Y U No Want Me To See You????

[LillFilly]

Please,

When in the middle of Winter Storm Maximus, on an 8-lane highway, with limited visibility, DO YOU NOT HAVE YOUR GORRAM HEADLIGHTS ON!!!??!! Yes, you, you and you in the silver, grey and white vehicles (times approx. 30). Do you have a death wish?

That is all.

[otakuneko]

Because "oh, it's day time, and I only need headlights at night."

[Jay 2K Winger]

So very much this. It irritates the hell out of me, especially since the law in Virginia is that, if your wipers are on, so must your headlights, regardless of the level of daylight.

The fact that so many cars on the road are silver and white these days just makes it harder to see them in the spray sometimes.

TURN THE FRACKING LIGHTS ON.

[MadMike]

I'm guessing you're not that far away from where I live. On my way to and from work, I saw quite a few idiots without their lights on.

[eltf177]

So very much this. It irritates the hell out of me, especially since the law in Virginia is that, if your wipers are on, so must your headlights, regardless of the level of daylight.

I hear you, my estimate is that about half the cars I saw yesterday had either no lights or pratically useless parking lights.

It would be nice if the cops would do something but I swear about a third of them don't have their lights on either!

[taxguykarl]

Sorry I couldn't resist: Not Being Seen

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Because "oh, it's day time, and I only need headlights at night."

Or when it IS nighttime and they have the blasted things on, they're only set to HIGH.

See too much of this crap going to work before daybreak . . . seriously folks, highbeams are for driving on the interstate outside of town or a windy rural road - not for inside the city limits where you have streetlights.

[EricKei]

I once had an oncoming car (who was, fortunately, on the other side of a neutral ground median) with no lights on, in a silver car, during a downpour so bad that I'm not sure the wipers really made a difference. I literally could not see him until he was close enough for me to have been able to hear his engine through the (shut) windows.

The "lights must be on if you are even considering wipers" is true in many states, mine included.

DGC - That probably does vary by state, but those I've lived in forbid high beams if anyone is just ahead of you, or coming from the other direction...and they're forbidden no matter what within city limits.

[tSubh Dearg]

In a lot of European countries it is illegal to drive without lights on because it improves visibility of the car so much, even in bright sunshine. It's not yet law here in Ireland but it is advised to have them on all the time. I do keep them on myself but I meet so many with them off at 4:30 pm in midwinter (twilight time) when it is pouring rain & they are invisible!

[vikingchyk]

Or when it IS nighttime and they have the blasted things on, they're only set to HIGH.

See too much of this crap going to work before daybreak . . . seriously folks, highbeams are for driving on the interstate outside of town or a windy rural road - not for inside the city limits where you have streetlights.

One evening, I was driving somewhere, in town, in a real pea soup fog. I was creeping along, given that the visibility was about 10 feet in front of me, when I overtake another car, creeping even slower. He's in the right lane, I'm in the left. I can barely see his taillights, but I see this unholy ball of light in front of him. Yeah, he had his high beams on. In the fog.

So right when my front bumper gets even with his rear bumper, he realized I was going to pass him, and maybe he should knock off the ass hattery. He flicked back down to regular headlights, and without the glare, I could see... the light rack on top of the car. It was a county cop!!

I swear, I was trying to figure out how to pull his ass over and chew him out. As it was, I crept past him and counted myself lucky he didn't pull me over for driving too fast for conditions. Hey, I was at the right speed, when my retinas weren't being burned out by your stupidity.

[KatherineB]

I swear, I was trying to figure out how to pull his ass over and chew him out. As it was, I crept past him and counted myself lucky he didn't pull me over for driving too fast for conditions. Hey, I was at the right speed, when my retinas weren't being burned out by your stupidity.

I tend to like thinking the best of the police, so could it have been possible that he was looking for someone/something in the area? A missing child or a missing pet or something?

[EricKei]

I imagine VC was referring to the fact that having your bright lights on when it's foggy actually makes it HARDER to see clearly, unless they're they type that are designed to "cut through" it (such as certain halogens).

[otakuneko]

Speaking of cops, I brake-checked one* once.

He quit tailgating me after that.

*I didn't know he was a cop til he passed me.

[Deserted]

I never brake check anyone (any more). Big Green Cab Co's official policy: if they're tailgating you (or you have any other safety-type concerns), get the out of their way and let them pass. Makes total sense to me... and it beats the hell out of the passive-aggressive thing I've seen lots of people (including my own mother) do: foot off the gas until they go around you. (That's a shortcut to road rage if I've ever seen one.)

[Chromatix]

I imagine VC was referring to the fact that having your bright lights on when it's foggy actually makes it HARDER to see clearly, unless they're they type that are designed to "cut through" it (such as certain halogens).

The best lights to use in fog are the ones mounted BELOW the bumper, as close to the road surface as practical. That is where the fog is thinnest, so they have more chance of lighting up objects ahead rather than reflecting off the fog itself.

That is why cars so fitted have a "fog light" switch which is separate from the main headlight switch.