Beware car headlight clusters

[yumpy]

In the last few months, I've been almost knocked off the bike twice and almost run over while taking the kids to school because of difficulty in seeing indicators in car headlight clusters. The front ones.

A bit of salt and dirt and some of them do not show up well. Separate indicators that are orange are always visible, but some of these hidden back in the single headlight clusters are very difficult to see. The colour is dull, the bulb is way back and they're not where you naturally look.

I don't know exactly which cars they are, but its been quite scary and makes you wonder with all the other health and safety stuff around, how some of them ever got adopted in the first place.

 

[Amanda P]

Everything you say is true. There are some very poor designs about; triumphs of style over function.

But as ADIs like to tell you, the only thing you learn from an indicator flashing is that the bulb works. It doesn't mean the driver is using it sensibly, and you should always wait for corroboration before believing what it seems to be telling you. I learned this the hard way too.

 

[XmisterIS]

On a similar theme, I would never ride a motorbike with two headlights (or a bicycle with two halogens side-by-side) because at night the two lights close together can look like two car headlights much further away than the bike really is!

I was thinking about putting double headlights on my motoribike, but I've scrapped that idea now - one headlight, coming down the middle of the road and people definitely know what it is.

 

[cisamcgu]

- one headlight, coming down the middle of the road and people definitely know what it is.

Yes, a car with a broken headlight

 

[XmisterIS]

Yes, a car with a broken headlight

Lol! Down the middle of the road? Perhaps in Khazakstan, yes, but in blighty, less often!

 

[byegad]

While not really noticing a disadvantage to the headlight cluster I have noticed how concentric rear light set ups make indicators harder to see while the lights and brake lights are on. Fortunately around here I'm practically alone in using indicators so it's not that much of a problem.

 

[ventoux50]

Yumpy - you're so right- VW seem to be the worst, the indicator light is in the centre of the red rear marker light and brake light combo - when the car brakes and the indicator comes on it's almost impossible to see.

A real design fault !

Be careful out there !

 

[Archie_tect]

While not really noticing a disadvantage to the headlight cluster I have noticed how concentric rear light set ups make indicators harder to see while the lights and brake lights are on. Fortunately around here I'm practically alone in using indicators so it's not that much of a problem.

Especially VW ones using LED clusters where the orange LEDs are within the red ones. If a VW is braking and indicating you can't see the indicator at all...

 

[Halfmanhalfbike]

Yumpy - you're so right- VW seem to be the worst, the indicator light is in the centre of the red rear marker light and brake light combo - when the car brakes and the indicator comes on it's almost impossible to see.

A real design fault !

Be careful out there !

Yes. VW should be shot for that design. How come it passed the safety inspections?

 

[Over The Hill]

I agree.

There must be a point where the indicator gets so close to the headlight that you cannot see it. Setting it apart is much better.

I hate the ones (on some peugeots) where the front indicator is on the inside of the headlight. That is wrong to me.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Car lights are way too bright now. There is the "More is Better" syndrome that has crept in over the last few decades in the intests of safety which has been anything but. Driving at night is a real pain in towns now, the glare from ever brighter lights masks your view of pedestrians and cyclists and makes it difficult to judge approach speeds. The best idea ever, dim dip, which was fitted to cars two decades ago was unfortunately short lived for one reason or another.

 

[Cardiac]

VW got it wrong on the Golf headlights as well...

 

[MossCommuter]

On a similar theme, I would never ride a motorbike with two headlights (or a bicycle with two halogens side-by-side)

I have two flashers side by side and shout "neeeeeeeee naaaaaaw neeeeeeeee naaaaaaaw" everywhere I go.

 

[Inertia]

It hadn't really occurred to me but this is very true, I find it a lot harder to notice indicators sometimes.  Just today I had to double take because I only JUST noticed the indicator flashing, it was almost hidden in the glare of the headlight.

 

[GrasB]

In terms of design I really like the indicators in wing mirrors, they're away from all other lights so it's obvious when they're working. But as Uncle Phil says, an indicator being on only proves that the bulb works.