Winter driving

[Doctle Odd]

Is it just me or have people stopped doing a walk-around of their cars to check bulbs? I had to drive to Dublin in fog yesterday, an unpleasant experience at the best of times. I'd say half the cars I saw had at least one bulb out, very few of them had fog lights on or if on not working. People were driving into 50 yard visibility like lunatics, I saw several cars that were obviously braking hard with no sign of a brake light. I saw 1 cop car, it was at a Texaco garage and they were having coffee. It takes 5 seconds to walk around the car to check the lights but people don't seem to bother. If anyone is driving in Ireland and notices an Octavia or A4 with strange bulges on the front wings don't worry, it's a couple short range missiles I'm going to use on unlit cars.

[zollaf]

same round here. same everywhere. but then some cars you need a degree in nuclear physics to change a damned bulb, is it any wonder. sono we will be seeing cars scrapped that just need new bulbs, but the labour to change them will be thousands.

[JimC64]

Doc, I see the same on my travels, ALL the time

Cars travelling around with lightbulbs out and or low tyre pressures ( practically flat ) how can they not notice?

The same people driving around in semi dark / fog / misty conditions with either a bulb out and or NO foglights.....these are the same guys that pop up WITH foglights on in dry clear visibility thinking its cool.....unbelievable.

[JimC64]

same round here. same everywhere. but then some cars you need a degree in nuclear physics to change a damned bulb, is it any wonder. sono we will be seeing cars scrapped that just need new bulbs, but the labour to change them will be thousands.

On that note, I took my MIL's car the other day, to get it prepared for her MOT...She's 71 so needs a little help

The first thing I noticed was a sidelight bulb out, its a Renault Modus I should say
Called the MOT station and got it booked in, I'll give it a good clean and the once over at the weekend, advising him that a bulb was out.....normally he'll MOT it and change the bulb so it passes with only a minimal charge.

Whoaaahhh he says, I know those cars and thats a biiigggg job, practically bumper off, and you'll have to leave it with me for the bulb
He reckons Halfords won't even touch it!

I check and to be fair, its ten times worse than both my A6 and the Jaguar.....NO space whatsoever
Anyhow, took it to Halfords and played on the good relationship I have with the guys there, they changed the bulb in about 10 - 15 mins

It did involve actually loosening the bumper and grille inserts to get at it....came away with scratched up hands / wrists, but job done.

[zollaf]

this is the problem, who lets these idiots get away with designing a car where a simple and routine job like that requires that amount of effort. where a car is rated for how safe it is in a crash, and people go with this info when buying, they should also tell you the time taken to change all exterior bulbs. if its was sidelight, 4 hours, i wounder how many folk would look at something else. pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
incidentall, i had a beetle in the other week, needing a headlamp bulb. looked at it, thought, nice. googled it. lift bonnet, move lever, remove headlamp, do it in 3 minutes, hats off to that ace idea.

[Kar Krazy]

Winter before last I was driving slowly along a narrow, very foggy lane and thought, "That motorbike's going some, considering this visibility" just before the fog-coloured Transit van nearly took out my offside front wing with his totally unlit corner.

Inaccessibility of the bulb is a factor, but mainly people don't know or don't care. As part of her driving test, my daughter had to point out to the examiner where the dipstick and oil filler cap are, but a few years later, after I told her I'd topped up the oil in her car, she said, "You put oil in an engine!?!?"

And only the other day, just before I started to overtake a car pulling a trailer, the car indicated right and its trailer indicated left. The could have been an interesting insurance claim!

[zollaf]

driving along one night, good clear conditions just pitch dark, i think the road ahead looks strange. don't know why, just doesn't look right, theres sort of a light ahead, couldn't make it out, WHOOOOOAAAAA, slam on anchors, totally unlit horse trailer that i have almost slammed into the back of.

[Kar Krazy]

You need to borrow one of Doctle's short range missiles, and I'll borrow the other one for that twonk with the trailer.

There's some moron who often parks his unlit van facing the wrong way in the lane I use daily to get home. There are no street lamps and there's always enough dirt on his front numberplate to stop it reflecting. The radiator grille is matt black and the headlights are above the dipped beam of most cars. It's amazing no-one's hit it yet. You often can't use main beam because of oncoming vehicles, many of which have poorly-adjusted headlights set on "Stun".

[Doctle Odd]

Is that why Renaults are always cheap on a scrappage scheme? Still I saw all sorts of cars from the mid 90's to today. I think they are oblivious and most of them don't seem to care, most people would realise they lost 50% of the headlights. I know some bulbs are a PITA to change but it's not like you change them every day, and if they can't change them, garage, Halfords or walk! The mad people that are speeding on sidelights or no lights in fog I would just take the car, burn it on the hard shoulder and leave them stripped naked to walk. Missiles are almost ready for testing, a neighbour has a badly maintained and badly driven Saxo so he's going to be looking for new wheels soon if it works

[Doctle Odd]

Interestingly I saw Johnny Cash again yesterday, on a mountain bike. I recognised the long black coat over the black suit. As an American he was still thinking he was in Nashville and cycling against the flow of traffic. Poor man seems to have had several fingers amputated as he could only wave with one when I leaned on the horn.