Well, the time has changed, and now it's dark both ways home. And the folks in trucks, vans, and SUVs can't just turn on their headlights; they have to have the fog lights on, too. I just paid $90 to have my rear glass tinted, and it helps, but isn't 100%. Can't tint my windshield.

Do these people not understand that their vehicles sit up higher than most cars, so not only do their headlights shine in a car driver's eyes, but the fog lights do, too? It basically has the same effect as running with your high beams on. That's fine if there's nobody coming towards them or in front of them, but is totally unacceptable otherwise. And it's worse if they've got those da*#ed blue headlights!

They are nothing but bullies, and if I were a cop, I'd ticket every one of them. First of all for aggressive driving because that's what they are doing when they insist on using fog lights when it's clear, and 2nd of all for defective equipment because most of them need not only their headlights but also their fog lights adjusted!

Is there somebody out there who is guilty of doing this that can give me a reasonable explanation of why it's necessary to blind everybody else on the road so that you can show you're a big, bad truck driver?

two reasons:

selfishness

and...

























small penises.






















or penis envy...

I'm with ya sheash! Oh, and don't forget the ones with 6 lights! Whats THAT all about?
The only thing I can figure is that they're just jerks. plain and simple.
I always hit them with my high beams if they're coming at me. Most of the time it confuses them!

And I thought it was just me getting older and my eyes going bad! The past few years it seemed like my eyes were getting more sensitive to peoples' high beams and fog lights, but they've probably just gotten brighter and more common on cars & trucks. I'm glad I'm not the only one they bug!


Edit: Yoss said penis...twice

In some vehicles, the fog lights come on automatically when you turn your lights on and you have to turn them off.

I've never owned a car that has fog lights, and the people I know who do have them say that you have to turn the knob an extra click to turn them on. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that some do come on automatically. Out of consideration, one would think that they would turn the fog lights off if they weren't needed, but when you flash somebody who has them on, they hit the high beams and get you again.

I'm so tired of driving around with blue dots in front of my eyes because of these creeps.

Yoss, I didn't have the nerve to put it in writing, but you must have been reading my mind!

They use them because they think they look cool just like some of the blue headlights.

[QUOTE]I've never owned a car that has fog lights, and the people I know who do have them say that you have to turn the knob an extra click to turn them on. But I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that some do come on automatically.[/CODE]

Well, the fog lights in the truck I used to have, automatically came on when the low beams were turned on. They turned off when the high beams came on as required by law. I could turn the fog lights off by pressing a button, but if I forgot, the next time I turned my headlights on, the fog lights came on.

My husband has extra lights on his truck in addition to his fog lights. The purpose is for better visibility. We live in the boonies and there are no street lights. When someone is coming in the other direction, he turns them off and then turns them back on. If you've never ridden in a vehicle with more lighting, then you just don't have any idea the difference it makes.



Doesn't your rearview mirror have the night option?



If the high beams of an oncoming car are not dimmed, avoid looking directly at the bright lights. Glance toward the side of the road, then look
quickly ahead to determine the other vehicle’s position. Keep doing this until you
have passed the other vehicle. ****From the DMV's Driving Manual ****

[quote=mstubble,Nov 11 2005, 03:30 AM]

"Well, the fog lights in the truck I used to have, automatically came on when the low beams were turned on. They turned off when the high beams came on as required by law. I could turn the fog lights off by pressing a button, but if I forgot, the next time I turned my headlights on, the fog lights came on."

"My husband has extra lights on his truck in addition to his fog lights. The purpose is for better visibility. We live in the boonies and there are no street lights. When someone is coming in the other direction, he turns them off and then turns them back on. If you've never ridden in a vehicle with more lighting, then you just don't have any idea the difference it makes. "

You and your husband both sound like considerate fog light owner/drivers, and I appreciate that. Wish there were many, many more like you.

"Doesn't your rearview mirror have the night option?"

My mirror has the flipper thing that turns it up, but nothing else. I considered getting an auto dimming mirror, but they are $250 and you have to have electricity going to it. Since I don't have electricity going there, it would mean extra $ for wiring, too, so I decided against that option. I thought about ripping the thing off of the windshield, but I can't get thru inspection without it.

"If the high beams of an oncoming car are not dimmed, avoid looking directly at the bright lights. Glance toward the side of the road, then look
quickly ahead to determine the other vehicle’s position. Keep doing this until you
have passed the other vehicle. ****From the DMV's Driving Manual ****"

Yeah, I know that trick. But I live in the boonies too, and I drive thru Cowans Gap twice every day. The road is windy and hilly, and right now, polluted with deer (well maybe not polluted, but I saw 5 of them at different spots along the road this morning). I don't dare take my eyes off of the road because if one of the oncoming trucks doesn't take one of those curves too wide and get me, Bambi will.

