[ghodlur]

Day in day out I see people driving their cars with either damaged rear lamp covers, no lamps, non working lamps etc. The same applies to broken OVRMs which are seen dangling besides and the driver is care free of the same. Out of the normal 4 brake lamps only one or two are found working. Why are these essential indicators neglected by the car owners whereas the headlamps are upgraded to HID and high end stuff. Almost 30% of the cars which I see daily on the roads during my office drives are with the faulty rear lamps. Many a times I was near to bumping the car in front since I could not see the brake lights come on although I had maintained sufficient distance. This would not be the case in the bumper to bumper traffic.

Dont the people have an obligation to ensure that they drive safely with all the features in place.

Have some BHPians also have been driving with such malfunctioning tail lamps. Please provide your inputs.

Mods - If such a thread exists pls kindly merge.

[manikjeet]

I am very particular about this

I make sure that all my cars lights are working and none is broken, I check them once a month and replace any faulty light asap

[androdev]

Some cars actually display malfunction icon/light on the instrument panel, hope more cars start doing this.

It is possible that either owners are not aware that lights have gone kaput or waiting for the next scheduled service trip.

Of course, it is not uncommon to see cars/bikes without front-lights also - my guess is that they are trying to be eco-friendly.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by androdev

It is possible that either owners are not aware that lights have gone kaput or waiting for the next scheduled service trip.

Well, if the service is not due for the next six months say, would the lamps not be replaced or repaired till that time. I think thats plain irresponsible on the part of the vehicle owner.

What about the light going bad? The Indian mentality of continuing with one functional light is disgusting. Add to that the broken cover, the visibility of the brake lamps for eg becomes very poor putting to risk the car following.

Until and unless such car owners are fined by the relevant authorities, things would remain status quo.

[para_7k]

One of my colleagues who is a good and responsible driver had his right tail lamp cluster hit by a biker.

He replaced the lamps promptly but he left the cluster broken.

I asked him and he said his car has been getting many appreciations on how it's being maintained and he wanted to keep the broken part as a "deliberate eyesore".

He is a bit superstitious, if you can understand what I mean

[greenhorn]

1. if its left as broken, you reduce the tendencies of people to damage an otherwise flawless car
2. taillights are not percieved as being critical to a car's functioning, as long as one set works, it should be good

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by para_7k

he wanted to keep the broken part as a "deliberate eyesore".
He is a bit superstitious, if you can understand what I mean

At this rate even the deliveries will be done with broken lamp cluster. I think he should opt for some better eyesores, how about the traditionanl limbu mirchi or the black doll?

Originally Posted by greenhorn

1. if its left as broken, you reduce the tendencies of people to damage an otherwise flawless car
2. taillights are not percieved as being critical to a car's functioning, as long as one set works, it should be good

1. This seems like Gandhiji's funda "Ek aur gaal do thapad marne ke liye"
2. Absolutely they are critical, they are the only means of alerting the following car incase of any emergency stops.
Feel free to drive the one eyed beauty.

[vasoo]

Hmm. I am part of this breed of people. Have a partially broken rear lamp which I did not replace yet. The bulb work and no issues there. Main reason is the exorbitant cost than anything else. And from a distance it dont look obvious due to the complex design if the light.

[gd1418]

If something doesn't work or damaged in my vehicle, I get this unsuppressable urge to get it repaired immediately. Thus, all components in my truck are working.

In my office the garage door is of frosted glass, so when I reverse and apply brakes, I get to see if the lights are working or not.

I hate people who drive around with damaged, non-working tail lamps, parking lamps, indicator units etc. Actually I fee bad for the car rather than the owner/driver.

[mmxylorider]

Putting a different perspective.

My vehicles are driven exclusively by me - ergo I hardly get a chance to see if all lights are working or not. I do step out once a while with blinkers, headlights etc on to see if they work - but how many people actually do that?

So the question is - Are people unaware they are driving with non-functioning rear lights?

[supremeBaleno]

Maybe it's just a matter of not having time to get it fixed.

In Chennai, you can see water splashing around in the tail light assembly of cars that have the glass broken - rain water entering the assembly. So while the tail-light or brake-light lights fine, even when partly/fully submerged in accumulated water. I have always wondered whether this wont cause any electrical short-circuit ??

[dhanushs]

Non functional break lights do go unnoticed. Once, I went two full weeks with a bust RHS break light. Well, unless you have a reflection or so to look at your car from the back, you never know.

I'm yet to bust an indicator in my IKON, but then, in my RTR and my 800, if one of the bulbs fuses, the indicator starts blinking furiously, and you know for sure.

[RaSing]

Another reason could be the crowded places people stay or go for their work everyday . I have seen few of my friends in who stay in areas like Chandni Chowk , Chawri Bazar in Delhi.These guys keep a spare car for areas like these and avoid doing any maintainence on these cars specially a broken tail lamp or small dents/scratches .

[arunkk]

Major reason for rear lights not working in most of the cars is due to the owner not knowing about it. In places like Bangalore with bumper to bumper traffic, one can easily make out whether tail lamps are working or not by noticing the reflection of red light from the windshield of the car behind you. It cannot be missed if the driver keeps a good watch on the RVM.

But more than cars, how many times have you seen city buses especially BMTC in bangalore with working rear red lights?

[arvind71181]

Forget rear lamps, there are people who travel with their front head lights broken and not working. And the broken light almost always happens to be the right side one so the driver on the opposite side only realizes at the last moment that it is a car