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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

full beam headlights are just for when there is no traffic coming the other way, right?

88 replies

BellaBearisWideAwake · 06/12/2010 21:14

So many drivers seem to be using their full beam headlights at the moment, and I keep getting blinded by oncoming traffic!

I wonder if they think they are foglights?

I wish there was some recognised signal for 'DIP YOUR HEADLIGHTS!!!!!!'

Grr.

OP posts:
Chil1234 · 07/12/2010 07:23

There was a cartoon public information film in the seventies called 'Don't Dazzle! Dip!' They should re-run it. And, while they're at it, one along the lines of 'Don't drive on side-lights! No-one can see you coming!' (Personal aaaaarrrrgggh)

In the meantime, if you get dazzled... dazzle them back.

SkiingGardeningTwinklyBauble · 07/12/2010 07:53

Xenon lights are fantastic if you're the one in the drivers seat. They should auto level so they don't dazzle other people, maybe that's not working as well as it should.

SpotSplatterSplash · 07/12/2010 08:37

They have to do road safety adverts to show people how to drive around roundabouts correctly here.

I would say lights are pretty much at the bottom of RSA's list of priority ads.

KaraStarbuckThrace · 07/12/2010 08:52

You should use dipped beams between dusk and dawn. Full beam should only be used in a very dark areas where there is no oncoming traffic - country roads, for example.

Front foglights should only be used in very thick fog - no they are not there to make you look cool Hmm

Rear fogs should only be used in thick fog and also when there is lots of spray on the road as well - as spray can obscure you rear lights.

You also need to ensure that if you are carrying a heavy load that you adjust the dip on your headlights downwards, as the weight in the back of the car will raise the front of the car. Badly adjusted headlights can also dazzle other drivers.

I hate xenon lights - the drivers who get them are selfish - "fuck blinding everyone else, as long as I can see" Angry

GrimmaTheNome · 07/12/2010 08:56

Drivers should know this stuff, its in the Highway Code

Note especially:
114
You MUST NOT

?use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders
?use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users

NotFromConcentrate · 07/12/2010 09:50

kara some cars come with these lights as standard, so we're not all selfish and inconsiderate!

KaraStarbuckThrace · 07/12/2010 12:29

I still reserve the right to hate them!!

Original poster
BellaBearisWideAwake · 07/12/2010 13:06

Well now I have the satisfaction of knowing I'm right, ..... but I'll still get dazzled

OP posts:
AlpinePony · 07/12/2010 13:07

Don't ever drive in Belgium. Whilst indicators are an optional feature to be added to a car, fog lights can and will be used 365 days a year.

Ariesgirl · 07/12/2010 13:08

Loads of people have no idea how to drive at night. It makes me very impatient when I hear people (usually women sadly) say "Ooh, I HATE driving at night" as though it's something incredibly scary and difficult.

These blue headlights are doing my head in. Are they halogen or something?

Ariesgirl · 07/12/2010 13:09

Having said that, when I got my first car at 18, I drove round for ages with the foglight on, thinking it was the rear windscreen heater.

KnittingisbetterthanTherapy · 07/12/2010 13:12

"Xenon lights are fantastic if you're the one in the drivers seat"

That's the problem though, skiing, they're horrendous for everyone else. I'm amazed that they allowed to be fitted as standard in any car. When I first saw them I thought they were some tossy boy racer, souped up car crap that were probably border-line illegal, but to find out they're legit is Shock.

They're bloody dangerous!

Normal headlights are perfectly adequate for night time driving - I've never had a problem driving at night. So there is no need to bring in xenon lights - solving a problem that isn't there IMO.

MissAnneElk · 07/12/2010 13:19

Ariesgirl, I don't like driving at night. Not because I'm stupid or incompetent, but because there are idiots around who dazzle me with their lights. I hear some of them think their fog light switch is their windscreen heater. Wink

PaisleyLeaf · 07/12/2010 13:19

Xenon headlights - that's what they are!
Yes these have been annoying me for ages. I'm wondering why they never turn down their full beam, then realise it's their normal lights. They're a menace!

