Just returned home from a very wet weekend walking with friends in the Lake District.
After dropping a friend at Penrith rail station, a 35 mile trip down the M6 through the Shap fells saw almost 50% of cars either on side lights only or no lights whatsoever. All this in driving rain, combined with heavy spray and copious amounts of standing water.As V.Meldrew would say ''I don't believe it''.
The standard of some driving, and kamikaze speeds, was truly awesome.Just occasionally, the 4wd traction is very reassuring, and I was glad to leave the M6!
How on earth can we educate some of these people to make allowances when driving in these conditions?
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I'm not advocating driving badly in these conditions, how many actual incidents did you see? Maybe you were overestimating how bad the conditions were, or have lower (and maybe more realistic) degree of confidence?
This is just an alternative viewpoint, and while it doesn't necessarily fully reflect my own, I was surprised today at how many times I came across bunches of VERY slow traffic just because of a little (well, OK, quite a lot of) rain. My thought at the time was that people with such little confidence should have stayed in, or at least stayed off the motorway!
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I think perhaps a compromise between these two stated views is the correct way.
In heavy rain, yes headlights should be used, and people should slow down, and leave bigger gaps.
But it's also true that you get people who drive in a manner which betrays an extreme lack of confidence, and as you say, if you aren't confident enough to drive in certain circumstances, then you shouldn't. That hesitancy or lack of awareness could cause a crash.
Of course, there are those on our roads who are very much overcinfident too...
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I think perhaps a compromise between these two stated views is the correct way.
As ever,...
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I got back from the Lakes earlier, having left at 2.30 after a superb morning! :o)
Playing devil's advocate, I would like to plead in favour of side lights on motorways in heavy rain. I believe most drivers go for dip-beam with the intention of being seen better, rather than seeing. My opinion is that on a motorway, the cars which may be a danger are all travelling in the same direction (except in contraflow of course), so the need to be seen by oncoming traffic is much less, and the irritation caused to drivers in front by headlamps is, if anything, greater. I don't think they help much to see cars in front - their own rear lamps (perhaps fogs) should do that. Overtaking adds another dimension - but that is where the lunacy creeps in, very often.
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If someone's coming up behind me in the rain and spray, I'd rather they had headlights on so that I can see them before I change lanes.
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Totally agree SR if there's rain on the side windows or door mirrors its much easier to see traffic approaching from behind with headlights on.
I do sometimes use the level adjustment on the headlights to reduce gleare to traffic in front. Lowering the headlights further than I would lower them at night.
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I've very nearly pulled out in front of a motorway sidelight merchant. Heavy rain, not fully light IMHO, and he had sidelights that were
a) dim
b) incorperated into the headlights, so light was dispersed, even before leaving the car.
(It was the last second "safety glance" that stopped me).
Seperate unit sidelights were enough under those conditions.
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Why motorcycling in rain (no wipers on visor) it's far easier to see other vehicles if they have dipped headlights on.
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IMHO, it seems that there are many drivers who use headlights only when they need them to see where they are going - they seem oblivious to the saying "See and be seen".
If headlights are properly adjusted, I don't see how anyone can argue against their use in heavy rain. If you take that argument to the logical extension, you are also advocating the use of sidelights only at night time when the difference between the light intensity of the headlight and the ambient light is much greater and, therefore, more "annoying".
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Got a bit of stutter on the enter key Myles?? Not any more, I got busy with the \"Delete\" button and removed the other two identical posts. ND
IMHO this comes down to switching off auto-pilot and actually thinking - if you\'re driving when vis is bad, you are very aware that cars with lights are seen from further away, effectively giving you more reaction time.
To me and hopefully all other BR\'s, this means time to turn on your lights - other folk are still driving on auto-pilot, some with their noses virtually touching the windscreen (we\'ve all seen them and I\'d love someone to tell me how this helps).
Same applies to fog-lamps left on for the entire journey just because a wisp of mist was seen for a nano-second at the beginning of the journey (which was probably their exhaust as they reversed out of the garage).
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The law tells us to use dipped headlights if the visibility is reduced. Heavy rain would certainly do that.
As to how do to get drivers to use their lights, the simple answer is more policing with fines for those that break the law, both those who do not use the correct lights at the appropriate time, and those that insist on using their lights improperly, such as fog lights when there is no fog.
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Time for a "incorrect lighting camera"?
After all, some insist on calling them s a f e t y cameras!
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Ok. Try this for an idiot.
M1 Yorkshire. Dark clouds. Pouring rain. Navy coloured car behind sits behind me in the rain - with no lights - in the blind spot over my right shoulder. Hard to see through the spray even with the blind-spot mirror.Stays there for 3 miles while I hold a steady speed overtaking lorries.
The point is, some drivers have no road sense at all.
As to lighting :in most of Europe, headlights are compulsory in poor visibility, so no real argument for sidelights.
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