There is a difference between fog lights and driving lights. Fog lights have a low/wide pattern and driving lights have a slightly higher but narrower pattern.

Typically its the driving lights that are more bothersome to other drivers (assuming that both are aligned properly).

[quote=sheash,Nov 11 2005, 07:25 AM][quote=mstubble,Nov 11 2005, 03:30 AM]

Yeah, I know that trick. But I live in the boonies too, and I drive thru Cowans Gap twice every day. The road is windy and hilly, and right now, polluted with deer (well maybe not polluted, but I saw 5 of them at different spots along the road this morning). I don't dare take my eyes off of the road because if one of the oncoming trucks doesn't take one of those curves too wide and get me, Bambi will.
[/quote]

What bugs me is the little reflectors that people put at their driveways or on mailboxes that are the color of reflected deer's eyes when hit with lights. All reflectors utilized in this manner should be red. After my lights go are needed I spend more time watching the side of the road a couple of hundred yards ahead than I do worring about some inconsiderate slob dimming his/her headlights.

LL,
I don't pass too many mailboxes, and the ones I do usually have a 911 address sign attached to the pole too, so I am OK on that issue. Usually, if it glows like deer eyes, it's a deer, some other critter, or a beer can.

Have you ever noticed that some telephone poles have a reflector on them about 6' from the ground? Those glow the same color as deer eyes, too.

Mine has the flipper thing and I don't the problem you're having.



Works fine for me. Glancing at the side doesn't completely take your view away from the road. Plus that's where the dear are; on the side of the road

Well, maybe my eyes are extra sensitive to light. My dad's were, so maybe..... And if that's the case, then I'm going to have to deal with folks whose regular headlight use bothers me, but as far as I'm concerned that still doesn't excuse the people who have the blue headlights or insist on running their fog lights when it's clear.

The window tinting has helped a lot. When I get somebody with bright lights in back of me, I can flip the mirror, and except for the blue lights, it pretty much is tolerable. The '98 Camry has a thingy in the sun visors that you can slide out, and if it's really bad, I can put the visor down and the slidey thing across my mirror, so I'm 85% contented with my back glass situation. But as I said, I can't tint my windshield....

Yeah, I know the deer are usually on the side of the road, but with my luck, they'd be coming from the other side. I swear there's a target painted on my car that only deer can see - I'll never own another white car!

Actually, you might be able to. Below is the PA code. The restrictions on tinting just specify that you must be able to see or view the inside of the vehicle. Also if your eyes are bad, your eye doctor could probably give you a prescription for tinting.

(e) Sun screening and other materials prohibited.--

No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any sun screening device or other material which does not permit a person to see or view the inside of the vehicle through the windshield, side wing or side window of the vehicle.
This subsection does not apply to:
A vehicle which is equipped with tinted windows of the type and specification that were installed by the manufacturer of the vehicle or to any hearse, ambulance, government vehicle or any other vehicle for which a currently valid certificate of exemption has been issued in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.
A vehicle which is equipped with tinted windows, sun screening devices or other materials which comply with all applicable Federal regulations and for which a currently valid certificate of exemption for medical reasons has been issued in accordance with regulations adopted by the department.
A certificate of exemption shall be issued by the department for a vehicle which is:
Registered in this Commonwealth on the effective date of this subsection and is equipped with a sun screening device or other material prohibited under paragraph (1) on the effective date.
Equipped with tinted windows, sun screening devices or other materials for a physical condition that makes it necessary to equip the motor vehicle with sun screening material which would be of a light transmittance or luminous reflectance in violation of this section.
(A) A certificate of exemption for medical reasons shall be issued only if the owner or registrant of the vehicle, or a person residing in the household of the owner or registrant who regularly drives or is driven in the vehicle, suffers from a physical condition determined by the department, in consultation with the Medical Advisory Board, to justify the exemption.
( Any person requesting an exemption for medical reasons shall have his physical condition certified to the department by a licensed physician or optometrist.
A certificate of exemption issued under this subsection shall be carried in the vehicle and displayed on request of a police officer.
Upon the sale or transfer of the vehicle to any person who does not qualify under paragraph (2)(ii), the exemption shall be null and void. Prior to the sale or transfer of an exempt vehicle, it shall be the sole responsibility of the owner or seller of a formerly exempt vehicle to remove all sun screening or other materials from the vehicle. At the time of the sale or transfer of a formerly exempt vehicle, the owner shall remove and destroy the certificate of exemption for physical reasons and provide the purchaser with a notarized statement setting forth the name and address of the owner or seller, the vehicle identification number, year and model, and the business entity and process used to remove the sun screening or other material.

