Home › Forums › Open Discussion › Lots of headlights out?
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February 1, 2010 at 5:09 pm #593731
hollyplaceParticipantHas anyone else noticed how many headlights are out in cars when driving around in the evening in West Seattle? Do people appreciate being told by having someone flash their lights or do you think they already know and just haven’t had a chance to fix it yet?
February 1, 2010 at 5:18 pm #687565
herongrrrlParticipantI think it’s a kindness to try to let people know, since if they don’t know and don’t get it fixed promptly they can get a ticket for it. (How do I know this? Take a guess…)
February 1, 2010 at 5:28 pm #687566
SueParticipantI see a tremendous amount of cars with non-working lights in Seattle in general. One thing I miss from NYC is that we had “safety inspections” every year on our car (along with the annual emissions test) where you would not pass inspection if any of your lights/signals did not work, if you had a cracked windshield, if your wipers or horn didn’t work – I wish everywhere had inspections like that.
February 1, 2010 at 5:31 pm #687567
mpentoParticipantI just replaced my second headlight bulb. Did the other one about a month ago. I was thinking maybe it was that cold spell we had before Christmas but they were pretty old too. I still had to drive home and get to the parts shop. Flashing your lights probably won’t help as I would assume there is something more serious that I’m being warned about like maybe because I’m speeding down 35th (only joking)
February 1, 2010 at 5:44 pm #687568
austinMemberUnfortunately there is no northwest standardized meaning to flashing headlights. Flashing lights to warn oncoming traffic about cops doesn’t really happen in this area. It seems when someone is flashing their lights at you in Seattle they’re saying, “Your headlights are not on”; “Your headlights are too bright”; “Your seatbelt is hanging out your door”; “No, you go first”; “I am going to pass”; “F- You”; “There is a killer in your backseat”; “I am drunk”; “The Sounders won / lost, woo”; “I can’t find my turn signal”; others, etc.
February 1, 2010 at 5:50 pm #687569
CMPParticipantI thought that head/tail lights were checked during oil changes, but if you DYI, I guess you’re out of luck. Burned out headlights are pretty easy to notice, it’s brake and tail lights that are harder to know about. And is it just me, or do Subarus and VWs always seem to have a headlight out? I own a Subaru and can’t wait for my first replacement…being sarcastic. It took over ten years for my Honda to need any kind of light replacement.
February 1, 2010 at 6:33 pm #687570
cjboffoliParticipant“There’s a killer in your backseat”
LOL, austin. And being so funny on a Monday morning gets you extra props.
Actually, isn’t there also some kind of urban myth about flashing your lights at a gang member who must then hunt you down and shoot you as part of an initiation?
February 1, 2010 at 6:38 pm #687571
JustSarahParticipantcjboffoli: yes, that myth’s been around for years. I remember hearing it as a kid in the late ’80s/early ’90s. Same with the killer in the back seat – that one, IIRC, was about a woman who noticed a car following her as she drove home. She tried to “lose” the tailer by turning down random side streets, but he kept following her and flashing his lights at her. Turns out there was a man with a knife in her back seat, and the other driver was protecting her by flashing his lights every time the guy raised the knife.
I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be the type of person who actually believes those stories. Must be a scary, paranoid existence.
February 1, 2010 at 7:47 pm #687572
sacatoshParticipantMy current annoyance is folks driving around with their brights on (or horribly mis-aligned headlights that blind me like brights would)
This time of year, I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark, so it may be that I just have more opportunity to see it than I would in summer. It seems as if 1 in 5 drivers have their brights on.
Just in case anyone isn’t aware of this, the courteous thing to do is to TURN OFF YOUR BRIGHT LIGHTS when you are facing other traffic or when you’re behind someone. You are blinding people, and could very easily cause an accident. So, cut it out.
February 1, 2010 at 7:56 pm #687573
austinMemberBack in my dark days of cardrivership I was told by a cop, who had pulled me over for headlight out, to drive home with my brights on. Alternately I’ve been in cars that just have bright headlights that other drivers mistake for brights, and sometimes larger trucks will seem like they have their brights on due to the relative angle of the headlight on a taller vehicle. Alternately I’ve been in cars with drivers who simply were ignorant of the fact that highbeams were too much for other traffic on the road. How people are allowed to get licensed without knowing that, or how to perform basic maintenance on their cars, is beyond me.
February 1, 2010 at 8:00 pm #687574
KBearParticipantIt’s not just discourteous, it’s illegal to have your high beams on when there’s oncoming traffic.
February 1, 2010 at 8:08 pm #687575
GenHillOneParticipantIn the old days, flashing your brights meant “hey dude, you have your brights on!” now I have running lights and the only way I can flash someone who doesn’t have lights on at all is to flash my brights…my lights don’t go off unless I turn off my ignition – hard to do when driving ;) Needless to say, it always makes me hesitate, but if it’s truly dark, I’ll risk it and flash my brights.
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