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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on May 3, 2017 7:31:04 GMT
There's a lot of people who seem to forget that those markings as you enter a roundabout are Give Way markings. As are the ones at the bottom of slip roads! Once again, today I had no less than 3 different people virtually stopping on a 50mph-limited road to let me out of a slip road, only one of which (a Transit driver, no less!) took heed of my gesture waving him on. Perhaps more modern autobox designs react a bit quicker to kickdown than my car, especially when it's cold, but mine simply does not want to give its best in that situation in that state. One of these days someone is going to be badly hurt as a result of this sort of fuckwittery, and I know I'll feel like shit even though it won't be my fault . . . . This happened to me last night - I couldn't believe it. I was waiting on the slip road exiting the garage on the A19 with 2 very busy lanes of traffic coming from my right - it's one of those situations where you see the gap approaching and boot it as the last car passes you and you get up to speed as quick as possible. Instead this well meaning bloke in a golf decided to stop on the inside lane of the dual carriageway and let me out, flashing his lights as he did so. I can only imagine the concertina of brake lights behind him as everyone suddenly had to brake. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 3, 2017 8:23:01 GMT
IMHO the sooner we ban automatic lights, the better Don't blame the tools - it's the tool behind the wheel who's at fault - they only need to turn the dial two or three notches and if that's beyond them, they shouldn't be allowed on the road. Indeed. I drove our Captur to Bath and back and the auto lights were not coming on at the point I felt they should do so I did the old fashioned thing of "turning the switch". Many didn't. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 3, 2017 8:27:08 GMT
Side-lights are the work of the devil and should be banned forthwith!  Seriously, I see no earthly reason for side-lights, never did. Herself uses hers a lot, despite my admonitions to the contrary, which on a Td5 look like stuttering candles from any sort of distance at all! I use side lights a lot. Just like DRL's what catches your forward vision the most when driving against oncoming traffic...it's cars with DRL's on, and that's my justification why I use side lights. They aren't bright but you have to admit that if a line of cars was travelling towards you you would notice the car with it's side lights on first. Just like a cyclist with static or flashing rear lights...which one do you notice first?...the flashing set of lights. If your'e better seen then your'e less likely to have some twat run into you I disagree. Sidelights, at a measly 5w, are utterly pointless. They should be viewed as parking lights only and nothing more. Other drivers will see you far more effectively with headlights. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 3, 2017 8:28:42 GMT
A good driver will always turn on their sidelights at dusk and then switch to full dipped beam when it gets dark. Despite their brightness they do act as a better visual aid than no lights at all, certainty on cloudy low light evenings. A persons periphoral vision is good enough to make out a vehicle driving with side lights on better than one without. When it starts to get low light the autolights on my Mondeo do switch on to sidelights for period then dipped beam when necessary. Running with just sidelights at the appropriate time is safer than running with non at all. That is, with respect, bollocks. It is a vastly outdated piece of advice. |
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Post by Martin on May 3, 2017 8:40:01 GMT
If I switch to sidelights, all it does is dim the DRLs and put the rear lights on, so is pointless.
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 8:42:52 GMT
I am still of the opinion that autolights are not fit for purpose. They are supposed to be automatic, ie need no intervention from the driver. In my opinion most autolights need their thresholds adjusting so that they are on when it is "less dark". I think they should also be on when the wipers are on.
Not rocket science surely?
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2017 8:45:55 GMT
The bit that got my pip is they were entirely in the wrong - no harm done but don't then reflect your own failing on somebody else. 'Tard. It's the modern way, dontcha know... |
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Post by michael on May 3, 2017 9:35:55 GMT
One of the (many) Volvo ergonomic flaws on the Volvo is having no visual tell to say what the lights are doing when they're set to auto.
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Post by Martin on May 3, 2017 9:43:58 GMT
The dashboard and sat nav lighting is independant of the headlights, which I really like. For example, if it rains, the lights come on but everything else stays in Day mode. In the evening, the lights come on quite a bit before it goes into night mode.
It's clear when dipped beam is on, there is a light on the dashboard, but that's the same for every car I've had with auto lights.