(f) Exception.--This section does not apply to mobile recording equipment installed in a vehicle exclusively used for official police purposes.

That's why I used to use them, someone said they looked cool. But I have a car, not anything that sits up high. And I didn't know they hurt people's eyes.

Haven't used them in years though because I stopped caring if my car looked cool or not.

CPD is right: there are two kinds of supplemental lights: fog lights and driving lights. True fog lights rarely cause much trouble to other drivers, and may be legally illuminated in the face of oncoming traffic and when following someone. They provide supplemental illumination close to your vehicle and have a wider beam than standard low-beam headlights.

However, driving lights are a significant danger to other drivers, being essentially super high-beams, and must legally be turned off, just as your high beams must be dimmed, when following another car or in the face of oncoming traffic.

The placement of both kinds of lights on a vehicle is also subject to certain legal restrictions, and if they're placed outside the prescribed areas, they must have a covver on them when drivingon the public roads.

The laws probably vary somewhat from one state to the next, and in recent years I've come to doubt that they're being enforced much if at all, but there are indeed laws about such things. That said, I'll bet nobody who has bought a car with driving lights in recent years was ever given instructions by the dealer on when you're allowed to use them and when you must turn them off.

I think this is kind of like the legal requirement in Maryland that pickup trucks must have a separate bumper (yet people buy them out of state without bumpers and illegally title them iin Maryland without bothering to have one installed) or the requirement that tires must fit under a truck's wheel wells. Legal requirements, but never enforced.

The HID (high intensity discharge) lights used first in luxury cars and now in a wide spectrum of cars not made in the US are the blue headlights that have become so popular in recent years. Although they seem brighter and are great for the driver, I feel they are perceived as being the culprit for complaints of other drivers. As long as you can focus your vision away from the direct emission of the headlights, I feel I have never had any major problems driving with any headlights/fogs that other cars may use.

I do have one exception... the newer Chevrolet/GMC Silverado/Sierra and Avalanche have their headlights mounted WAY too high and everytime I'm near one on the roads at night I am blinded beyond belief. That's the only vehicle that really irks me while driving at night.

My last three rides have had HIDs. I don't know if I could go back to regular yellow-ish halogens.

HIDs = safe, white light

blue Autozone headlight replacement bulbs = too bright junk

October 2003, 4:15 AM. I'm heading towards the MD line on PA 75 at 65 mph, there's a pickup coming towards me with those damned blue headlights, almost a half a mile between us. Yes, I turn my head to the side as much as possible, and the moment the truck gets past me, a spike buck runs out. I'm still seeing blue spots. When the car came to a stop, my hood on the passenger side is pushed up so far that you can't see over it, the hood on the driver's side is only a little less so, and my radiator is folded in half. $3,600 damage, and the only meat that was usable was the tenderloin. And he didn't even have a decent rack. The rental car company gives me a damned Geo Metro - do you realize how short the hood is on one of those? Hit a deer in that, and he will be sitting in your lap! The '98 camry has a reasonably long hood, but my next car is going to sit up higher and have a cow catcher on the front of it!

The insurance agent told me that many of the blue lights that are on the road these days are after market lamps, and that unless the headlights were aligned when the new bulbs were put in, they are dangerous. Now be honest folks, when was the last time you had your headlights (or your fog lights) aligned? That means that a good many of the cars out there with blue headlights are dangerous.

I'm with B on this issue; the cops need to be enforcing these laws. If for no other reason than for the safety of the rest of the drivers out here. I can't tell you how many times I was stopped when I had the 2nd Chevelle because they wanted to measure how far off the ground my rear bumper was (it was jacked up, and barely legal). The cops don't even seem to think about that kind of stuff anymore.

65mph on PA 75 maybe it would be wise to leave the cops out of it.

You're not supposed to turn your head.



My husband does this on a regular basis.

[quote name='Udmas' post='44780' date='Nov 17 2005, 12:56 AM']65mph on PA 75 maybe it would be wise to leave the cops out of it. [/quote]

Considering the hour of the morning that it was and the fact that I couldn't get a signal on my Cellular 1 phone, the cops WERE left out of it. When I was able to flag somebody down to let me use their phone, I called my husband, and we had that tenderloin for dinner that night. That's the least that deer could do for me at that point!

[quote]Now be honest folks, when was the last time you had your headlights (or your fog lights) aligned? [/quote]My husband does this on a regular basis.[/quote]

Who ARE you, and why don't you live near me? You sound like a dream come true when it comes to responsibility for maintaining your vehicles - it would be wonderful if you were one of my neighbors!

