In article ,
Graham. wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:38:19 +0000, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

Halfords change them for free.

You mean optional fitting is included in the inflated price they
charge.

When I picked one up in there on Saturday evening (stress purchase, spare
was duff and I hate driving SWMBOs car at the best of times, let alone with
a headlight out) they wanted 7 quid to change the bulb for me.

Also, they'll only fit the easy ones - if it's difficult then they won't
do it :-)

Darren

In article ,
Tim Watts wrote:

Interestingly, the Police ANPR cameras log every single number plate &
only flag up the ones without tax etc.

That part ****es me right off.

They know who hasn't got tax, MOT, insurance. They had the law changed so
you need to declare a SORN if offroad, so the perps cannot use that as an
excuse.

So all they need to do is visit a fine on the registered keeper and take it
from there.


That's kinda assuming they vehicles are registered to a keeper... I suspect
many of them are "anonymous".

Darren

In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Putting the bulbs in upside down will alter the beam setting.

Which type of bulb can be fitted upside down if it matters? None I've seen.

Wifes Pug 206 had odd lights when we got it (year old, from a main dealer).

H7 headlamp bulb was upside down. It didn't "fit", but was easy enough to
get the spring clip in place. When I used to work at a garage it wasn't
that uncommon to see cars with them fitted upside down.

Likewise the dual filament stop/side lamps - "I fitted a bulb and now my
side light is too bright" being the normal complaint (assuming they even
noticed). It was a bayonet cap with offset pins IIRC, but easy enough to
force in if being ham fisted... Saying that, I've not had a car for years
that used those, so maybe they've died out :-)

Darren

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

Have a closer look at the signage at any of your large supermarkets...
Saves the contracted parking company having to pay a man to walk around
with a note book and it'll get *every one* who overstays.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

At the Aldi here you have to type your reg number into a terminal near
the tills, otherwise you get charged regardless of how long you stay.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:


Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...



Since cars have had electric lights at least!


Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.
Probably an age related thing,many will be too young to remember when
many vehicles had the light controls on a knob on the dash board and
the dip switch on the floor . Would not have been impossible to
briefly switch the lights on but not as easily as twitching a finger
on a stalk on the steering column.
It was the ease of doing so from those when most cars had acquired
them that made the practice common. I can't actually remember if my
first vehicle with a stalk had a flash position on it. Main and dip
only I think,one with a flash position came later.

G.Harman

On 25/11/2012 22:20, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

Have a closer look at the signage at any of your large supermarkets...
Saves the contracted parking company having to pay a man to walk around
with a note book and it'll get *every one* who overstays.

I worked with a woman who dropped someone off in the morning and dropped
back in in the evening to go to the shops, only for her initial
departure and second entry to be missed by the system, which decided
that she'd stayed all day and tried to charge her. The fact that our
workplace had a permanent on-site police presence and that they'd logged
her car as being in the company car park all day rather dented their
enthusiasm to persue the matter!

SteveW

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:39:06 +0000 (UTC), Steve Firth
wrote:

With mild disappointment that she didn't recognise the danger of serving
around in a car with one working light.

Ah, she was a barmaid.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:26:59 +0000 (GMT), charles
wrote:


The was the driver round here, a few years ago, who was prosecuted for:
1. Not displaying obligatory front lights
2. Not displaying obligatory rear lights
3. not dilluminating his rear number plate.

The result was sufficient points for him to lose his licence. I think he
must have annoyed the police who stopped him.

I recall an account in the local rag where I grew up of a bloke who'd
had his car gone over and the book thoroughly thrown at him for every
little thing they could find. Even at the time, aged 17, I recognised
a ****** who'd cheeked the coppers.
It was something I bore in mind - most coppers are reasonable people,
but if you take the **** they'll take it back.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:00:25 +0000, Andy Burns
wrote:

Other hates are drivers who park, often just over the brow of a small
hill, on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on. Often these
are taxis waiting outside restaurants.

Clearly what is needed is legislation that restaurants must be on the
correct side of the road and not situated near small hills.

What is needed is legislation that forbids parking with the headlights
on facing oncoming traffic.
Oh wait, it's there already, is it not...

On 25/11/2012 22:51, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:00:25 +0000, Andy Burns
wrote:

Other hates are drivers who park, often just over the brow of a small
hill, on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on. Often these
are taxis waiting outside restaurants.

