RE: Dim drivers ignoring blown bulbs
Friday 17th January 2014
It's not just your area suffering from one-eyed car syndrome this time of year. New government statistics show that lighting and signalling is the single biggest cause of MoT failure. “It's usually just down to a blown bulb," says MoT tester Emma Dunbar of Clapham North MoT centre in south London. "A lot of people do ignore it."
Bulbs among the easier electronics to fixDunbar at the Clapham center reckons owners are aware they're lacking a full set of lights, but just leave it. "A lot of people think it's something more technical. They think it's a harder job than it is."
Dim drivers ignoring blown bulbs
MoT looming? You might not see failure coming if your lights don't work
One in five cars fail due to lighting, according to the most recent statistics from the Department for Transport spanning 2012/13. The next biggest cause, suspension problems, is cited in one in eight failures while dodgy brakes affect one in 10. You can of course get pulled by police for having a headlight out, but those MoT statistics show that it's only really getting spotted when owners go in for the annual test.
Bulbs among the easier electronics to fix
Some cars do make it difficult to change a bulb. Tester Ash Gaynor at the same centre singles out the previous model Renault Megane as being one of the worst, needing the front bumper off if the headlight seals have hardened, but he reckons on most non-Xenon cars it's a five-minute job at most.
The requirement from March last year to check warning lights is failing a lot of cars for lit airbag lights, we're told. "We've had loads of those," says Dunbar. However a loose connection in the steering wheel is usually to blame, she reckons. Those figures have yet to appear in the statistics supplied by VOSA (now the DVSA after the recent merger with the Driving Standards Agency).
Still to come are requirements to fail a car on a lit engine management light and also to fail diesels if a factory-fitted particulate filter has been removed. This comes into force next month and might scupper anyone who's had theirs whipped out by any of the companies offering removal service and ECU reflash. However you might get away with it if the job's a clean one. A spokesman for the DVSA told us that rather than check via computer whether the car was fitted with a DPF it's "a visual inspection of the exhaust system".
At the moment only five per cent of MoT failures are for fuel and exhaust, behind tyres and cracked windscreens.
Discussion
Most lazy retards just don't bother changing the bulbs. Just stick their fogs on. Does my nut.
It's not just a case of young'uns saying look at me I look cool, its mostly middle aged and older people who just dont seem to know their doing anything wrong as you flash your fogs at them to turn them off and you just get a blank confused look.
Even worse though when they take the view of lets fit xenons to my reflector headlights and screw everyone else so I can see better. Again no idea why your flashing them. This needs clamping down on aswell.
If you on here a Honda Jazz that I see between between Gaydon and Banbury its NOT FOGGY.
Rant over lol.
It's not just a case of young'uns saying look at me I look cool, its mostly middle aged and older people who just dont seem to know their doing anything wrong as you flash your fogs at them to turn them off and you just get a blank confused look.
Even worse though when they take the view of lets fit xenons to my reflector headlights and screw everyone else so I can see better. Again no idea why your flashing them. This needs clamping down on aswell.
If you on here a Honda Jazz that I see between between Gaydon and Banbury its NOT FOGGY.
Rant over lol.
Edited by dukebox9reg on Friday 17th January 09:17
What scares me is how many people seemingly don't realise they have a headlight bulb out. Got into the car with my mate a few weeks back and as soon as he put on the lights you could tell something was amiss. I said to him I thought he had a bulb out. He got out, looked and sure enough he had one headlight bulb blown. His response - I thought they'd gotten a bit dim recently. So he thought they had gotten a bit dim and yet this intelligent and well educated man didn't think to check the lights were working. I simply cannot understand this!
A five minutes job at most for most of today's cars? The last one that let itself to changing bulbs at a fuel station or in your driveway was my R50 MINI... the ones after that, no chance. Once tried it on the 2002 Citroën C5 my parents had at the time, in their garage with tools at hand... no freakin' chance. I don't have big hands but this would've involved child labour to successfully accomplish.
To change the xenons on my ZT-T would involve the front bumper coming off for starters, and don't ask me about the time I needed to change one on the Chimaera... the scrapes on my hands and forearms have just about healed.
Oh, and then there are the myriad of cars that need to have the new bulb entered into the ECU using diagnostic equipment or it won't work...
To change the xenons on my ZT-T would involve the front bumper coming off for starters, and don't ask me about the time I needed to change one on the Chimaera... the scrapes on my hands and forearms have just about healed.
Oh, and then there are the myriad of cars that need to have the new bulb entered into the ECU using diagnostic equipment or it won't work...
