The grumpy thread

[cms206]

We have no days off; this year I've even got a bus out on Christmas Day. Wee man's first Christmas this year so managed to sort shifts out as best I could before the sodding railway got involved.

 

Today was supposed to be a nice easy 1449-1755 stint, now it is 1449-2332 with three hours off in the middle, plus a bonus 5am start on the 27th because they "forgot" they needed a load of early standbys on the 27th so the drivers out on Boxing Day can't do the early shifts the day after. Grrr.

 

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[Daviemck2006]

Ok I also confess to being a fog light wanker. My reason is I drive a xantia. Never use the rears though.

 

 

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[Eddie Honda]

At the last count, the fine was £30.

You really need to count more often.

 

My guess is like no seatbelt and no MoT fines they are probably £100 now.

[eddyramrod]

Just told relatives that we're not leaving the house and got the emotional blackmail thing, fuck it.

You're injured.  Have they no sympathy?  Two can do emotional blackmail you know!  You can't go out, you're in pain, can't possibly drive, lay it on!  They would!  If they really want to be with you let them come to you for a change.  If they don't show up, enjoy the peace, then hit them with more EB in the New Year... "where the fuck were you when we needed you at Christmas?" sort of thing.

 

Meanwhile, relax, take the painkillers, get your feet up with a good book and a cup of coffee.  It'll all pass, you'll be fine.

 

Condolences on your loss too.  I know from experience it's no fun.  I understand about the visiting, btw.

[Guest Hooli]

Front ones don’t really bother me, it’s the rears that do.

 

 

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Same for me. Properly adjusted front fogs can't dazzle by design.

 

Rears put on in England when there was a patch of mist reported near Berlin on the news are sodding annoying & mean the driver needs their 'button finger' snapping off & shoving up their arse till it tickles their tonsils.

[eddyramrod]

. Properly adjusted front fogs can't dazzle by design.

No such thing exists, anywhere in the world.

[outlaw118]

Cheers chaps....

 

Just been out and delivered parcels to bro and stopped at the olds and left grandparent stuff. Didn't say a lot, too tired for arguments and made that clear. 

 

Prepping stuff for tomorrow, wrapping up stuff for Mrs_Outlaw from the cats (I've been told we're not buying for each other, but I can't stop the kittehs going out can I? )

 

Then TOCA Race Driver on the PS2 and some codeine, then a nap. Mrs is working till 3, then we'll start on the doritos and shit films. (Or I might just post shit up on here)

[Guest Hooli]

No such thing exists, anywhere in the world.

 

Correct answer

 

I don't think they are tested on MOTs either, so it'll never happen.

[eddyramrod]

I probably should have mentioned that my advice above comes with a pinch of salt, in a self-seal bag.  If your rellies are anything like MrsR's sister, who lives in south Wales, they will take your inability to travel as a deliberate personal insult.

Which at least means we no longer need to send money-filled cards to her various adult children!

[rantingYoof]

Then TOCA Race Driver on the PS2....

 

You legend...

 

 

*memories of rage-quitting a championship in the final race come flooding back*

[MikeR]

correct , they are not tested on MOTs

 

I would love to down rate the bulbs in mine ans use them as DRLs

 

( runs for door ......... )

[Negative Creep]

I've never understood why fogs aren't just designed to switch off automatically with the engine, hence you'd have to put them on manually every time you start the car. Positioning of the warning light doesn't always help either, on my Golf it's on the light dial so completely obscured by the wheel when driving

[myglaren]

Take really hot showers, as hot as you can stand; direct the water into the offending lughole and then let it drain repeatedly. I've had waxed up ears before and never had this fail to shift it, the wax is mobilised by the water, natural processes take care of the rest and it falls out.

 

 

One piece of advice I read in Leonard Cohen's novel "Beautiful Losers" was to pour weak Hydrogen Peroxide into the offending lug.  Claimed his mother used to use it on him.

