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Originally Posted by shankar.balan In a city like Bangalore where the street lights dont work most of the time and where there are evil potholes, construction debris, broken dividers, scattered iron rods, broken concrete slabs and other rubble and other dangers strewn on the streets it is very difficult to drive at night. Even on the ring roads we come across issues like the above.
Hence many people tend to use high beam. This is not the best solution but what does one do when one cannot see properly ahead?
I have fitted a pair of smaller driving lamps on my front bumper in the space which is ostensibly provided for fog lamps. Switching these on at night helps me to see whats immediately in front of me since these lights shed a decent pool of light to highligh t the road immediately in front of the vehicle.
Using these in combination with my headlamps (dipped), allows for easier visibility while driving at night. |
This is exactly what I also do.
The streetlights in Pune are one of the worst in the world!!! Totally useless and a waste of taxpayers money and electricity!
People have broken up dividers on almost all roads, to enable two wheelers to cross over to the other side. The broken concrete slabs are left on the road itself and they are death traps. I once hit a slab due to poor visibility and my Chevy's side step was badly mangled.
On top of all this, there are lots of manholes with their metal covers protruding out dangerously.
Four years back, I installed two Hella 500 projectors on my Chevy, which are focused on the road just ahead of me. I can see the road ahead very clearly for 15 - 20 metres. This has helped me tremendously to avoid all types of hindrances on the road. These lights do not blind other road users. I always use my headlights on low beam in the city.
This was how I was driving till about 2 years back. I never used to care much about people using their high beams always.
All this changed one day. A guy in a Corolla blinded me completely with his HIDs or Xenons or whatever lights and I drove into a ditch to save myself. I was so furious that I installed another pair of Hella 500s and aimed them straight. It is designed to blind anyone who drives with high beams.
Now, the combined headlight & auxiliary light output stands at 660W. Let me assure you that it is too hot to handle!
Yesterday I came across a BMW 7 series car near Kondhwa. He was coming at full speed with his high beams on. When I flashed him twice, requesting him to lower his beams, he came straight at me, probably to scare me and drive me off road! What happened next, was what he never expected even in his wildest dreams!!!
I suddenly switched on all my lights and gave that miserable jerk, a taste of his own medicine. He was totally blinded, braked hard and came to a full stop near me. I was on my lane and never left it. I gave him a stern look and all he could do was mumble something and drive off!!!
After being on the road for over 2L kilometres, I no longer let high beam drivers get away easily.
I have mentioned in most of my travelogues, how difficult it is to drive when all other road users are on high beams. I have personally seen hundreds of Volvo buses being driven with 6 - 8 headlights.
During my trips to Goa and to Udaipur, I spent a lot of time on the road at night. The high beam glare was so intense that my eyes used to be swollen at the end of the day! I also had to use all my lights to see the road clearly. It is impossible to drive without high beams on highways.
As far as I am concerned, I never use high beams inside the city on purpose. But if anyone blinds me, I usually retort with BRUTE power with my Hellas. I am fed up of being the 'good guy'!
I will narrate one more incident to prove how important high beams are. We go for a drive every week on Nagar highway. We have dinner from a Dhaba and return back home. One day, during our drive, I was maintaining about 90 kmph and the time was about 20.30 hrs. I was on low beam and my low beam Hellas. My wife suddenly shouted at me about something on the road and I switched to high beam. What we saw, startled us! A sugar cane trailer was in the middle of the road, with no lights, trying to cross to the other side of the highway. I braked hard and avoided the trailer. There was no way I could have seen it without my powerful high beams.
All I can say is, use high beams judiciously. One cannot just stop using it! Just drive from Mysore to Channarayapatna at night. You will know what I mean!!!
High beams are vital when you are driving fast.