Hmm. I'd say that the OP along with those who have commented in the article have got it completely wrong.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
I always check everything the day before an MOT, including lights, twice I've still failed on a blown bulb requiring replacement at a ridiculous rate of labour for a 10 second job (easy access cluster). Both times the failures would have thrown up a dash warning light that wasn't there when the car was dropped off. Bulbs can blow at any time, and garages can be scam merchants.
If I have a headlight go, I don't drive - simple as that. It's dangerous... and whilst it might be "easy to fix", it wasn't in the dark and the rain!
I thought we had to be able to do this at the roadside now? Law and such like? I know it's not that simple - wasn't in the Megane that takes hours and half the car has to come apart? Perhaps I'm under an illusion.. I should check :P
I thought we had to be able to do this at the roadside now? Law and such like? I know it's not that simple - wasn't in the Megane that takes hours and half the car has to come apart? Perhaps I'm under an illusion.. I should check :P
yes some cars can be a pain in the bum to change lights but its gotta be done, its so dangerous to not have them working. i kid you not i saw a car the other day (s reg escort if it matters) and it was early morning so very dark and he didnt have any lights on? it turned out he had one working rear light and a side light out of all of them, people like that should be banned let alone fail an MOT.
Just keep on top of any maintenance of your vehicles and if you cant afford it then maybe youve got something out of your price range?
Just keep on top of any maintenance of your vehicles and if you cant afford it then maybe youve got something out of your price range?
heebeegeetee said:
Hmm. I'd say that the OP along with those who have commented in the article have got it completely wrong.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
A bit ironic that increasingly expensive and complex 'safety' systems are being forced upon us by legislation while at the same time, something simple as the requirement that a light bulb can be replaced at the side of the road by the driver (which is still officially in force) can be so easily worked around and accepted by the road authorities. Just as stupid as setting up test procedures for replacement brake pads that must be close to the spec of the original equipment pads (outlawing better ones than OE in the process), yet allowing people to replace their tyres with any old rubbish provided it's got the correct size and speed rating...
Oh, and when I'm at it ranting, the single greatest contribution legislation could make to traffic safety is finally enforcing a decent standard of lighting for bicyclists. This is the 21st century ferchrissakes, how comes that the few cyclists that do carry lighting at night (in cities about one in ten IME) are still pretty much effing invisible? A tiny yellow LED on your coat pocket and a red one on your back isn't going to make a lot of difference crossing pitch dark roundabouts in an environment where all the cars around are lit like effing Christmas trees, is it?
heebeegeetee said:
Hmm. I'd say that the OP along with those who have commented in the article have got it completely wrong.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
This.What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
Good timing, I saw three cars last night at about 10pm that had two working headlamp bulbs between them. The car at the back had one out, the car at the front had one out and the one in the middle had nothing, not even tail lights, but did have his hazzards on. In the words of social media, epic fail.
heebeegeetee said:
Hmm. I'd say that the OP along with those who have commented in the article have got it completely wrong.
What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
Nail Head.What has really happened is that various governing bodies/authorities (possibly mostly EU ones) have allowed, or indeed worked in hand with, manufacturers to make changing bulbs/ repairing lights as difficult and as expensive as can be got away with.
The main reason there are so many cars out there without a full set of working lights is that it has been made expensive and inconvenient to keep these lights working.
It's a disgrace, the motor industry is being allowed to get away with daylight (ahem) robbery.
I fondly remember the beautiful and logical simplicity of changing the bulbs in the many E30 3'ers I have had over the years - The system for the rear clusters in particular was just great - totally intuitive and if you bothered to "look in the book" you were left wondering why you had bothered.
I suspect anyone familiar with these will agree, if not there's no helping some folk!
Agree though that fronts in particular on modern cars are so complicated in many cases that, as much as there's no excuse to just think "f
k it" until MOT time, many would feel compelled to as they consider attempting/completing the job beyond them. That includes me, but fortunately I am lucky enough to have a new car every few months, so it's no-longer something which I oft need worry about...
Good timing, I saw three cars last night at about 10pm that had two working headlamp bulbs between them. The car at the back had one out, the car at the front had one out and the one in the middle had nothing, not even tail lights, but did have his hazzards on. In the words of social media, epic fail.
The Megane (X84 or Mk2) needing half the front end off thing is a load of tosh!
It's true that they're not massively accessible, but you only need wind a bit of lock on, open the inspection cover in the wheel arch to undo the unit cap and then you can do the rest from under the bonnet. As i've done with both sides 3 times in 6 months on the in-laws.
It's true that they're not massively accessible, but you only need wind a bit of lock on, open the inspection cover in the wheel arch to undo the unit cap and then you can do the rest from under the bonnet. As i've done with both sides 3 times in 6 months on the in-laws.
- Anyone in Bristol needing this service, i'll happily oblige for a damn sight less than the £7 per side Halfrauds charge!* ;-)
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