Clearly what is needed is legislation that restaurants must be on the
correct side of the road and not situated near small hills.

What is needed is legislation that forbids parking with the headlights
on facing oncoming traffic.
Oh wait, it's there already, is it not...

And not having headlamps on when parked.

--
Rod

In article , SteveW
writes
On 25/11/2012 22:20, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

Have a closer look at the signage at any of your large supermarkets...
Saves the contracted parking company having to pay a man to walk around
with a note book and it'll get *every one* who overstays.

I worked with a woman who dropped someone off in the morning and dropped
back in in the evening to go to the shops, only for her initial
departure and second entry to be missed by the system, which decided
that she'd stayed all day and tried to charge her. The fact that our
workplace had a permanent on-site police presence and that they'd logged
her car as being in the company car park all day rather dented their
enthusiasm to persue the matter!

There's a Lidl I visit occasionally that has ANPR recording and when I
can be bothered I make sure I am slow enough to be recorded on entry but
have been obscuring my rear plate on exit.

They haven't bitten yet so I'm guessing I need to make a second visit
later in the day, reversing the obscuring to waste some of their time
and money.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

I should have clarified that - it was a Police ANPR with a pair of coppers
and a marked car.

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

Have a closer look at the signage at any of your large supermarkets...
Saves the contracted parking company having to pay a man to walk around
with a note book and it'll get *every one* who overstays.


Yes - Cranbrook (Kent village) has a local tiny supermarket that has just
got one fitted.

Stupid thing is the car park is 1/2 empty most of the time and they will not
let you pay to stay an hour longer, to say see a film at the new 1-screen
wibbly cinema. The next car park is 1/2 mile up the road.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://www.dionic.net/tim/

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

In article , D.M.Chapman dmc@puffin.?
writes
In article ,
Graham. wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:38:19 +0000, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

Halfords change them for free.

You mean optional fitting is included in the inflated price they
charge.

When I picked one up in there on Saturday evening (stress purchase, spare
was duff and I hate driving SWMBOs car at the best of times, let alone with
a headlight out) they wanted 7 quid to change the bulb for me.

Yep, that's my indirect experience too, rellie bought 8quid headlamp
bulb (an H4 ffs!) and was offered an option to fit for another 8quid or
so which was declined.

Needless to say, rellie was unable to fit so I ended up doing it, not
bad for a modern car but definitely needed a practiced hand to work the
clips while working under the waterproofing boot.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

On 25/11/2012 23:07, Tim Watts wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

I should have clarified that - it was a Police ANPR with a pair of coppers
and a marked car.


So there was a threat and they wanted to make sure people were safe.
There are many good reasons why the police use ANPR.
That also includes catching people without tax and insurance taking the
kids out.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:18:44 +0000 (UTC), Steve Firth
wrote:

Which type of bulb can be fitted upside down if it matters? None I've seen.

Just about all of them if one is hamfisted enough. My local garage reckons
its one of the more significant causes of MoT failure.

Not so much upside down, but on some H4 lampholders it's possible to
work only by feel and think it's in, but it's not seated correctly.
I'm not without a clue and yet managed to do that last winter or two
ago. I didn't realise until the next night I used the headlights in
earnest and the nearside wasn't showing a proper beam at all.

On 25/11/2012 20:35, Tim Watts wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:


Interestingly, the Police ANPR cameras log every single number plate &
only flag up the ones without tax etc.



That part ****es me right off.

They know who hasn't got tax, MOT, insurance. They had the law changed so
you need to declare a SORN if offroad, so the perps cannot use that as an
excuse.

So all they need to do is visit a fine on the registered keeper and take it
from there.



And what of the more serious offences of driving without insurance, etc.?
They should just be able to get away with it?

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 07:33:25 -0800 (PST), jgharston
wrote:

polygonum wrote:
Whilst I agree with your rant, it can also be medical issues that make
one more sensitive to being dazzled by oncoming headlamps. Certainly

This sounds really ridiculous as I type it, but I've taken to driving
in
the dark wearing my prescription sunglasses. Even then I flick my
eyes from side to side to avoid the same piece of retina going to
sleep.

It could be because I only passed my test two years ago, but every
time I fill up with petrol when it's dark I walk around the car and
check
all the lights. I passed my test two years and one week ago, so I'm
no longer a probationary driver, so maybe I'll start getting slack and
lazy now.

