all makes sense, why not dipped headlights? Otherwise, when do you make the judgement to switch up from sidelights to dipped headlights?
Fair enough - your call. Personally, when the light starts going, on come my sidelights. When it gets dark enough that having dipped headlights on would make a difference, on they go!
{edit} Also, the dipped headlights on my car are very bright (yes, they are aimed correctly
) and consequently quite annoying to others unless they're really needed. quote:
Maybe we need to have a dimmer switch on the headlights, and adjust the brightness continuously as it gets darker... actually, with a light sensor, doing that automatically might not be a bad idea.
S-Type Jag, for example?
>> Edited by pdv6 on Tuesday 10th September 09:46
quote:
Also, the dipped headlights on my car are very bright (yes, they are aimed correctly ) and consequently quite annoying to others unless they're really needed.
They're not those
xenon gas discharge jobs are they? Shit idea they are - they're dazzling even on correctly adjusted dipped beam! They should only be fittd in driving lamps i.e. only come on with full beam, with regular non-dazzling dipped beam 
Side lights or to give them the correct name POSITION LAMPS are purely and simply a back up for your main lights. Should you have a bulb blow at the front with no side light, particularly on the offside, the vehicle would take on the appearence of a motocycle on dark stretches of unlit road.
The "my dipped beam is too bright" argument doesn't hold water. They get magically dimmer as its gets dark then? The opposite of most peoples then, as the relative intensity increases as the ambient lighting decreases.
It doesn't cost anything to put the dipped beam on, so if you aware of reduced visibility use the dipped beam.
It doesn't cost anything to put the dipped beam on, so if you aware of reduced visibility use the dipped beam.
At the risk of re-starting the "what does a flash of the headlights mean?" thread...
How many of us on PH (a) have cars set up with relatively stiff suspesnsion and (b) drive on UK be-potholed roads?
Bearing these answers in mind, how many times have you had a numpty pull out in front of you "'cos you flashed me out", when in fact all that happened was that you had your dipped headlights on, it wasn't fully dark and you ran over a pothole?
How many of us on PH (a) have cars set up with relatively stiff suspesnsion and (b) drive on UK be-potholed roads?
Bearing these answers in mind, how many times have you had a numpty pull out in front of you "'cos you flashed me out", when in fact all that happened was that you had your dipped headlights on, it wasn't fully dark and you ran over a pothole?
quote:
I was under the impression (from my driving instructor) that driving with just side lights on is illegal.
Does madcop's comment support this?quote:
POSITION LAMPS are purely and simply a back up for your main lights.
So if you have lights on at all they must be your main lights.
Watch out all Saab & Volvo owners!
quote:
quote:
I was under the impression (from my driving instructor) that driving with just side lights on is illegal.
Does madcop's comment support this?quote:
POSITION LAMPS are purely and simply a back up for your main lights.
So if you have lights on at all they must be your main lights.
Watch out all Saab & Volvo owners!
My instructor's car was a Volvo and he made me drive all the time with the main lights on.
In hindsight methinks he was just an ar$e
>> Edited by FunkyGibbon on Tuesday 10th September 12:47
Kevinday.... the law is the same over here too, and i know many a boyacer that has been pulled up on it, suprisingly I've never been done for it in the TR7, i think it's because of having pop-ups and that not many cops have seen a car like mine over here so they may even BE the headlights (god knows they throw out as much light being halogens and the headlights are crappy old sealed beams)
The one cop that did comment on it I told that the driving lights are my dip-beams and the popups only come up on main beam which was an explanation he was quite happy to accept (although I swear I heard him mutter somehng like "bloody weird british cars" under his breath") It makes common sense really. I only installed the driving lights after I had just about had my nose cut off for the third time in as many days.... i wanted to make my car more visible in anything less than perfect conditions (with everyone driving landcruisers and hiluxs over here you get overlooked in a sportscar) and I reckon it's just common sense to do so
The one cop that did comment on it I told that the driving lights are my dip-beams and the popups only come up on main beam which was an explanation he was quite happy to accept (although I swear I heard him mutter somehng like "bloody weird british cars" under his breath") It makes common sense really. I only installed the driving lights after I had just about had my nose cut off for the third time in as many days.... i wanted to make my car more visible in anything less than perfect conditions (with everyone driving landcruisers and hiluxs over here you get overlooked in a sportscar) and I reckon it's just common sense to do so
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