Better Than A Poke In The Eye With A Sharp Stick?

[Jamz]

[RANT ON]

Last night, I rode in the darkness (and without my trusty tinted visor) for the first time since possibly February!

I was a bit rusty. It takes a while to get all your confidence back in night riding. A big part of riding a bike is looking through the corner to the exit, but of course the headlights only shine forwards, so essentially you can't really see, and have to totally readjust your riding style.

Added to this, you can't see the potholes and dead badgers.

And it was drizzling with rain.

I headed off down the country lanes, being very sensible, and it wasn't long before a car approached from the opposite direction.

I was riding on high-beam headlights so as not to end up sniffing the hedgerows, and, as I always do, was riding with my thumb over the high beam switch.

This is a very simple concept:

When you shine a 6,000 watt light into someones eyes at night, they have trouble seeing. If they are driving two tonne of metal or riding a bike at the time, this makes for a dangerous situation for all concerned. Especially with rain to refract teh light so that it blinds you even more.

When traveling down your average country lane, you can see a vee-hick-al coming the other way very clearly, because their headlights illuminate the hedgerows and can be seen with a clear view from miles away. At worst, you have a good few seconds notice that someone is coming around the same corner in the opposite direction.

ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL you have to do is flick that -ing switch back to dip-beam BEFORE your lights are shining directly at the oncoming vee-hick-al, and all is right and good in the world.

It's that simple. See the reflection of lights approaching, dip your headlights.

It's common -ing sense.

So why does every braindead zombie cuntwig leave their lights on high beam until I take both my hands off the bars, covering my face and screaming like some bloody Triffid has spat in my face, slowing to a 2mph crawl as I try to wobble to the left of the brain-searing source of the light without dying???

And what can you do about it???

'B*stard Instinct' makes you flash your lights at them, but all this really does is blinds them, meaning you're even more likely to die. So this can't be the best plan, can it?

Or there's getting on the old Noddy horn, but this is a bit Ghey. Most bike horns sound like a virgin farting in a lift, anyway. It's not very intimidating.

How would the Law look on someone who is half blind turning around, chasing down some High Beam Tw*t, dragging them out of their car, and beating them to death with their own brainstem?

F*ckers.

[RANT OFF]

[rene]

really gets on my tits that to. should start carrying a brick around with you so when they come passed...you can guess the rest

[RedexRobB]

Something i always do even before the car blinds me is flash my high beam on and off on and off, they should see it on the corner and helps them realise theres something coming the other way and its not thier own head lights, and i keep flashing till they switch to dip beam or they turn the corner.

But yes that is really really really annoying!

[Jamz]

Something i always do even before the car blinds me is flash my high beam on and off on and off, they should see it on the corner and helps them realise theres something coming the other way and its not thier own head lights, and i keep flashing till they switch to dip beam or they turn the corner.

But yes that is really really really annoying!

That could be a good thing to try!

[RedexRobB]

9.9 times out of 10 it works for me, they put thier lights to dip beam way before they turn the corner and everyones safe. As my dad used to tell me 'treat everyone on the road like they are an dumb idiot', so if that means you need to indicate to them to turn thier lights off then do so, cos you cant rely on other people to think of it themselves.

[superman]

admittedly thoe sometimes if your blastin away in the car you sort of switch into auto pilot an you might forget to turn em until someone flashes you. i hate ppl who drive round with em on around normal streets (normally old ppl) then there is bwoy racer in his pants car that only has one switch for his gay foglights so the back one is alwas on thus blinding fk out of you following.

[Jamz]

They sell pairs of ultra-bright barsket halogen bulbs at the local car boot sale for £3.99 per pair!

I'll be treating myself to some of that this weekend!