JGH

Tinted specs used to be marketed as night driving glasses, but they
are not a good idea.
I don't even use the "dimming" feature of my rear view mirror.
I can switch it off on my current car, on previous ones I have
resorted to blue-tack to blind the sensor.

The danger is (eg) that cyclist in black with no lights, that is
undertaking you as you turn left. Without the tint (glasses and/or
mirror) you might just see him, with the tint he might disappear
beneath the threshold where you might have seen him.

There is an argument that you can dispense with dipped headlights and
everyone drives with polarised full beam-headlights.
The drivers wear polarised spectacles with a 90 degree relative
polarisation, or better still have a windscreen made to that
prescription.
Now you can even turn off all the street lighting (topical!)

This is not a new idea, I first came across it as a child in a book by
J.B.S Haldene published in 1948, and the idea was not new then.




--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

--
Rod

In message , fred writes
In article , D.M.Chapman dmc@puffin.?
writes
In article ,
Graham. wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:38:19 +0000, The Medway Handyman
wrote:

Halfords change them for free.

You mean optional fitting is included in the inflated price they
charge.

When I picked one up in there on Saturday evening (stress purchase, spare
was duff and I hate driving SWMBOs car at the best of times, let alone with
a headlight out) they wanted 7 quid to change the bulb for me.

Yep, that's my indirect experience too, rellie bought 8quid headlamp
bulb (an H4 ffs!) and was offered an option to fit for another 8quid or
so which was declined.



Had to replace the rear light cluster a while back. I ended up showing
the ford garage apprentice how to do it

--
Geoff

In message , polygonum
writes
On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...dal-cars/old-f
ashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp


--
geoff

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 12:47:33 -0000, Bill wrote:

In message , Andrew Gabriel
writes
In many cars nowadays, the headlamps are not user replaceable because
you have to remove other parts of the engine to get to them. That maybe
why so many cars now drive with a headlamp out.

I've been wondering whether the modern fetish for flashing lights to say
"Come On", "Thanks" and so on isn't causing lamp failures.

It's not a fetish it's politeness.

I thought
that when you apply volts to a cold filament, there is a sudden rush of
amps.

I flash a lot (with headlights as well), and I hardly ever have to replace bulbs.

Other hates are drivers who park, often just over the brow of a small
hill, on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on. Often these
are taxis waiting outside restaurants.

Someone did that to me when I was coming up a hill which was single file at that point (leaving a car park, he was in a layby on the right). I could hardly see a thing. I don't know if he was on full beam or it was just the angle - he had no need for headlights while being parked. I stopped and engaged my full beam (still couldn't see to get past him safely) until he (eventually) realised what was going on and switched them off.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

What should you do if you girlfriend starts smoking?
Slow down and use a lubricant.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:59:54 -0000, polygonum wrote:

On 25/11/2012 22:51, Grimly Curmudgeon wrote:
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:00:25 +0000, Andy Burns
wrote:

Other hates are drivers who park, often just over the brow of a small
hill, on the wrong side of the road with the headlights on. Often these
are taxis waiting outside restaurants.

Clearly what is needed is legislation that restaurants must be on the
correct side of the road and not situated near small hills.

What is needed is legislation that forbids parking with the headlights
on facing oncoming traffic.
Oh wait, it's there already, is it not...

And not having headlamps on when parked.

Most cars I've had will switch to sidelights or parking lights when you turn off the ignition (for the above reason or to save the battery I'm not sure), but it doesn't help those ****ts who leave the engine running.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

63% of men have had sex in the shower.
The other 37% have never been to prison.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:41:58 -0000, polygonum wrote:

On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

Your mention of my name has got Opera's attention.

I don't sit on the dashboard.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

I got into trouble on my last date.
I didn't open the car door for her.
I swam to the surface instead ....

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 07:27:10 -0000, harry wrote:

On Nov 25, 2:03 am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
Yes, I know I've had a bitch on here before about DIY headlight repairs, but
I swear it's getting worse year on year. Since the evenings have got dark
again, I've been blinded from the front and dazzled from the rear so many
times that I've lost count. This is either because headlight bulbs have been
fitted incorrectly, or the cretins behind the wheel don't know what the blue
light on the dash means ...

On top of this, on more than one occasion, I've almost run into the back of
a motorbike that's turned out to be a car with the offside tail light out.

