Thread: Roof spotties

Originally Posted by taff

i think you also need to add an age thing into the poll - cos anyone over 40 that vote's something as uncool will pretty much automatically mean it's actually cool.
i'm 30 and voted for cool and useful.

Yep, 40 voted uncool.

So they must be cool. I am out of touch.

My vote was against low branches taking them out.

Originally Posted by Sleepy

Low branches - MMMmmm - must be a Victorian thing

Trees - a Victorian only thing

Originally Posted by B92 8NW

Trees - a Victorian only thing

Or is there something in your drinking water that hinders your eye sight

Interesting results - opinions on whether it is cool or not are very roughly 50%, and whether they are useful or useless about the same - but not the same people.

In my view, which I have hesitated to give, because some probably will think me an old fogey (but they probably do anyway), they are useless because:-
1. they reduce visibility in rain, fog, dust and haze because the light coming from close to the driver's line of vision is reflected back much more than from normal height lights.
2. For the same reason, light along a line close to the driver's line of vision, the light from them gives almost no shadows from irregularities on roads, and the position of the shadow relative to the irregularity is different (see "whiteout" mentioned in an earlier post), which can lead to some nasty surprises on indifferent surfaces.
3. These lights are very vulnerable to overhanging branches, albeit less vulnerable to stones.

They are uncool simply because they shout "I am a (redneck, ******, show-off - pick your word)"

John

IMO
ditto JD,

whats cool, Car bling? wearing a Borat mankini, or having the biggest tyres you can?

if normal headlights and driving lights are not good enough in the bush, what hope have they got driving on the road with them.

If the added visibility is needed because its a dangerous and scary track in the dark, well thats not a hard one don;t drive on it in the dark.

Commonsense seems to go out the window and a sense of bravado takes its place because ' i have roof lights' and can see better , translated i am more inclined to do more stupid things in the dark.

enough said, before all the after dark ,blind night time drivers start sledging me.


je

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Interesting results - opinions on whether it is cool or not are very roughly 50%, and whether they are useful or useless about the same - but not the same people.

In my view, which I have hesitated to give, because some probably will think me an old fogey (but they probably do anyway), they are useless because:-
1. they reduce visibility in rain, fog, dust and haze because the light coming from close to the driver's line of vision is reflected back much more than from normal height lights.
2. For the same reason, light along a line close to the driver's line of vision, the light from them gives almost no shadows from irregularities on roads, and the position of the shadow relative to the irregularity is different (see "whiteout" mentioned in an earlier post), which can lead to some nasty surprises on indifferent surfaces.
3. These lights are very vulnerable to overhanging branches, albeit less vulnerable to stones.

They are uncool simply because they shout "I am a (redneck, ******, show-off - pick your word)"

John

when your visibiltity is reduced from using them you can turn them off, but when your visibily is improved from using them you turn them on hence they can only be useful - not all the time granted but if there is a time when they are useful then they are well usefull.
as for the redneck, ******, showoff. (i'm probably all 3)but these type of comments usually come from old farts/jealous *****s - which are you?

Originally Posted by JDNSW

they reduce visibility in rain, fog, dust and haze because the light coming from close to the driver's line of vision is reflected back much more than from normal height lights.

So what your saying is that if you have roof lights and you find yourself driving through fog or dust, you would have to turn your roof lights off but surprise, surprise, YOU don’t have to turn your bumper mounted driving lights off or dim your high beam. MMMMM doesn’t sound like a very factual statement to me.

It actually sounds like a statement made by a person who is prepared to say just about anything, no matter how far from reality it may be, in an attempt to give validity their opinion.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

They are uncool simply because they shout "I am a (redneck, ******, show-off - pick your word)"

As I have pointed out in other threads, I find such statements offensive as I use the lights to increase my driving safety, not as some fashion statement, so can you kindly keep your small minded, opinionated labels of others to yourself.

Originally Posted by drivesafe

So what your saying is that if you have roof lights and you find yourself driving through fog or dust, you would have to turn your roof lights off but surprise, surprise, YOU don’t have to turn your bumper mounted driving lights off or dim your high beam. MMMMM doesn’t sound like a very factual statement to me.

.

It looks like you haven’t done much driving in Fog or dust.
The fact is you see less with high mounted lights the same is said for your driving lights on high beam.

Having said that in Russia spring and autumn i had high mounted lights because i didn’t want to stop every 1/2 KLM to clean down the head lights. And in most places it was unsafe to stop anyway. i really envied the cars with headlight wipers but then not having them was cheaper. a trip to Moscow would cost 1300rubles in Gas and 600 rubbles in wiper fluid that was good down to - 25 deg, any colder and the slush is frozen and the snow is hard like sand so you don’t need it.

We have read that the guys who drive under low trees don’t have them. But the guys who would do a river crossing at night do need them. LOL stick you bonnet under water and see how dark it gets, scary.

So i would say if you don’t need them don’t fit them. in Adelaide i have 2 but they are fitted to the solar panels over the cab, all this is removed for day to day driving. I fitted them out of overseas habit. i now don’t believe i need them, knowing what i know now i wouldn’t have fitted them but will leave them there because if i ever do need them than they are and will be invaluable. ie getting out of the bush at night due to some emergency like the little one snake bite some thing like that.