But it isn't that simple. We don't always have snowy, icy weather in Britain in winter. That is what makes planning for it and dealing with it when it does happen so complicated. It is all very well for my Austrian boyfriend to rant about the general rubbishness of Britain in dealing with snow - but in Austria they know they're going to get snow and therefore the laws reflect that. Before the past two winters we had a long string of relatively mild winters where there was snow on the ground for 24 hours and that was it.
Grrrr! Muppet drivers in snow!
- Thread starter Globalti
- Start date
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But it isn't that simple. We don't always have snowy, icy weather in Britain in winter. That is what makes planning for it and dealing with it when it does happen so complicated. It is all very well for my Austrian boyfriend to rant about the general rubbishness of Britain in dealing with snow - but in Austria they know they're going to get snow and therefore the laws reflect that. Before the past two winters we had a long string of relatively mild winters where there was snow on the ground for 24 hours and that was it.
Congratulations both, not only missing the point (illegal or not, even under street lights, side lights are useless) but also apparently showing that you don't realise some roads are without street lighting.
Congratulations both, not only missing the point (illegal or not, even under street lights, side lights are useless) but also apparently showing that you don't realise some roads are without street lighting.
I understood the point perfectly well, I was merely pointing out that your quote about it being illegal to use sidelights only at night was not correct in general. That is why said "not illegal on roads that has LIT STREET LIGHTING". Nowhere in that statement is the implication that all roads are street lit.
Congratulations both, not only missing the point (illegal or not, even under street lights, side lights are useless) but also apparently showing that you don't realise some roads are without street lighting.
Under street lights you should be able to see an unlit car, just as you should be able to see an unlit pedestrian crossing the road or an unlit speed hump or an unlit pothole or an unlit sharp bend in the road. That might make sidelights "useless", but if you hit someone in car showing only sidelights (which in the said circumstances is entirely legal) I'd have to say you're the bigger twonk than they are
Rhythm Thief
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ross on Wye
It may well be legal to use sidelights in streetlit areas, but it's pretty stupid. Why would anyone turn their headlights off every time they enter a town? It's not like it saves electricity or anything.
I would imagine that is a hangover from a time when cars had dynamos rather than altenators - low revs + bright lights + low power dynamo charging system can very easily end up with a flat battery.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Car headlights don't need electricity to run?
Rhythm Thief
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ross on Wye
Yes, but it comes from the alternator, which is spinning anyway. It's hardly like turning your car headlights off means that your bills go down.
55W/headlight means that either you're losing 110W in heat whenever you've not got them on, or that it's costing you 110W in extra petrol whenever you have. I agree it's a minor thing compared to the energy cost of getting a ton of steel and plastic down the road for three miles, and that for anyone who doesn't have to generate the power themseves by pedalling they might as well burn the extra fossils rather than run the risk of getting hit by incompetents - but in a 30mph area when I say "incompetent" I'm really not hyperbolating. How many cyclists have 100W of lighting on their bike?
Piemaster
Guru
- Location
- UK City of Culture
I'm sure there'll be someone along shortly singing the praises of their DealExtreme lights
Howvever I think it would be fairer to make a comparison with a motorcycle as obviously they only have one headlight as well.
Table on this page does show that some of the claimed 900 lumen output lights aren't that far away from motorcycle light outputs.
Rhythm Thief
Legendary Member
- Location
- Ross on Wye
Even if it does save energy (and if it does it's a miniscule amount), it still makes your car less visible than it could otherwise be. This is A Bad Thing, and not worth saving 110 watts of heat energy (whatever that means) for.