Today, I had to drive to another town some thirty miles away, and for most
of the time it was more or less foggy. At least one in three cars was not
showing any lights. I think I saw about two that were actually using their
rear fog lights. Funny how drivers always manage to find the tiresome things
on a dark wet night when they are guaranteed to dazzle you, but never have
them on when it's full daylight and thick fog !

Anyway, on the return trip, as I passed the main county police headquarters,
a law car pulled out behind me. It had one headlight pointing into the
ditch, and the other up into my rearview mirror. If it's now reached the
point where even the coppers can't keep their own vehicles legal, we might
as well all give up ...

DIY headlight bulb replacement should be banned. You ought to have to take
your car to approved garages where there is someone trained and certified to
change the wretched things correctly :-(

Rant over ...

Arfa

The problem is not the replacing of bulbs.
It is the soft suspension of modern cars neccesitating headlight
adjusters that work from the dashboard which some people don't bother
with.

I don't see the problem. I make sure my adjuster is at highest when I take it for an MOT. Then throughout the year if it shifts I can lower it whenever someone flashes me or I se it going into the rear window of the car in front. Or if I've got a few tonnes in the back.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

Q. What did the sign on the door of the whorehouse say?
A. Beat it - we're closed.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:52:54 -0000, geoff wrote:

In message , polygonum
writes
On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...dal-cars/old-f
ashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp

I think you mean http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...al-cars-GB.asp

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

"You, you, and you ... panic. The rest of you, come with me." - U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:31:03 -0000, Andy Burns wrote:

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

At the Aldi here you have to type your reg number into a terminal near
the tills, otherwise you get charged regardless of how long you stay.

That would cause me not to shop at Aldi.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

"You, you, and you ... panic. The rest of you, come with me." - U.S. Marine Corp Gunnery Sgt.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:15:53 -0000, dennis@home wrote:

On 25/11/2012 23:07, Tim Watts wrote:
Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

I should have clarified that - it was a Police ANPR with a pair of coppers
and a marked car.


So there was a threat and they wanted to make sure people were safe.
There are many good reasons why the police use ANPR.
That also includes catching people without tax and insurance taking the
kids out.

Yes no tax is very dangerous indeed.... for the DVLA coffers.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

Researchers have recently unearthed the text of the first transcontinental telegraph message. Reportedly, it reads
ENLARGE YOUR MALE MEMBER STOP GUARANTEED RESULTS STOP ...

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 22:20:40 -0000, Dave Liquorice wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:33:48 +0000, Tim Watts wrote:

Took the kids to LegoLand (Windsor) this summer. One day, there was an
ANPR inside the entrance logging everyone. I thought that was bloody
off.

Many car parks now have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit. Stay more than
the X free hours allowed and they send the registered keeper a parking
notice.

Which you can presumably ignore like the motorway service station ones?

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

What's a diaphragm?
A trampoline for dickheads.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:17:32 -0000, dennis@home wrote:

On 25/11/2012 20:35, Tim Watts wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:


Interestingly, the Police ANPR cameras log every single number plate &
only flag up the ones without tax etc.



That part ****es me right off.

They know who hasn't got tax, MOT, insurance. They had the law changed so
you need to declare a SORN if offroad, so the perps cannot use that as an
excuse.

So all they need to do is visit a fine on the registered keeper and take it
from there.



And what of the more serious offences of driving without insurance, etc.?
They should just be able to get away with it?

Yes. Although the guy that knocked my mirror off really should have stopped and given me the £50. Then he wouldn't have had the police round his door.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

Why do they rate a movie "R" for "adult language?"
The only people I hear using that language are teenagers.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:23:20 -0000, dennis@home wrote:

On 25/11/2012 13:54, Bill wrote:
In message , fred writes

Static ones are certainly illuminated with IR floods and you get the
plate lighting up with the on axis reflection, just like cats eyes.
Don't know about the mobile ones but it would be a bit of an omission
if they didn't have them too.


I recently fitted an ANPR camera for a customer, attached to their CCTV
system. They are amazing, even in bright sunlight there is next to no
image. As you say they have IR illumination and this is reflected back
from the number plate. The effect is outstanding, the filter in front
of the camera basically only allows the IR frequency of light through
and the number plate shows perfectly, day or night. The mobile ones do
appear to have IR illuminators too.

Its done to make sure the idiots that fit reflective coatings on plates
and other such junk get caught.

What's idiotic about avoiding the ****ing GATSOs?

