Cars with bulbs out, seems to be about 1 in 5 !
Discussion
Was on the way home last night and it astounded me how many cars have a defective bulb,we had one on the Galaxy, it told us via the screen that a stop lamp was out and I changed it the following day (when it was light), so we were down 1 bulb for about 5 miles, so either a lot of people are on their short journey before they sort it out or just drive round indefinitely, until say it fails the MOT.
The most numerous combination seems to be young women in small french cars, cant say I have ever seen a Peugeot 206 with a full compliment of working bulbs.
I saw a car last night, not with the usual failed main bean but still a working sidelight, it just had one main beam on one side, very confusing, at least when a main goes the sidelight still shows the shape of the car, as it was it looked for all the world like a motorbike, would be easy for it to be mistaken and cause a crash.
People seem to think Foglights are a good substitute, which I suppose they are for finishing a journey rather than having people misjudge the width of your car and crash into it but they leave them on all the time, you get cars with one headlamp and one fog/driving light, it looks coming, sometimes expensive high end cars as well and not just the bangers.
I think there is a business opportunity here, I suspect most people know when they have a bulb out, most modern cars tell you, friends tell you and its usually obvious when on a dark road as you cant see much. I suspect people dont because they cant be bothered, keep forgetting or dont have the aptitude or knowledge to perform such acomplex operation
to be fair some of them are a pain in the arse but its no excuse, your average 21 year old Pug 206 driver can operate a mobile phone whilst driving which is quite complex to do so surely a bulb change isnt beyond them. I think in part it is sexism as well, women tend to expect men to do such jobs and will drive round until one does, that said its loads of men doing it as well.
So, surely there is a business opportunity for someone for a drive in bulb change facility, £20 to change the average bulb, most people would pay, get the bulbs for pennies and a couple of trained monkeys could do it, would make a good franchise to put in with someone else, say retail parks, bit of the car park, a bit of a covered area and get changing bulbs, perhaps Halfords already do it but not sure.
What are the actual penalties for drivign without working bulbs ? I dont know as I keep mine pretty much always all working so have never needed to find out, do people actually get stopped ?
The most numerous combination seems to be young women in small french cars, cant say I have ever seen a Peugeot 206 with a full compliment of working bulbs.
I saw a car last night, not with the usual failed main bean but still a working sidelight, it just had one main beam on one side, very confusing, at least when a main goes the sidelight still shows the shape of the car, as it was it looked for all the world like a motorbike, would be easy for it to be mistaken and cause a crash.
People seem to think Foglights are a good substitute, which I suppose they are for finishing a journey rather than having people misjudge the width of your car and crash into it but they leave them on all the time, you get cars with one headlamp and one fog/driving light, it looks coming, sometimes expensive high end cars as well and not just the bangers.
I think there is a business opportunity here, I suspect most people know when they have a bulb out, most modern cars tell you, friends tell you and its usually obvious when on a dark road as you cant see much. I suspect people dont because they cant be bothered, keep forgetting or dont have the aptitude or knowledge to perform such acomplex operation
to be fair some of them are a pain in the arse but its no excuse, your average 21 year old Pug 206 driver can operate a mobile phone whilst driving which is quite complex to do so surely a bulb change isnt beyond them. I think in part it is sexism as well, women tend to expect men to do such jobs and will drive round until one does, that said its loads of men doing it as well.So, surely there is a business opportunity for someone for a drive in bulb change facility, £20 to change the average bulb, most people would pay, get the bulbs for pennies and a couple of trained monkeys could do it, would make a good franchise to put in with someone else, say retail parks, bit of the car park, a bit of a covered area and get changing bulbs, perhaps Halfords already do it but not sure.
What are the actual penalties for drivign without working bulbs ? I dont know as I keep mine pretty much always all working so have never needed to find out, do people actually get stopped ?
Just put our Mk2 Mondeo back on the road (after about 5 months off) about a week ago, and a couple of days later one of the dipped beams gave up the ghost. Unfortunately, it's the one with the battery right behind it, so more than a 5 minute job...
But yes, there do seem to be a lot of them around at the moment. I suspect a lot of it relates to not a lot of people checking their lights (I do a check at least once a week, but then, my daily driver is 23 years old...) and then not being bothered to do anything about it until another one or two go...
But yes, there do seem to be a lot of them around at the moment. I suspect a lot of it relates to not a lot of people checking their lights (I do a check at least once a week, but then, my daily driver is 23 years old...) and then not being bothered to do anything about it until another one or two go...
Edited by Madscanner on Thursday 17th November 12:44
<non thinking motorist mode>
I've got an MOT so the car's legal, and anything like that I'll wait until the next service where the garage can sort it out. It's not as if the car won't work without them, and the one on the other side still works, so what's the problem.
