Time to enforce or encourage drivers to put their lights on

[Accy cyclist]

During our club ride today i roughly counted the number of vehicles mostly cars that didn't have side lights turned on. Not just cars but cars coloured the same as the road, Graphite,black and grey cars are hard to see on a grey drizzly day so why don't the drivers put their lights on? If they're too dumb or too lazy or too stupid isn't it time they were pulled over for not being visible to other road users?
And before i get the "if they're hard to see how did you see them to count them?" Yes i saw them but most when they were a few yards away which is dangerous to cyclists.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

During our club ride today i roughly counted the number of vehicles mostly cars that didn't have side lights turned on.

Go on then, how many?

 

[Accy cyclist]

Go on then, how many?

I stopped counting when i got to a hundred, and that was only half way through the 4 hour ride.

 

[ColinJ]

Hang on, if they were that invisible, how did you see them to count them?

I have been noticing the opposite - that a lot of cars seem to have lights on when it isn't that dark. I think some makes must automatically switch the lights on when ambient light conditions are lower than some threshold level.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I stopped counting when i got to a hundred, and that was only half way through the 4 hour ride.

They must have been fairly visible then.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Hang on, if they were that invisible, how did you see them to count them?

They must have been fairly visible then.

Bugger...

 

[steve50]

During our club ride today i roughly counted the number of vehicles mostly cars that didn't have side lights turned on. Not just cars but cars coloured the same as the road, Graphite,black and grey cars are hard to see on a grey drizzly day so why don't the drivers put their lights on? If they're too dumb or too lazy or too stupid isn't it time they were pulled over for not being visible to other road users?

i totally agree with you, grey .black and various shades in between can almost become invisible against a dull grey or foggy back ground http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/seasonal/driving-in-fog.html, unfortunately there are not enough police out there to catch every rule breaker. Volvo had the right idea over thirty years ago when they came up with the idea of headlights that came on when the ignition was switched on, they have done the studies and it has been proven having drl's on a car can reduce accidents. http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/daytime-running-lights.html

 

[Accy cyclist]

They must have been fairly visible then.

So you think it's ok to drive without side lights on a grey drizzly day? What about people using the road who don't have perfect vision.

 

[steve50]

the highway code states when driving in poor visibility ie; fog, snow heavy rain etc you should use dipped headlamps, i don't think people with poor vision has a lot to do with it just common sense should dictate if the weather conditions are bad you should make yourself more visible to other road users.

 

[mr messy]

My pet hate is the people driving with daylight running lights. Number you see at night with unlit rears is ridiculous!

 

[steve50]

[QUOTE 3977253, member: 9609"]If it is that gloomy then may be you should be using brighter lights to see where you are going, it is up to you not to crash into things.[/QUOTE]
it is also up to the vehicle driver to use his / her lights , http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/driving-in-adverse-weather-conditions---fog-234-to-236.html

 

[Accy cyclist]

[QUOTE 3977253, member: 9609"]If it is that gloomy then may be you should be using brighter lights to see where you are going, it is up to you not to crash into things.[/QUOTE]

So if i suddenly see a grey car coming at me from the right on a roundabout it's my fault that i haven't avoided them if they hit me because i haven't seen them till the last second because my lights aren't powerful enough?

 

[steve50]

My pet hate is the people driving with daylight running lights. Number you see at night with unlit rears is ridiculous!

Again that is down to the vehicle driver not taking note of the lighting up times and switching on their lights accordingly.

 

[steve50]

[QUOTE 3977253, member: 9609"]If it is that gloomy then may be you should be using brighter lights to see where you are going, it is up to you not to crash into things.[/QUOTE]
What about another drivers vehicle crashing into him? I think what he is trying to get across is the number of drivers on the road in adverse weather conditions who are not using their lights therefore making them almost invisible until the last minute, drivers who "forget" to turn on their lights when its foggy for instance.

 

[Accy cyclist]

The bike i was riding yesterday is graphite by the way, but i managed to fit a decent front and rear light and wear a high viz/reflective jacket and overshoes. To fit the lights and put the jacket and overshoes on took about 3 minutes. To make a graphite car easier for others to see all the driver has to do is flick a switch which takes about 3 seconds.