Night Driving
Posted: Wed 12 December, 2007 Filed under: Cynicism, Driving, Thoughts, Travel, Weirdness 6 Comments »As the nights have drawn in, I’ve found myself repeatedly thinking about driving standards. In particular, with regard to the way people now use their headlights.
When I was younger, and also when I was taking (lots of) driving lessons, I always thought that before you used full (or even dipped) headlights, you first used sidelights only – kind of a “for being seen, not for seeing by” thing. They got used ’til you needed to turn on the headlights/dipped headlights in order to see.
Now though it seems like the majority of people just switch straight to full headlights, without ever really using the sidelights at all. The Highway Code suggests that it should still be done with the sidelights first, then headlights – but it just doesn’t seem to be the done thing any more.
Now when did that start happening Or is it just something I hadn’t noticed until recently?
Clearly I am no help at all since I don’t even know what “dipped” headlights are.
A lot of modern cars have auto-lights, they tend to go from off to on, with no sidelight option.
The Highway Code also states “use dipped headlights, or dim-dip if fitted, at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather, to ensure that you can be seen”. Which is what most people do these days.
It’s not even consistent amongst itself!
I don’t have a great deal of faith in sidelights; unless it’s dark they don’t do much to increase the visibility of a vehicle, and if it is dark they certainly don’t do enough to increase the visibility of everything else. I sometimes have them on of a dull daytime but it’s mainly to turn on the tail-lights.
I seem to remember Matt advocating having dipped headlights on all the time, which I thought was a little excessive.
My main bugbear while we’re talking driving standards is fog lights…
Don’t even get me started on those fuckers (again), QE…
Ah! Something I now know the answer to, which I didn’t a few weeks ago. Mi1dred supplied it.
Side lights were originally invented because car batteries were only 6V and so insufficent to power everything needed on a vehicle.
It is now illegal to drive on sidelights and many manufacturers are doing away with them.
I’m glad I’m not the only one to decry the use of fog lights in weather other than fog. I just wish the police would enforce the law on them properly (ie at all). “They’re not christmas lights!” I say to people.
Ah… damn… just need to qualify my previous statement with, “in conditions where lights are necessary,”