sidelights\headlights

[capt jack]

Strictly speaking driving at night with sidelights only is permitted under certain circumstances and on some urban roads. However as the following extracts from an article from the Daily Telegraph confirms, there is a test of reasonableness too, and the Police have a measure of discretion.

If the sidelights are so dim that other road users flash a warning then I’d reckon that it’s not reasonable to drive on sidelights only.

Rule 115 of the Highway Code:
‘You should also use dipped headlights, or dim-dip if fitted, at night in built-up areas and in dull daytime weather, to ensure that you can be seen’

If involved in an accident whilst driving on sidelights only then the other party’s legal people would be out to make life very uncomfortable.

If sidelights are being used because a car’s electrical system isn’t up to maintaining working headlights then the roadworthiness of the car has to be in question.

From the Daily Telegraph article:
Street legal: Shedding light on driving at night
What does the law say about driving in bad light or darkness? It is an intimidating mixture of common sense and criminal law, and is remarkably detailed. As for common sense, The Highway Code says:

At night or in poor visibility, do not use tinted glasses, lenses or visors or anything that restricts vision. Reduce your speed as it is harder to see other road users. Take extra care at night and in poor visibility, when it is harder to judge speed and distance.

This is not simply sound advice. If a police officer spotted you ignoring these sensible precepts, he or she could pull you in and warn you about careless driving and, if there was an accident, you - or your insurance company - could face a civil claim for damages.

There are also regulations, which, if you break them, can cost a fine of up to £2,500. These are mainly concerned with the need to keep your vehicle properly lit.

Headlights and front foglights. These must be used in "seriously reduced visibility" - 100 metres, or 328ft - whatever the time of day or night, and always during the hours of darkness - except on "restricted roads" in towns (ie those with street lights not more than 200 yards apart and subject to a 30mph speed limit). They must NOT be used when your vehicle is parked (Regulation 25 of the 1989 Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations).

Sidelights only. The Regulations permit these at night on restricted roads in towns - but there have been county court cases where damages have been awarded on the basis of the civil wrong of negligence, ie failing to take reasonable care in all the circumstances.


Jack

[48pop]

What a lot of regulations !

Honestly, Its was sidelights only in the most brightly lit streets! But you are correct, the brighter, more obvious you can be in any circumstances is a good thing, (Being a biker, I'm still constantly amazed how blind some people seem to be......Still pulling out in front of me despite my headlight and flourescent jacket ! The first week of a clock change is always the worst)

Sidelights in the headlights sound like a very good idea, along with halogens......

Is a well maintained dynamo up to this??

cheers
Gerry

[222s]

Jack - this just highlights the difference between legal precident / aplication & the actual letter of the law.... Rule 113 is legal requirement (MUST) - 115 is advisory (should) but as you say, ignoring that advice can have a bearing on responsibility in an accident.

Originally Posted by 48pop

Sidelights in the headlights sound like a very good idea, along with halogens......

Is a well maintained dynamo up to this??

The Morris Minor that I used to own ran a dynamo & was fine with halogens, so I'm sure that an Amazon's system can cope too, provided it's in good order.

[Derek UK]

As per my previous post, a good dynamo set up will work fine with the standard lighting. Adding sidelights to the headlamps is just a few extra watts and standard halogen bulbs are about the same wattage too. They just use the halogen to enable them to burn a little hotter to give extra light.
The fan on full is quite a heavy load, more so if it could do with a clean and some lubrication. Spots and fogs also take their toll. Make sure the fuse box is good with tight tags and clean connections. Good earths everywhere including the regulator box. Poor starting on cold mornings will strain even a good battery and a dynamo takes longer to bring the charge back up than an alternator. If you only drive a few miles before parking it up for the day, the battery might not quite make it back to full charge. In the winter a few days of this could lead you to think that the dynamo is at fault but it's trying it's best, just need a little help from you. It's easier, and cheaper, to put the battery on charge rather than zoom off for a 20 mile "charge up" run.

[capt jack]

In the good old days of dynamos (like my Dad's Vauxhall Viva I learned to drive in, and the first few cars I owned) the trick was to make sure that your starter motor, fan belt and battery were in good fettle. The vehicle lights and essential electrical systems were generally fine with this. However, you'd quite often see the charge light come on during tickover, and the headlights brighten and dim with any change in engine speed.

As I recall, the difficulties started once you started adding the extra after-market electrical accessories such as stick-on rear window heater elements, fog lamps, etc, or if the car was a difficult starter, which would drain the battery very quickly

If you're sticking pretty close to the vehicle's original electrical spec, and all the major elements of the charging and ignition systems are in good order, then the dynamo should be able to cope I'd have thought.

Cheers

Jack

PS Maybe I should declare that I'm a big fan of day running lights. Anything that gets you seen has to be good news!- J.

[222s]

Originally Posted by capt jack

PS Maybe I should declare that I'm a big fan of day running lights. Anything that gets you seen has to be good news!- J.

Agreed, but imho it works best provided that there is sufficient differentiation between all the lights. On Amazons, the issue is with the rear lights (fronts are fine), as the stop & tail are the same unit. When I get around to it, I'll fit a high level brake light in the upper tailgate to solve that particular issue. Sadly however many modern cars have the indicator built into the headlights, with the result that with the headlights on, the indicators are completely obscured in the glare - so much for safety!

[BillKat]

I've been using mine every day for a commute, not found the lights to be a prob though they're not the brightest it's true. imho fit an alternator and be done fiddling, they charge straight away and there's been no sign of any strain on my battery despite lights fan & radio & spots on the local roads sometimes. Before this commuting spell the car started first hit after being left for a few wks. Dead easy to fit with a bit of BFH action...

Thought I'd killed my alt but I managed to leave the sidelights on at work & flattened the battery... doh. Got a jump start but that popped the rather conservative fuse I'd put in the output wire.

Can't fault the alt, the red charge light never glows even when everything's switched on. I'd actually forgotten all about the red light side of Amazon life, hence the other post when my ign'n switch caused an issue...

[Oilline]

Has anybody tried the HID conversion kits on Ebay for about £100?
Excellent light output and a lot less drain on the electrical system only 3.2 amps. These things used to cost hundreds of pounds. Thinking of trying a set. The ones to go for are the Bi-Xenon with the motorised tilting bulb to give high and low beam. If you want to have a look serch for item number 130167893846 on Ebay.

[Pigeon]

They look like a good idea but for goodness sake don't get something with an 8000K colour temperature, that's ridiculously blue, and will not only look chavvy and stupid, but will give very poor colour rendering and make it difficult to make out what you're looking at.

Looking at response curves of the human eye and the reflectivity/colour characteristics of what you want to distinguish on the road, I reckon the ideal colour temperature is around 5000K, but there don't seem to be many offerings at this temperature. 6000K should be OK but don't go any higher than that. The ones fitted to modern Volvos as standard seem to be 4300K, which is similar to an ordinary headlight - ideal for inconspicuity, but you lose the possibility of enhanced clarity of vision from a slightly higher colour temperature.

[devilishdesigner]

your dynamo shouldnt struggle. my 67 has a dynamo and (Bosch?) H4 headlights as well as an amps guage, when sitting at traffic lights with headlights on the guage dips to about -13 amps, but as soon as i take off it starts charging (at upto 15 amps) and i have found that even as slow as 60kph (35-40mph?) in 4the dynamo generates enough charge to keep the guage neutral, and i have never had the indicators slow down, even with the indicators, headlights and wipers on together. i would suggest that the regulator is the most likely issue, then the gen.