"fred" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, May 22, 2013 9:11:49 AM UTC+1, Nightjar wrote:
On 22/05/2013 08:45, fred wrote:

On Tuesday, May 21, 2013 11:55:37 AM UTC+1, John Williamson wrote:

Tim Lamb wrote:

In message , Mike
Barnes

writes

...

A friend of mine does that. I've never plucked up the courage to ask
him

why. I did once query his use of sidelights at dusk, but it didn't
get

me anywhere.



Defensive? Minor aid to help others know you are there?



I find just sidelights to be useless unless it's dark, in which case,

you need headlights anyway. Dipped headlights, Scandinavian style

driving lights or nothing. Sidelights only make you *think* that
others

can see you better.



I prefer to call side lights parking lights which is all they should be
used for anyway.



In the legislation they are called position lights, a name that probably

dates back to when you could have the headlights close together, as in

Mk1 Land Rovers. To anybody in the habit of using them by themselves in

a built-up area, once a common practice, a parking light probably means

a single bulb lamp, showing white in one direction and red in the other,

that you clipped over the top of the door window when parking at night.



The recent advent of driving lights and increasing number of cars with
automatic headlights should eventually cure a lot of the mis-use of car
lights, not to mention the automotive jewellery (Fog lights)



At one time, if you used dipped headlights in a built-up area, you stood

a good chance of getting main beams turned on in your face. If you had

halogen lights when they were new, it was virtually guaranteed.



Colin Bignell

Yes I remember those little parking lights. In those days Old Bill
patrolled on foot the minor streets and would ticket those cars with no
lights. I had a car once where the side lights could be turned on on one
side only by setting the indicator with the ignition turned off.

That's quite common. The Ford Fester that I had before my current car did
it. To be honest, I've never checked on this one, but it is another Ford, so
it might ...

Arfa

Many years ago (like 50 ) Birmingham had a trial run of encouraging people
to use dipped headlights within the city. Not sure how it panned out