I'm pretty obsessive compulsive and I actually make sure my headlights are aligned pretty often because I hate having my lights pointing every which way. Then again, I've been told I pay way too much attention to my car.

sheash: there were VERY few trucks on the road in 2003, let alone now, that are optioned with HIDs, so the truck in your experience was likely equipped with the cheapo blue headlights from AutoZone.

sheash: there were VERY few trucks on the road in 2003, let alone now, that are optioned with HIDs, so the truck in your experience was likely equipped with the cheapo blue headlights from AutoZone.
[/quote]


Oh yeah, I know! Some up the rednecks who live up in these parts think that makes them cool. The back fenders are flapping, but they've got blue headlights!

Here are the things that I can think of that my hubby does with our vehicles.....

Check headlights and adjust as needed
Wax twice a year
Depending on the weather, wash once a week/every other week. This includes drying, tire cleaning/shinning, wiping out the door frames, washing the inside and outside of the windows, armoral checking tire pressure, check windsheld fluid, removing trash from trash container and vaccumming.
Windshelds cleaned every night
Apply rainx as needed
Changing the oil as per recommended schedule as well as tire rotation and balance
We have K&N air filters, so those are rinsed and treated as needed.
Regulary inspect vehicle condition and fix any paint chips, etc.

I can't remember ever having my headlights adjusted.

I do remember buying a couple used cars and the mechanic said they needed adjusting to pass inspection which I figured was just a quick way to make $20.

When I lived in VA, that was part of the yearly inspection. I don't think they've ever considered it when inspecting my vehicle here in PA. But that accident I described has put the fear of God in me about deer, and I want those headlights pointing where they're supposed to be for self defense, so I get them aligned if they're off.

Hubby checks the oil and changes it every other month or 3,000 miles, whatever comes first. I should wash it more often, but it's a grandma car (white '98 camry), and it's just not as satisfying as cleaning up the Chevelle or the El Camino..... Besides, it gets filthy again as soon as you take it out of the driveway.

Had it at Younger yesterday for another timing belt. Will turn 180K not far from home tomorrow morning. It still runs like a top; I'm going to see if I can get it to 300K! At this point, the only thing that should keep me from doing that is Bambi.

I agree as well, law enforcement is lacking in many other areas too, IMO! I can't believe what folks get away with even when an officer is around to witness it. Have you been on 270 lately? Most folks drive at least 20 over and weave in and out of traffic like their in the Indy 500. Ya, I want to get to work as well, but I would like to live through it. I'm not saying I drive the speed limit but I'm not reckless and trying to endanger the life's of others. What about folks using turn signals, that really bugs me. You have no idea what folks are going to do anymore because they are selfish. Why don't the police enforce these issues. I know they have other things to tend to but come on there has be a happy medium somewhere.

I just want to live to be thirty and not get creamed in an auto accident because of some moron.

btw, Headlights are the least of my concern when driving. I really never notice too much, I tend to look away as others said. I think the older I get the more that statement will change.

One of my front turn signal light bulbs is out and I'm waiting for this weekend to fix it. Meanwhile I was worried a cop might pull me over for it. I was really scared two mornings ago when I pulled up behind a Frederick County Sheriff's Deputy and wound up following him for a while. However, I relaxed after observing him make three turns in row without using HIS turn signals at all!

A couple theories:

- they could be on their way to a dispatched call for service....this has happens a lot and there's no time to make the stop
- in congested traffic, a cop making a traffic stop will often snarl the traffic due to the looky lou's (not directed at our LOOKY LOU), making the traffic offense of one an unsafe traffic nightmare for many.
- police discretion....I rarely stopped somebody for a turn signal out (it seemed too petty), but other cops I know lived for that stuff.
- laziness.....cops are human, too, and susceptible to the same character flaws.
- maybe they just didn't see what you saw?

I agree.....
Burned out lights are really petty! This should be covered elsewhere in the system..... I would not mind if they added a lights check to the 2 yr emissions inspection. I think most folks never check them. Its the morons that don't use their signals that really erk me, so you don't know what the heck they are doing. Its like they are better then everyone else and don't need to!!

I think with the growth in population in the Washington DC metro area, the law enforcement staffing has not been able to keep up. I bet most minor traffic infractions are overlooked because there are much more serious crimes occurring and a lack of traffic patrol officers.

Funny thing seems to happen around H-town's Rte 65 Sharpsburg exit. You can give an officer the finger, fly by him doing 20 over or weave in/out of traffic like Mario Andretti and the state troopers won't blink an eye. I witness it ever day..... I really don't blame em, most appear to be on their way home..... For those who don't know, the barracks is right off of I-70 and Rte. 65.

I'll flash you my highs next time I pass ya.

BINGO! Especially when they're totin'a gun and a badge and driving a Police cruiser!

The fact that a few of them do in fact actually seem to "live for" the opportunity to pull somebody over for something as petty as a burnt out light bulb just makes it all the more galling.