</non thinking motorist mode>
I've got an MOT so the car's legal, and anything like that I'll wait until the next service where the garage can sort it out. It's not as if the car won't work without them, and the one on the other side still works, so what's the problem.
</non thinking motorist mode>
I've a front sidelight out on my Shogun, but it means having to remove part of the inner wing mudguard to replace it so I've left it for a while. The headlamps illuminate through a ballast when the ignition's on so there's still illumination there.
I did have a tail light out last week and stopped on my way home to replace it though. I hate losing the redundancy of having two.
I did have a tail light out last week and stopped on my way home to replace it though. I hate losing the redundancy of having two.
There are an increasing number of modern cars where it's virtually impossible to change a headlight bulb at the side of the road. I guess the manufacturers think it's a way of getting cars into the workshops.
Surely it should be a requirement that bulbs should be capable of being changed at the roadside with no tools?
Surely it should be a requirement that bulbs should be capable of being changed at the roadside with no tools?
I think it's partly the fault of some manufacturers for making it do awkward for a simple headlamp bulb change. My girlfriend's Ka had a dipped beam go the other day and she had to drive with it for a couple of days until I could get a chance to do it. There was no way she could - for such a small, simple car the design is ridiculous. But it's not the only car like that at all...
Quite agree- it is astonishing how many there are. I usually try to tell the driver if the opportunity arises and assume that a lot of cars don't have a warning for blown bulbs (either that or the blown-bulb warning is blown )
On the other point, Halfords (and probably others) already offer this service or just pop into your local garage or MoT station - not much point in a specialist IMO.
)On the other point, Halfords (and probably others) already offer this service or just pop into your local garage or MoT station - not much point in a specialist IMO.
Thought Halfords already do a nominal charge bulb fitting service. I see the main problem as the almost impossible task of fitting spares at the side of the road in modern cars, what with whole front ends needing to be removed or access flaps under wheel arches (as in mine) needing to be found, not easy in daylight, far less so in the dark and that's when you find out it's not working. Spare bulbs don't count for much in those circumstances. I take it that the people who design those parts of cars never have bulb failures themselves whilst the cynical side of me thinks that the harder the bulb is to change the more money the dealers make....
CanAm said:
There are an increasing number of modern cars where it's virtually impossible to change a headlight bulb at the side of the road. I guess the manufacturers think it's a way of getting cars into the workshops.
Surely it should be a requirement that bulbs should be capable of being changed at the roadside with no tools?
This simply isn't true.Surely it should be a requirement that bulbs should be capable of being changed at the roadside with no tools?
As far as I am aware, it is a requirement, although use of basic tools may be included in this. The number of cars on the road that I can't change a headlight or any other bulb on in less than five minutes without anything other than a big flathead screwdriver (or a specific screwdriver like, say, a T25 for a Mk1 Focus) is probably below 1%. There is, particularly for headlights, always a way to do it at the roadside because there simply must be. Some are fiddly, some are tight, some are awkward and most are blind but if you've done it once on the particular car, it's easy.
A lot of modern designs are actually excellent, although some are a pain - mention must be made to the current Fiesta allowing a silly space almost exactly the size of the bulb, or last-generation Meganes requiring wheelarch access past air con pipes. These are exceptional cases, though, and over 75% are dead simple.
Drivers shouldn't complain about car manufacturers making bulbs impossible to change - they're not. They should probably worry more about their own lack of proficiency in doing so.
Edited by McSam on Thursday 17th November 13:09
McSam said:
his simply isn't true.
As far as I am aware, it is a requirement, although use of basic tools may be included in this. The number of cars on the road that I can't change a headlight or any other bulb on in less than five minutes without anything other than a big flathead screwdriver (or a specific screwdriver like, say, a T25 for a Mk1 Focus) is probably below 1%. There is, particularly for headlights, always a way to do it at the roadside because there simply must be. Some are fiddly, some are tight, some are awkward and most are blind but if you've done it once on the particular car, it's easy.
A lot of modern designs are actually excellent, although some are a pain - mention must be made to the current Fiesta allowing a silly space almost exactly the size of the bulb, or last-generation Meganes requiring wheelarch access past air con pipes. These are exceptional cases, though, and over 75% are dead simple.
Drivers shouldn't complain about car manufacturers making bulbs impossible to change - they're not. They should probably worry more about their own lack of proficiency in doing so.