When it's foggy, the lights don't always come on, but they are pretty sensitive so it's rare, but you know and it's easy to switch them on manually.... interestingly, if you switch the fog lights on, the headlight beam is lowered to give you less glare and better visibility.
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Post by johnc on May 3, 2017 9:46:28 GMT
In the BMW the instrument lights come on when the auto lights turn themselves on, so it's quite easy to tell if you have lights on or not. The instrument lights only illuminate when lights, other than DRL's, are on. IMHO that's the way all cars should be so that it is a clear indication that there are no lights on - it might prevent some of the plonkers who believe that their bright DRL's are good enough without realising that the back of their car is in total darkness. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on May 3, 2017 9:51:29 GMT
In the BMW the instrument lights come on when the auto lights turn themselves on, so it's quite easy to tell if you have lights on or not. The instrument lights only illuminate when lights, other than DRL's, are on. IMHO that's the way all cars should be so that it is a clear indication that there are no lights on - it might prevent some of the plonkers who believe that their bright DRL's are good enough without realising that the back of their car is in total darkness. I've no idea why the rear lights just don't come on when the DRLs are on - it would save a lot of confusion. |
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Post by Martin on May 3, 2017 10:03:06 GMT
They used to, that's what happens on my Dad's 2011 5 Series. Maybe it's because the view was it made it harder to see brake lights?
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Post by Nelson on May 3, 2017 11:33:17 GMT
I use side lights a lot. Just like DRL's what catches your forward vision the most when driving against oncoming traffic...it's cars with DRL's on, and that's my justification why I use side lights. They aren't bright but you have to admit that if a line of cars was travelling towards you you would notice the car with it's side lights on first. Just like a cyclist with static or flashing rear lights...which one do you notice first?...the flashing set of lights. If your'e better seen then your'e less likely to have some twat run into you I disagree. Sidelights, at a measly 5w, are utterly pointless. They should be viewed as parking lights only and nothing more. Â Other drivers will see you far more effectively with headlights. I agree but in low light conditions or light drizzle a scenario that doesn't call for full headlamps having sidelights on is much better than non at all. Your visibility to other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians is increased, ok albeit marginally, but they do serve a purpose when driving (away from their use as parking lights). A good driver will know the right time to then put on the main headlamps. Read the AA's advise et al, they advise the use of sidelights only in certain conditions as despite their low power and therefore can't be considered as bulbs that illuminate your way ahead they do increase visibility of your vehicle to others. No offence taken that is just my opinion and I'm jolly well sticking to it and how i use my sidelights. Edit: i am of course referring to older non-drl equipped cars. I've seen too many drivers rely on just drl's of an evening forgetting that their rear lights don't illuminate too so at least having sidelights on does illuminate the rear lights too making you more visible all round |
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Post by Martin on May 3, 2017 11:37:24 GMT
Just remembered that my Passat had a 'High Speed Mode' for the headlights, which meant that they came on when you exceeded 130km/h. Not quite the giveaway of a pop up spoiler, but same idea.
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Post by michael on May 3, 2017 12:01:22 GMT
I can't think of a single reason where it would be preferable to have side lights on over a dipped beam.
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 3, 2017 12:19:18 GMT
One of the (many) Volvo ergonomic flaws on the Volvo is having no visual tell to say what the lights are doing when they're set to auto. Volvo's original DRL/lights on all the time idea was perfectly good. Then it was "ruined" by dim dip and again by the apparent need for LED DRLs and auto lights. Mine doesn't have LED DRLs and makes do with the lights on all the time setting, which is just fine and doesn't need to be fiddled with. Ever. |
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 3, 2017 12:22:26 GMT
I can't think of a single reason where it would be preferable to have side lights on over a dipped beam. Indeed. A pointless setting. I think it is the VW Crafter vans at work that don't even have a sidelight setting on the switch. Headlights are on or off. Parking lights are by the indicator stalk. This is how it should be. |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 15:32:26 GMT
Ditto on sidelights a useless setting I never use.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 15:45:52 GMT
City driving - fuck me it's hateful...