 

I have tried it and it works but the fizzing can be a bit odd.

 

This comes with no warranty.  If you use too high a concentration don't moan to me if your brain falls out of the hole.

[Cavcraft]

Yesterday it was Manchester viewing a not as described Insignia, today was Liverpool and an even worse one.

[outlaw118]

AVAS M9

[mat_the_cat]

On the opposite end of the scale what's the deal with these blooming cyclists with a lamp or lamps on the front of the bicycle 25000 times brighter than the sun aimed incorrectly just so they blind drivers and to top it they set them on flash mode

As a cyclist myself I can't stop myself commenting on this - but not in the usual 'us and them' way...

 

I do have pretty bright lights, as I want to remain alive as long as possible. But they do have a cut-off at the top of the beam (like a car dipped beam), and the flashing mode I reserve for daylight. Quite aside from not wanting to be a selfish twat, the last thing I want is to have a dazzled and/or pissed off driver heading towards me! But I do know exactly what you mean, and it just builds up bad feeling on both 'sides'

[reb]

I was following a slightly older range rover along a long straight street the other night, at some point it got slightly darker, on comes rangies fogs. The same as many cars though you cannot have just the fronts on, you can have rear or both. It just so happens the rears were pointed directly into my eyes, not entirely pleasant when you're on work hour 22 of the week and it's only bloody tuesday. Flash flash flash. He pulls over. Pull up next to him with window down, "turn your bloody foglights off", incredibly there was no resistance, just profuse apology.

Some modern cars have foglights so bright they completely hide the shape of the car when you're following them on a clear dark night, which seems somewhat counterproductive to me.

 

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[Guest Hooli]

As a cyclist myself I can't stop myself commenting on this - but not in the usual 'us and them' way...

 

I do have pretty bright lights, as I want to remain alive as long as possible. But they do have a cut-off at the top of the beam (like a car dipped beam), and the flashing mode I reserve for daylight. Quite aside from not wanting to be a selfish twat, the last thing I want is to have a dazzled and/or pissed off driver heading towards me! But I do know exactly what you mean, and it just builds up bad feeling on both 'sides'

 

My new bike lights have a flash mode, first thing I did was work out how to turn that off. I'll never use it as it only serves to annoy & make it harder to judge where the cyclist is, their speed etc.

[mercrocker]

One piece of advice I read in Leonard Cohen's novel "Beautiful Losers" was to pour weak Hydrogen Peroxide into the offending lug.  Claimed his mother used to use it on him.

 

I have tried it and it works but the fizzing can be a bit odd.

 

This comes with no warranty.  If you use too high a concentration don't moan to me if your brain falls out of the hole.

 

I listened to Leonard once.   Ended up pouring stuff in my ears then, too.

[martc]

I've never understood why fogs aren't just designed to switch off automatically with the engine, hence you'd have to put them on manually every time you start the car. Positioning of the warning light doesn't always help either, on my Golf it's on the light dial so completely obscured by the wheel when driving

All far eastern cars I've driven switch the rear fog-lights off with the ignition. You twist a collar on the 'light' stalk which switches them on, but it's sprung and returns to the off position; so next time you turn the ignition off the fog lights are off.

 

The bit some people misunderstand is that you can also turn the collar (in the same direction) to switch them off whilst the engine is still on.

[Pillock]

Exposing my monumental ignorance has the law been changed with respect to the power of headlamps ? It used to be 45 watts low beam and 55 watts high beam. If not, then the majority of new vehicles are committing an offence under construction and use regulations.

 

I can't see how manufacturers would manage to get a car through the type approval process with overpower headlamps.

However - wattage is a measure of electrical power. As bulbs get better, they can do more with a given wattage. As an example I've replaced my household 60W incandescent bulbs with 9W LEDs for about the same light output. If I was using 60W LEDs I'd probably scorch a hole in the carpet. If you put LEDs in your car then the wiring could deliver up to 55W of power but the lights will be brighter at that power.