Also, I do find that a lot of drivers wait until they see the whites of your eyes now before they turn their full beam off.

Ariesgirl · 07/12/2010 13:35

Touché AnneElk, touché!

pawsnclaws · 07/12/2010 13:40

Oh yes, there's a car that often seems to be behind me leaving school - an Audi Q7 - with those horrendously bright white lights (in a kind of strip below the normal headlights).

Trouble is, the driver is usually not in sight when I turn out of the gates but within 30 seconds has zoomed up to a few inches from the back of my car. Back off, lady!

Teaandchristmascakeplease · 07/12/2010 15:01

LOL GGrimmaTheNome I was about to quote the Highway code too.

226

You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236)

236

You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226) as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves.

I also dislike those birght bulbs in Audi's and the like Angry

I rarely ever have my fog lights on unless visibility is horrendous which isn't often in my neck of the woods in Herts tbh. But I do drive with my dipped headlights on a fair amount.

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 07/12/2010 15:54

It's very easy to confuse which lights are which. Ignoring foglights, a car has 3 'levels' of lights - side lights, headlights and full or high beam headlights.

Volvos are fitted to always have headlights on (the law in Sweden I think) and I think it's a good idea - the number of people i see driving with no lights on at all at dusk or in poor visibility (including bright sunshine - I class that as poor visibility and headlights help if you can't see properly due to sun dazzle)!

However full beam headlights should only ever be used when you are alone and you need to see ahead eg dark country lane, or for flashing people. This is what blinds people and these lights should not be on all the time.

Many 4x4s and newer cars have blue xenon lights, which are brilliant for the driver but can dazzle oncoming cars if they are not correctly positioned. They are standard headlights so should be used as normal, but the position of beam is often overlooked in a service and it's up to the owner to ask about it.

Front and rear fogs are another ball game altogether and the number of boy wankers racers i see driving around with front fogs on a clear sunny day......the police can give you 3 points for that (but rarely do).

MrsArchchancellorRidcully · 07/12/2010 15:56

I should add I rarely use rear fogs unless, well, foggy!
In very bad rain with lots of spray I will put my front fogs on as well as headlight to aid visability (I do alot of motorway miles)

bebeinamanger · 07/12/2010 16:12

I have been complaing to my DH about those Xenon lights for ages. They are too bright & really dazzle you when you are driving along a dark country road & have them coming towards you!

I always flash people with main beams left on, it's dangerous. Seems to be that people just put them on and leave them on. Similarly people putting fog lights on when it's not foggy really annoys me. It doesn't make you look cool, it makes you look like an inconciderate twat!! Angry

We have had really bad freezing fog here for 3 days now & it amazes me the number of people who have not only been driving without foglights on, but no lights at all!

Going back to the OP, I don't use my lights when there is anything in front of me (this includes cars I'm following & oncoming ones) it is just as dazzling to get full beams reflected in your mirrors. YANBU.

mawbroon · 07/12/2010 16:56

I seem to remember reading somewhere that your lights should also not be on full beam unless you are doing at least 50mph. Not sure of the reasoning, but there is prob a sensible reason for it.

Abr1de · 07/12/2010 17:04

I am often dazzled by the lights on four-by-fours. Why isn't aren't beam heights and angles tested at MOTs.

sazm · 07/12/2010 17:09

the height/angle of your headlights is tested at an MOT.

DancingThroughLife · 07/12/2010 17:12

Why do people have their main beam on on the motorway? Confused

It's not like we're expecting any sudden dips or corners. Or am I on my own there?

And if you do have to have your main beam on, I might be 6 lanes of traffic away, but it's still blardy bright so flashing me back isn't really the point.

Pixel · 07/12/2010 19:26

I don't like driving at night because of all the glare (not because I'm female!), it can be very hard to see the road at times so I avoid it if poss. I was wondering why I've been finding it much more of a problem lately but from reading this it could be because of new kinds of headlights. I've spoken to my optician and asked about anti-glare coating on my glasses and he said I've already got it, so that's helpful.Xmas Hmm.
It's a shame really because I used to quite enjoy driving at night when the roads were lovely and empty.