bloody lights!

rant alert!

well its 8.30 on a monday morning and i've just travelled from Hastings into central London and i'm in a foul mood!

firstly, i've had to put up with all the tossers driving nose to tail with their fog lights on (this is my absolute pet hate!) then as i'm filtering through traffic on the A20 i get an ******** on a new black ZX6R with his light on main beam filtering behind me. after several attempts to cover my mirrors to hint he's blinding me, i pull over to let him through, he then wobbles through (new bike in fairness) so i flash him a couple of times thinking he'll switch off his main beam. at traffic lights i sit and tell him hes got his lights on main beam and they're blinding people, to which he blanks me! in the end i just took off at silly speed to try and get him away from me. if anyone comes up behind a black transalp complete with panniers tonight make sure your lights are not on main beam because i'm likely to bloody well strangle you! inconsiderate selfish ******s!

ahhhh,....... thats better!

What a way to start your day Hope it gets better mate. At least it will be sunny later so your ride home should be "light-free"

Some would consider this as a safety measure. Whilst blinding people, he certainly made sure that he was seen.

Personally, I wouldn't use full beam unless I absolutely had to, side lights are on constantly, and I now look like a copper (thanks to stu).

wont be safe if he keeps on doing it behind me!

besides which, it doesnt help because it makes it very difficult to judge distance and speed, which means although people can see him they may think he's further away or travelling at a slower pace than he actually is, and then pull out anyway.

also when he causes someone to be blinded or lose concentration and crash it doesnt really make things safer, apart from him of course so thats ok then!

like i said - bit selfish and stoooopid!

Well I use full beams when filtering on the motorway, makes a huge difference to how cars react to you and they see you a long way off and move over earlier. That said if I get behind another bike I do turn high beams off, no point in burning a hole in their back!

Gotta say, nothing quite so irritating as bikers using high beams just because. Drives me nuts, plus dangerous. When I've been in the car and had a bike come up behind me with full beams its bloody awful as I get completely dazzled. On more than one occasion its forced me to put the brakes on as I can no longer see anything in front of me.

Originally Posted by Kate

Gotta say, nothing quite so irritating as bikers using high beams just because. Drives me nuts, plus dangerous. When I've been in the car and had a bike come up behind me with full beams its bloody awful as I get completely dazzled. On more than one occasion its forced me to put the brakes on as I can no longer see anything in front of me.

Hmm, can't say I've had this complaint from any other cage drivers, I ride into work behind a few cage driving colleagues. But it surely cannot be that bad that you cannot see anything through your front windscreen? It helps me as I've noticed the cars move over and I'll take any help I can get on a busy M25!

That being said I don't use high beams when I'm sat in a normal road position (i.e. middle of the lane). I only turn them on when I am filtering between lanes which works a treat.

Using high beam around other road users is just the height of rudeness, and makes it incredibly difficult for other road users to judge how far away you are.

[Stu]

Originally Posted by sv_dan

Hmm, can't say I've had this complaint from any other cage drivers, I ride into work behind a few cage driving colleagues. But it surely cannot be that bad that you cannot see anything through your front windscreen? It helps me as I've noticed the cars move over and I'll take any help I can get on a busy M25!

That being said I don't use high beams when I'm sat in a normal road position (i.e. middle of the lane). I only turn them on when I am filtering between lanes which works a treat.

I think I am in total agreement with you. Just to confirm, do you mean daylight only?

Originally Posted by Stu

I think I am in total agreement with you. Just to confirm, do you mean daylight only?

Yes, daytime only. Height of rudeness? . I ride everyday and having them on when filtering makes a big difference, especially when driving in fog or rain. I also only use them on the M'way. But then I guess I'm astill being rude eh!? Ah well, I can take being called rude if it means I get noticed on the busy highway of death (otherwise known as the M25).