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Post by Alex on May 5, 2017 21:33:41 GMT
City driving - fuck me it's hateful... I had to drive in Liverpool this week, it was an awful experience. I saw my hotel and the car park entrance but couldn't get to it as the road leading to it was for buses and taxis only (nice if my sat nav knew that!) so go past and try to turn right at the next road. No buses and taxis only, you have to turn left. From seeing my hotel car park just yards away it took 45mins to get to the section of road the other side of it that I was permitted to drive on! 😡 |
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Post by LandieMark on May 5, 2017 21:35:48 GMT
Newcastle is getting like that with its "No Car Lanes" and cameras with tiny unlit signs.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 9:12:17 GMT
City driving - fuck me it's hateful... I had to drive in Liverpool this week, it was an awful experience. I saw my hotel and the car park entrance but couldn't get to it as the road leading to it was for buses and taxis only (nice if my sat nav knew that!) so go past and try to turn right at the next road. No buses and taxis only, you have to turn left. From seeing my hotel car park just yards away it took 45mins to get to the section of road the other side of it that I was permitted to drive on! 😡 There's a hotel in Nottingham that's exactly the same. Makes the piss boil... |
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Post by Alex on May 6, 2017 12:58:52 GMT
I had to drive in Liverpool this week, it was an awful experience. I saw my hotel and the car park entrance but couldn't get to it as the road leading to it was for buses and taxis only (nice if my sat nav knew that!) so go past and try to turn right at the next road. No buses and taxis only, you have to turn left. From seeing my hotel car park just yards away it took 45mins to get to the section of road the other side of it that I was permitted to drive on! 😡 There's a hotel in Nottingham that's exactly the same. Makes the piss boil... Is that the Premier inn opposite the University? I stayed there once and found I could see it but couldn't get there as the road was trams only for a short section! |
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2017 13:53:52 GMT
Yep. And the astoundingly noisy street sweepers start at some ungodly hour. Bastards.
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Post by ChrisM on May 6, 2017 19:09:44 GMT
Is that the Premier inn opposite the University? I stayed there once and found I could see it but couldn't get there as the road was trams only for a short section! That's where my elder daughter went to uni. You need local knowledge to find your way round areas like this. We usually stay at the Premier Inn by te next motorway junction up. It's walking distance from Phoenix Park tram stop ... anyway I didn't see who the villain was but this morning driving south on the M3, at the point where the A303 spears off to the left, a mutli-vehicle accident had just happened in the outside lane. There was already one Plod car there when I went past (delayed by just a few seconds) but at the front, it appeared that a VW Passat had been pushed into the central reservation's barrier, then the following few cars must have been travelling too close to stop and they'd alll piled into each other. Considering that the M3 is shut betweeen J2 and J3 all this weeek-end, and there wasn't that much traffic on it (just after 9am), having a multi-vehicle accident was quite an achievement |
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 9:20:46 GMT
Psychotic taxi driver for our brief ride home on Friday. Doing 70 plus in a 40, and looking briefly left when he actually exited junctions. I was sufficiently she'll-shocked that I didn't say anything. Did the only thing a Briton can do though - didn't tip the fucker!
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Post by Andy C on May 7, 2017 10:59:31 GMT
^ I had an uber driver like that a few weeks back .... in a Prius
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2017 16:18:30 GMT
There's definitely a subset of Prii driver who have points to prove!
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Post by ChrisM on May 7, 2017 20:45:34 GMT
^ I had an uber driver like that a few weeks back .... in a Prius I hope you weren't in Singapore at the time..... |
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Post by johnc on May 8, 2017 7:47:43 GMT
What is it about drivers of big 4x4's? Wanker in a GL this morning sitting in the outside lane of the 40mph dual carriageway I come along every morning. I was in the inside lane and he was about 4 cars lengths behind going at the same speed as me in very light traffic. The road changes to 30mph and he maintained his position as I slowed down for the reduced speed limit. There is a road to the left which can be a short cut for some routes and is really only used by locals. As we approached it, he accelerated past me, pulled in less than a car's length ahead, hit his brakes and indicated left. I had to hit my brakes before giving him a full blast on the horn as I pulled out past him. There was no-one behind me so why didn't he just pull in behind? He gave me a dirty look as I passed him and I apologise but he received a salute of sorts!
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