All Silver Car Drivers - have your lights on main beam

MrsMozart

MrsMozart

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Camrnout of the yard five mins ago.

Visibility of road to right is limited, so we have a mirror.

This morning I saw two cars and waited. Then pulled out. Nearly tboned. Silver car with just sidelights on. The whole lot blended into the snow and grey daylight.

Luckily we didn't connect.
 
I have a silver car and it infuriates me how many other silver car drivers don't put their lights on when it gets gloomy or when it rains. My lights go on when visibility is only slightly compromised because I don't want anyone hitting me!

Sadly there are quite a few idiots out there on the road :-(
 
I despair when I see how many drivers have no lights on on dingy or foggy mornings. I would rather have them on unnecessarily tbh at least I can be seen.
 
I wouldnt say put your main beam on- you will blind people!

Dipped beam for sure, but then in snow any colour of car should have this on. I drive around with even side lights on in bright day light! but thats coming from being told as a biker to always have your lights on.
 
I second this - as part of my job I do a lot of driving on motorways and I cannot believe the amount of people that don't use their lights when they should, silver car or not!

But yes, silver cars are a nightmare...
 
alainax said:
I wouldnt say put your main beam on- you will blind people!

Dipped beam for sure, but then in snow any colour of car should have this on. I drive around with even side lights on in bright day light! but thats coming from being told as a biker to always have your lights on.
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I think you are muddling Main Beam and Full beam?? Main beam v side lights - Full beam is when you could blind other drivers :cool:
 
Auto headlights have a lot to answer for. It is so easy to stop ever thinking about turning your lights on or off when the car does for you most of the time!
 
YasandCrystal said:
I think you are muddling Main Beam and Full beam?? Main beam v side lights - Full beam is when you could blind other drivers :cool:
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Nope!

Main beam and full beam are the same thing.

"High beam (main beam, driving beam, full beam) headlamps provide a bright, centre-weighted distribution of light with no particular control of light directed towards other road users' eyes. As such, they are only suitable for use when alone on the road, as the glare they produce will dazzle other drivers"

Dipped beam is the "normal" lights we put on at night when there are other road users or street lights -

"Low beam (dipped beam, passing beam, meeting beam) headlamps provide a distribution of light designed to provide adequate forward and lateral illumination with limits on light directed towards the eyes of other road users, to control glare. This beam is intended for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead"

Side lights dim lights (with small bulbs) which help other road users to see you are there.




I wonder if the OP meant dipped beam as opposed to Main/full/blinding beam ;)
 
alainax said:
Nope!

Main beam and full beam are the same thing.

"High beam (main beam, driving beam, full beam) headlamps provide a bright, centre-weighted distribution of light with no particular control of light directed towards other road users' eyes. As such, they are only suitable for use when alone on the road, as the glare they produce will dazzle other drivers"

Dipped beam is the "normal" lights we put on at night when there are other road users or street lights -

"Low beam (dipped beam, passing beam, meeting beam) headlamps provide a distribution of light designed to provide adequate forward and lateral illumination with limits on light directed towards the eyes of other road users, to control glare. This beam is intended for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead"

Side lights dim lights (with small bulbs) which help other road users to see you are there.




I wonder if the OP meant dipped beam as opposed to Main/full/blinding beam ;)
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I stand corrected :eek: Thanks. I have always referred to them as main beam - I supose headlights and sidelights would be better and more accurate :)
 
Headlights and sidelights is correct. Headlights can be either dipped or full/main.

Then there are fog lights and that is a whole other can of worms! :D
 
I just make it a standard practise that in terms of any questionable visibility I will put my dipped lights on, so early in the morning, gray days etc. Its one thing I think Volvo got really right with their cars and that is to pretty much always have some lights on.
 
Her sidelights were on. I don't know if her headlamps were half covered with snow or if her lights are just very weak, but they weren't easily visible :( The two cara that had gone in front of her had their lights on main/full and were easily seen in the road mirror (I didn't have to try and crane my neck round, I could see them easily). I did crane round after the first two cars, which I do after checking the road mirror, but could not see her silver car against the white/grey of the road and hedges. If she'd had the main/full lights on then the colour of her car would have been academic as if have seen the lights, or if it had been a darker coloured car with just sidelights on I'd have seen the darkness against the white/greys.
 
I have a bright yellow car - no probs in others seeing it !!

There are these fron lights...
sidelights which are the silly little ones
Dim dips which are dimmed dipped headlights
dipped headlights
main/full beam - the blinding ones
driving lamps which are set very low down
fog lights which are set higher and can blind

Thge one thing that is available on most vehicles these days is also the dip/main beam height setting control which many do not bother with and yet has the greatest effect of how high or low the lights are set


dim dips are one of the best ideas for daylight driving when the weather is a little bit bad and for most 30 limits at night
 
My dad's got a silver car, whenever I borrow it I spend ages hunting for it in a supermarket carpark.

Back to the original subject, it's not just murky conditions but I find that silver cars are always difficult to see. I prefer pillarbox red personally.
 
webble said:
I have my lights on all the time, a dark country lane or sunlight can also stop you being seen and the lights help. Its why a lot of cars are now being built with daylights
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This - though not a silver car driver. I used to have sidelights on the whole time as a Swedish friend drummed it into me, then my OH showed me how little my cars sidelights did. I now drive with full *sorry dipped :D* lights on all the time and noticeably more people are doing the same (may be newer cars). Saw a car without lights last night on the motorway... at 4.45 :eek: Getting flashed by people left, right and centre!
 
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo i'm picking up my new silver car tonight!!!!!!!!
I have never heard this. Have been driving a purple car for three years and 5 people have crashed into me in that time. Surely it cannot be worse than that.
 
Personally I think side lights are a waste of time as I can only think of one use for them and that's leaving car parked somewhere where someone might not see it - in which case don't park it there!
I think they breed false sense of security as the drive "thinks" they've got lights on so everyone can see them, but in reality they're far too dim to be of any use.
IMO it should be illegal to drive with side lights on - complete waste of time. I NEVER use my side lights, if it's dark enough to require lights then dipped headlights are the order of the day.
 
I always drive with my headlights on - in my current silver car, and in my previous blue car - I'd rather give myself an extra chance.

That said, be warned that headlights aren't infallible and can still become invisible to those driving with their eyes shut or their brains disengaged - I was t-boned by a car pulling out into me when I was riding a bright yellow scooter with the headlight on main beam, whilst wearing a flourescent, in fine weather. She 'didn't see me' then proceeded to shout at me whilst I sat rather shaken, bruised and vomiting from shock/concussion! I put her reaction down to shock too!
 
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