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 02:02:59 -0000, Arfa Daily wrote:

Yes, I know I've had a bitch on here before about DIY headlight repairs, but
I swear it's getting worse year on year. Since the evenings have got dark
again, I've been blinded from the front and dazzled from the rear so many
times that I've lost count. This is either because headlight bulbs have been
fitted incorrectly, or the cretins behind the wheel don't know what the blue
light on the dash means ...

It means the blue xenons are on.

On top of this, on more than one occasion, I've almost run into the back of
a motorbike that's turned out to be a car with the offside tail light out.

You must have pretty poor eyesight, did the car not have reflectors? Were your headlights not on?

Today, I had to drive to another town some thirty miles away, and for most
of the time it was more or less foggy. At least one in three cars was not
showing any lights. I think I saw about two that were actually using their
rear fog lights. Funny how drivers always manage to find the tiresome things
on a dark wet night when they are guaranteed to dazzle you, but never have
them on when it's full daylight and thick fog !

I agree with yo on the lights, but not the fog lights. Fog lights look like brakes, I never use them. If you're following someone in the fog and they brake, you might not notice.

Anyway, on the return trip, as I passed the main county police headquarters,
a law car pulled out behind me. It had one headlight pointing into the
ditch, and the other up into my rearview mirror. If it's now reached the
point where even the coppers can't keep their own vehicles legal, we might
as well all give up ...

I would have pulled him over for a laugh.

DIY headlight bulb replacement should be banned. You ought to have to take
your car to approved garages where there is someone trained and certified to
change the wretched things correctly :-(

How can you replace a bulb wrong, they have ****ing notches!

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

NEWSFLASH!!! Bouncing elephantiasis woman destroys central Portsmouth

In message op.wocs7ic0ytk5n5@i7-940, Lieutenant Scott
writes
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:52:54 -0000, geoff wrote:

In message , polygonum
writes
On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...dal-cars/old-f
ashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp

I think you mean
http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...edal-cars/old-
fashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp



I think thats what I posted ...

--
geoff

On Mon, 26 Nov 2012 00:14:42 -0000, geoff wrote:

In message op.wocs7ic0ytk5n5@i7-940, Lieutenant Scott
writes
On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:52:54 -0000, geoff wrote:

In message , polygonum
writes
On 25/11/2012 23:39, Tim Streater wrote:
In article ,
wrote:









Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

The 50s and Lieutenant Scott's car...

http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...dal-cars/old-f
ashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp

I think you mean
http://www.robertopiecollection.com/...edal-cars/old-
fashioned-pedal-cars-GB.asp



I think thats what I posted ...

Yours wrapped.

--
http://petersparrots.com
http://petersphotos.com

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, 1949

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 23:39:25 +0000, Tim Streater
wrote:

In article ,
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:41:05 +0000, Graham.
wrote:

Modern!??

Everyone was doing that in 1975. Probably before...

Since cars have had electric lights at least!

Don't think it was that common till around the 1970's and electric
lights have been the norm for roughly 50 years before that.

Plenty of drivers in the 60s would have been able to flash, even if only
by flicking the lights on/off briefly. And cars with knobs on the dash
board - that's the 50s you're thinking of.

My current Skoda has the light selector knob on the dash, so did the
selection of Focus's (Focii?) before that.
The dip-switch has always been on a stalk even on my first car, a 1971
Vauxhall Viva, and that had a leaky push-button pump for the
windscreen washer on the dash.

My recollection is drivers uses to flash as an invitation, thanks, or
silent rebuke much as they do now, perhaps my recollection is wrong.

You would certainly get flashed if you had the audacity to turn on
your lights in daylight irrespective of how hard it was pelting down
with rain, Volvo had an advertising campaign that tried to educate
drivers about this, and some Volvo owners had their lights modified so
they could be switched off.

It was common for bus drivers to flash the interior lights as a thanks
to the driver behind, that's something I haven't seen for years.

And before hazard warning lights bus drivers often had the good sense
to lean something against the back of their broken down vehicle so you
knew it was stranded.





--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

On Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:08:13 +0000 (UTC), Steve Firth
wrote:

"Arfa Daily" wrote:
Yes, I know I've had a bitch on here before about DIY headlight repairs,
but I swear it's getting worse year on year.

I have to agree with you. It's also not helped by the general "can't give a
toss" attitude of the majority of drivers who think that unless they drive
around with fog lamps and main beam that their manhood will shrivel. It's
fairly common on country roads to be followed by some duck who refuses to
dip his headlights.