I think you would be surprised at the number of cars where it really is not straight forward.As far as I am aware, it is a requirement, although use of basic tools may be included in this. The number of cars on the road that I can't change a headlight or any other bulb on in less than five minutes without anything other than a big flathead screwdriver (or a specific screwdriver like, say, a T25 for a Mk1 Focus) is probably below 1%. There is, particularly for headlights, always a way to do it at the roadside because there simply must be. Some are fiddly, some are tight, some are awkward and most are blind but if you've done it once on the particular car, it's easy.
A lot of modern designs are actually excellent, although some are a pain - mention must be made to the current Fiesta allowing a silly space almost exactly the size of the bulb, or last-generation Meganes requiring wheelarch access past air con pipes. These are exceptional cases, though, and over 75% are dead simple.
Drivers shouldn't complain about car manufacturers making bulbs impossible to change - they're not. They should probably worry more about their own lack of proficiency in doing so.
Edited by McSam on Thursday 17th November 13:09
I have a sidelight out on my 156 at the mo, but as any 156 owner will know they are a complete pig to change, so being as i never drive with just my sidelights on, i'm putting off doing it
McSam said:
his simply isn't true.
As far as I am aware, it is a requirement, although use of basic tools may be included in this. The number of cars on the road that I can't change a headlight or any other bulb on in less than five minutes without anything other than a big flathead screwdriver (or a specific screwdriver like, say, a T25 for a Mk1 Focus) is probably below 1%. There is, particularly for headlights, always a way to do it at the roadside because there simply must be. Some are fiddly, some are tight, some are awkward and most are blind but if you've done it once on the particular car, it's easy.
A lot of modern designs are actually excellent, although some are a pain - mention must be made to the current Fiesta allowing a silly space almost exactly the size of the bulb, or last-generation Meganes requiring wheelarch access past air con pipes. These are exceptional cases, though, and over 75% are dead simple.
Drivers shouldn't complain about car manufacturers making bulbs impossible to change - they're not. They should probably worry more about their own lack of proficiency in doing so.
I'll call you next time I need a bulb changing on one of our Audis then. It really is a bumper-off job.As far as I am aware, it is a requirement, although use of basic tools may be included in this. The number of cars on the road that I can't change a headlight or any other bulb on in less than five minutes without anything other than a big flathead screwdriver (or a specific screwdriver like, say, a T25 for a Mk1 Focus) is probably below 1%. There is, particularly for headlights, always a way to do it at the roadside because there simply must be. Some are fiddly, some are tight, some are awkward and most are blind but if you've done it once on the particular car, it's easy.
A lot of modern designs are actually excellent, although some are a pain - mention must be made to the current Fiesta allowing a silly space almost exactly the size of the bulb, or last-generation Meganes requiring wheelarch access past air con pipes. These are exceptional cases, though, and over 75% are dead simple.
Drivers shouldn't complain about car manufacturers making bulbs impossible to change - they're not. They should probably worry more about their own lack of proficiency in doing so.
Edited by McSam on Thursday 17th November 13:09
I drive in Germany frequently, and always carry a spare set of bulbs - which is a legal requirement - even if I can't change them.
My E90 3 series has a little door in the wheel arch that you open to reach through and change the bulb I know a lot of car manufacturers aren't quite as thoughtful as that, which must be part of the reason so many people drive round with bulbs out. The other reason could be laziness, and finally some of them may not even know, especially with their rear lights.
The reason it's always small cars (as pointed out by the OP), is that most larger cars now tell you exactly where the problem is.
I know a lot of car manufacturers aren't quite as thoughtful as that, which must be part of the reason so many people drive round with bulbs out. The other reason could be laziness, and finally some of them may not even know, especially with their rear lights. The reason it's always small cars (as pointed out by the OP), is that most larger cars now tell you exactly where the problem is.
kambites said:
Our poverty spec 2002 Fiat Punto has a "blown bulb" warning light on the dashboard... it's hardly a luxury item.
Really? Wow - things have moved on. We just have to fall back on the other reasons then - people unaware of it, or just can't be bothered.One other thing - I've been driving 17 years and 6 days (just worked that one out!), often owning two or even three cars, and I've changed two bulbs in that entire time; one on the BMW 6 months ago and one on my Celica 12 years ago. Is this very car dependant? Do some cars blow bulbs more than others? My Elise is 9 years old now, and it's never blown a bulb!
If we had traffic police out on the roads and didn't just rely on speed cameras as a method of controlling the roads we wouldn't have this problem.
At the moment I am seeing the same two cars every morning driving toward me with 1 passenger side headlight completely unlit and the driver side foglight not working, bloody ridiculous but until they are stopped by the police they shall continue driving like this.
At the moment I am seeing the same two cars every morning driving toward me with 1 passenger side headlight completely unlit and the driver side foglight not working, bloody ridiculous but until they are stopped by the police they shall continue driving like this.
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