There is a junction similar to that on the M60 near Stockport. You come on to the M60 in 3rd lane. Terrible piece of motorway - i hate it and that is just in the car not with the caravan behind us!
Agree about the lack of use of indicators - especially on roundabouts. It drives me nuts...do these people think I can read minds? (It obviously goes without saying that BMWs and Audis don't have to use them - different rules apply apparently!)
Motorway police in Spain are very hot on pulling over drivers who don't signal when changing lane its an on the spot fine as is not having dipped headlights on when raining
Tail lights don't come on automatically when you put the headlights on dipped beam, sidelights do. Tail lights is the collective term for all the lights on the rear of a car. These consist of side lights, stop/brake lights, indicators/flashers/turn signals, fog lights(AKA rain lights by some), reversing lights and number plate lights.
The rear side lights (or if indeed you want to call them a tail light) is a 5 watt bulb, exactly the same as the one in the front.
If the front sidelights are insufficient to enable the car to be seen then so are the rears. Stating headlights must be used if it's raining because sidelights are unsufficient but then saying fog lights are too bright with their 21 watt bulb (half that of the headlight) is contradictory.
If I refer to rule 113 of the highway code:
113
You MUST
ensure all sidelights and rear
registration
plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise
use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified
use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced (see Rule 226)
Night (the hours of darkness) is defined as the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise).
[Laws RVLR regs 3, 24, & 25, (In Scotland - RTRA 1984 sect 82 (as
amended
by NRSWA, para 59 of sched 8))]
A road with street lights does not require the use of headlights. Thus the sidelights are NOT solely for parking.
And the referenced rule 226
226
You MUST use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).
You must use headlights when visibility is reduced less than 100 meters. You must switch fog lights off when visibility is greater than this.
Therefore if you MUST be using your headlights due to poor visibility; you CAN use fog lights.
The worst time (in my view) to use the motorways is the weekend. During the week the motorway is full of people who possibly drive on business and they get on with it, use the lanes properly and keep up the pace.
At the weekend they are full of people who are not used to driving on the motorway dithering along in the middle lane with the fogs on if there is a bit of drizzle oblivious to the mayhem being caused. And if your towing you can't go around them and your not supposed to undertake. Aaaargh.
Trouble is, you can pass your test in the morning then take to the motorways in the afternoon.....
With regards to the OP I agree and can't understand why everyone doesn't put their head lights on in the rain. Especially on a motorway with all the spray from lorries. Fog lights however are for when driving in pea soup conditions only imo! In any other circumstances they are just annoying and distracting.
For the record I drive an Audi for work and I do use the indicators AND I do drive courteously, giving way to cars on slipways etc as find my journeys more pleasant that way. Cant defend BMW drivers today though as a black one complete with shaven headed knuckdragger at the wheel attempted to pull out in front of my missus this afternoon without signalling (unless you count his finger gesture) thankfully her reactions are good (I'd like to hope he was in the minority before anyone accuses me of stereotyping ).
Tail light is a generally accepted term for the rear driving light on a vehicle, as opposed to the other rear lights (brake, fog, reversing, direction indicator).
Red lights are more easily perceived than yellow/white lights. Some cars have more watts at back than at front. (My car has 4 x 5 watt tail lights but only 2 x 5 watt sidelights.) The lights on cars coming towards you on the other side of the road are being viewed through the mist caused by spray from vehicles on both sides of the road, the rear lights of the vehicle in front are not so badly obscured.
Fog lights have less powerful bulbs than headlights - but rear foglights are aimed directly at the vehicle behind whereas dipped headlights are dipped away from oncoming traffic.
The Highway Code may say that you are not legally required to use headlights on a road which has lit street lighting but I believe that the majority of motorists would concur that headlights should be used for safety whenever the vehicle is moving. It would be very distracting for both drivers and other road users to keep turning them off and on, particularly in semi rural areas where limits change frequently.
The argument with fog lights is not whether you can use them with headlights when visibility is bad but that a number of drivers choose to use front fog lights instead of dipped headlights when weather is bad and that some keep them on in broad daylight. Some forget to turn off their rear fog lights when visibility improves and dazzle drivers behind.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
Quote: Originally posted by DaveCoaches on 09/5/2012
Tail lights don't come on automatically when you put the headlights on dipped beam, sidelights do. Tail lights is the collective term for all the lights on the rear of a car. These consist of side lights, stop/brake lights, indicators/flashers/turn signals, fog lights(AKA rain lights by some), reversing lights and number plate lights.
Not sure I totally agree with this. I've sold and fitted thousands of 380 (21/5W)bulbs over the last few decades and they've always been refered to as stop and tail bulbs. The collection of rear lights is usually the cluster or lens. Not denying that what you're saying is written down ot stated somewhere but I can only speak from my experiences.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Why do people not do this ?
).