As to bulb maintenance you're right again. In any queue of ten vehicles at
least two will have one or more bulbs out. At least one will have bulbs in
but probably upside down.

The ubiquitous 5/21 watt tail/stoplight can often be forced into its
holder arse about-face

--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%

In message , Grimly
Curmudgeon writes
What is needed is legislation that forbids parking with the headlights
on facing oncoming traffic.
Oh wait, it's there already, is it not...

One of the rows of restaurants around here ends at the Police Station
just over the brow of the hill. The taxis often wait outside the Station
headlights on, wrong side of road.

Outside the restaurants they often double park to wait, admittedly
facing the right way, forcing traffic into the right filter lane coming
the other way and just by the brow of the hill. With luck, it'll be a
police car that has the head on smash.
--
Bill

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Nov 25, 2:03 am, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
Yes, I know I've had a bitch on here before about DIY headlight repairs,
but
I swear it's getting worse year on year. Since the evenings have got dark
again, I've been blinded from the front and dazzled from the rear so many
times that I've lost count. This is either because headlight bulbs have
been
fitted incorrectly, or the cretins behind the wheel don't know what the
blue
light on the dash means ...

On top of this, on more than one occasion, I've almost run into the back
of
a motorbike that's turned out to be a car with the offside tail light
out.

Today, I had to drive to another town some thirty miles away, and for
most
of the time it was more or less foggy. At least one in three cars was not
showing any lights. I think I saw about two that were actually using
their
rear fog lights. Funny how drivers always manage to find the tiresome
things
on a dark wet night when they are guaranteed to dazzle you, but never
have
them on when it's full daylight and thick fog !

Anyway, on the return trip, as I passed the main county police
headquarters,
a law car pulled out behind me. It had one headlight pointing into the
ditch, and the other up into my rearview mirror. If it's now reached the
point where even the coppers can't keep their own vehicles legal, we
might
as well all give up ...

DIY headlight bulb replacement should be banned. You ought to have to
take
your car to approved garages where there is someone trained and certified
to
change the wretched things correctly :-(

Rant over ...

Arfa

The problem is not the replacing of bulbs.
It is the soft suspension of modern cars neccesitating headlight
adjusters that work from the dashboard which some people don't bother
with.


Headlights that are a bit high - maybe. Headlights straight in my face or
right in my mirror - moron behind the wheel who doesn't know what a blue
warning indicator means. One headlight in the ditch and one pointing at the
moon - wrongly fitted bulbs. By far the vast majority of cases fall into the
latter two categories, and the problem with the second of those two most
definitely *is* in the replacing of the bulbs ...

Arfa

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Arfa Daily wrote:
DIY headlight bulb replacement should be banned. You ought to have to
take your car to approved garages where there is someone trained and
certified to change the wretched things correctly :-(

Changing a bulb for one of the correct type won't alter the beam setting.
What is more likely is the car has been damaged and repaired and the new
unit not adjusted correctly. If a new car, this won't be picked up until
the first MOT.


When was the last time you changed a headlight bulb Dave ? They have offset
locating 'tangs' on them to make sure that the main and dip filaments are
correctly located in the reflector. Unfortunately, many modern headlamp
units are so awkwardly located that bulb replacement can only be carried out
by feel. In these cases, it is perfectly possible to get the bulb in place
such that at least one of the locating tangs is not in its slot. Because the
retaining clip is only made of a thin gauge spring steel wire, it is
vanishingly easy to force it back into its clip, thus holding the bulb in
its seat at an angle. The result of this is a beam pointing either at the
ditch, or the moon ...

Arfa



--
*Work is for people who don't know how to fish.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
...
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article
,
Steve Firth wrote:
Changing a bulb for one of the correct type won't alter the beam
setting. What is more likely is the car has been damaged and repaired
and the new unit not adjusted correctly. If a new car, this won't be
picked up until the first MOT.

Putting the bulbs in upside down will alter the beam setting.

Which type of bulb can be fitted upside down if it matters? None I've
seen.

Just about all of them if one is hamfisted enough. My local garage reckons
its one of the more significant causes of MoT failure.

--
€¢DarWin|
_/ _/


Likewise at my local garage. Chris the tester, told me just a couple of
weeks ago when I asked him, that he has to correctly refit DIY replaced
bulbs on a daily basis

Arfa