 

As a "cap" for light output, watts are meaningless. You might be thinking of lux ratings, which are a measure of light output. 

[reb]

All far eastern cars I've driven switch the rear fog-lights off with the ignition. You twist a collar on the 'light' stalk which switches them on, but it's sprung and returns to the off position; so next time you turn the ignition off the fog lights are off.

 

The bit some people misunderstand is that you can also turn the collar (in the same direction) to switch them off whilst the engine is still on.

I think that's how they're required to work on new cars now. When I MOTd the pug the tester left it on. It didn't matter though because it stopped working before I even left the car park.

 

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[Guest Hooli]

Yesterday it was Manchester viewing a not as described Insignia, today was Liverpool and an even worse one.

 

When are they being delivered?

[fiatdaft]

Manufacturers measure the light output in lumens for car lights,something I found out recently is that new cars with xenons less than 4000 lumens don’t need headlamp washers or auto levelling , eg the Fiat 500x .

 

 

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[Sheefag]

All far eastern cars I've driven switch the rear fog-lights off with the ignition. You twist a collar on the 'light' stalk which switches them on, but it's sprung and returns to the off position; so next time you turn the ignition off the fog lights are off.

 

My '93 Scorpio estate used to work in a similar way.

Twist a big knob for lights on, pull out one notch for front fogs, pull out two notches for front and rear fogs.

Turning the lights off used to screw the switch in and cancel fogs. Simple.

[Pillock]

Shared with most Fords of the same era, and VWs do it the same way. One pull for front only, pull again for both. I'm pretty sure that's how my Mk3 Golf did it back in the 90s, as when I added front foglamps from the breakers I also had to get the dual-pull switch.

 

Anything with a non-locking button will also turn them off when the lights or ignition are turned off. 

Renaults used a latching collar, but it had a tab on it so when you turned the headlights off on the stalk it moved the collar back too.

 

In short, I can't think of a single car less than 15 years old that keeps the fogs on when you've turned the lights or ignition off. So it has to be driver incompetence if they're on by accident. 

[John F]

I've only ever used rear fog lights when visibility was so bad there was a real risk of someone driving into the back of me.

 

I've never used front "fog lights" because they're virtually useless in fog or heavy snow, and only dazzle or antagonise other drivers when they're inevitably left on.

 

As for people that keep their front fog lights on all the time deliberately, I was once dazzled so badly on a country road bend by an inconsiderate cunt with their fogs on that I hit a rock at the side of the road & wrote off my Mk 1 Astra 1200 S.

 

Luckily nobody in my car was injured, but things could easily have been much worse, all because some WANKER wanted to "look good" (hint: you actually just look like wankers).

[flat4alfa]

On the opposite end of the scale what's the deal with these blooming cyclists with a lamp or lamps on the front of the bicycle 25000 times brighter than the sun aimed incorrectly just so they blind drivers

 

Cyclists and motorcyclists

 

Do they not realise the glaring lamps make it harder to judge the distance they are away?. Thus, more dangerous

[Guest Hooli]

Cyclists and motorcyclists

 

Do they not realise the glaring lamps make it harder to judge the distance the are away?. Thus, more dangerous

 

Speaking as motorcyclist & recently a cyclist again, no most of them are stupid & of the 'its bright it must be safe' school of stupidity.

[flat4alfa]

Ladies and gentlemen I will confess....

 

I am a foglight wanker.

 

I turn them on regularly. On twisty country roads it adds visibility and aids me in driving faster through the corners (the Saabs headlights are crap) and in the Mazda they're yellow so look cool.

 

I count how many condescending Wazzocks flash their lights at me and smile inwardly that something so small which doesnt even affect them can wind someone I don't even know up so much.

 

As for dazzling mine don't they're far too old for that.

 

Sorry folks I won't be changing neither.

I hope we don't meet in a lane when you are at speed then

 

Think of other people.