[Yesterdaysnews]

A part of this has been discussed at length elsewhere - with car lights getting more powerful, high beams are frustrating and dangerous - both oncoming and also from vehicles tailing.

I am from Chennai, and though traffic is much better off than most cities, increasingly more and more people drive with their head lights on - especially cabs and Tata Ace type vehicles.

I avoid Bangalore like the plague because of its ill mannered traffic but today I had to come into the city and drive for a few hours after sun down. There are a lot of people that drive with their very powerful high beams on in the city - much more than Chennai.

In tier 2 towns, most of the cars drive with high beams on.

Driving with High beams on when not necessary and in cities is a punishable offence under the MVA.

Could I propose Team BHP and BHPians spear head a movement including petitioning authorities to take action and curb this dangerous and frustrating menace?

I’d like to mention another group which really spear headed driving with out borders. The group, aptly named Drive Without Borders was instrumental in bringing BH registrations into force and otherwise also ended a LOT of hassling, especially in Bangalore where cops would hound out of state registered vehicles. Though the law says one can drive in other state for 12 months, Bangalore police would constantly hassle cars registered in other states and claim they could be driven in Karnataka only for 3 months. They’d ask for proof in the form of toll receipts, petrol bills etc. to show that the vehicle had entered within 3 months.

Drive without Borders was instrumental in ending this. They filed petition after petition, even met with Nitin Gadkari and other transport officials repeatedly and ensured Bh registrations were bought out, and also ended the menace of Bangalore cops collecting hefty amounts as fines and bribes.

Can we bunch together, pool in money and other resources and start a campaign to get police to legally enforce no high beam rules? And also to educate people - even those who are not on Team Bhp or have no knowledge of this forum to be not use high beams in the city, and to dim the lights in highways - both for oncoming traffic and also when tailing another car - even if there is no oncoming traffic?

Not only will this drive positive change and make Indian roads and cities safer and pleasurable to drive in, but it will also increase the credence of Team Bhp and the forums reach - taking this forum into higher heights than it already is.

We are the crème de la crème of drivers in India. We understand vehicles, engines, handling and driving manners better than a whole lot of drivers on Indian roads. Team BHP for many is the trusted source for reviews. The forum as we all know is well managed and each post and thread is meaningful, informative and powerful.

Let’s, please, now drive positive change. Let’s petition the government and authorities, file cases in courts forcing implementation, run eduction campaigns.

Let’s bring the pleasure back in driving. With increasingly good roads, educating people on how to drive with courtesy and manners is the need of the hour!

[IshaanIan]

I am all for it not aware of the processes involved but more than happy to contribute in any way possible to this cause. One major aspect is that people are not encouraged to keep check on their visual health. Many people who require glasses go on without wearing them and then use high beams to compensate for their poor vision. Heck people from less fortunate bits of society even think it is dangerous to treat their vision impairments. I had a house help lady who had cataracts and we offered to pay for her surgery and recovery yet her family advised her against the procedure because they were afraid.

If we can bring about change in this area it would be huge because that will be the first step we take toward having more considerate drivers on our roads.

[naveen.raju]

Cops here do check for high beams and they even had a lux meter to check for aftermarket bright bulbs. But educating the public and starting the campaign alone doesn't work.

For instance, more than 95% of the roads in Kerala are single lane highways with no proper lighting so people are forced to switch the high beams and not to mention the private/KSRTC buses - I dont think they have a low beam .

Ban/get rid of the "always on" light on bike. Why do you need that in India anyways. Most of them have their high beams switched on.

I feel the only solution is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwi7fSzhQPM

For non Malayali guys - Cars equipped with this dimmer circuit will have their high beams automatically switched off to low beam. The light from the opposite car hits the sensor which triggers the action.

It's been 3 years since the video has been uploaded. Too bad that no one is actually thinking of this. Ya, concentrate on 80/120 speed buzzers.

[svsantosh]

Just like bad road manners (lane change, honking, speeding), I feel the HIGH beam issue is also right up there as top-5. I have been shot gun in many cars in my life just you many of you here. Be it private taxis, uber, olas, family friend car, co-worker car, both inside and outside India.

You may find it hard to believe that many of the usual high beam (ab?)users are sadly from my Indian friends circle. And problem is more to do with ignorance than arrogance. I have corrected all high beam users, at least raised an objection whenever I make out the car is on high beam. You wont believe their 1st question - "Aare, how did you know I was on High Beam?" Face Palm! Right? Wrong - It just takes a few seconds to educate them about the blue indicator in the dash console and they understand it and immediately correct themselves. Yes - there are the usual arrogant ones where Law has to play its role, but many abusers I have dealt with (so called educated and civilized own car owners) who genuinely think the 'Blue' indicator means the 'Light' is turned on. The dont know that one has to drive in low beam always.

PS - I wonder at times, why make high beam lighs at all!! Our roads can be a better place to drive without them...

[electric_eel]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

Just like bad road manners (lane change, honking, speeding), I feel the HIGH beam issue is also right up there as top-5. I have been shot gun in many cars in my life just you many of you here. Be it private taxis, uber, olas, family friend car, co-worker car, both inside and outside India.

When I moved from Kanpur to Kerala I was pleasantly surprised to find that many here
actually dim the lights when they find an on coming car and sometimes all that one needs is a simple flashing if they forgot to switch back (of course there are some black sheep out there). On the other hand many do not know that one needs to use low beam even when following a car. I have found that an otherwise well driven car (no tailgating, no honking etc) often forget to switch of their high beam. As with tailgaters I start deploying my "pehele aap" strategy but some of them are too polite and respond with "nahi pehele aap" .

Plus there are those two wheelers with I guess modified lighting whose lights are painful even on a slightly cloudy days. They are the worst.

[Yesterdaysnews]

Honking is terrible in Bangalore. I just don’t understand why people honk so damn much. With as much traffic as there is - where do they expect people to go? Why do they need to honk??

All this really goes to show that we Indians are essentially terrible people. “Roads showcase culture” they say, and it is true. We have no respect for others, absolutely no respect for the environment.

Drive well and courteously has got to be a movement. I think it involves legal fines as well as a whole lot of education.

Let’s start this movement!

Can anyone in the legal field advise on how we can start petitions?

I for one am really going to take a hard stand on this - starting personally. My wife honks way too much and is always on with high beams. She says she can’t see without high beams and that honking is the way of life in India. I’ve been trying calmly to explain otherwise, but no more. I am really going to tell her that I am going to apply for a divorce if she doesn’t change immediately and definitely will if she doesn’t!

[Shreyans_Jain]

I think a lot of this is because low beams are absolutely terrible on most cars. Secondly, as we generally do not have the culture of cleaning our cars ourselves, the front windscreens go dirty. Especially on the inside. That just kills visibility at night. Pushes people to use high beam to see better.

[Sanjunair5]

Part of the issue is, that's how most newbie drivers are taught. I know a few friends and colleagues who were taught by driving schools to drive with high beam and switch to low beam only when necessary! And many of the wrong habits called out on several threads on TBHP are taught or not taught to avoid at driving schools.

That also brings me to a couple of questions that are relevant to this thread;

- Are driving school instructors certified? Is there a program/course/something that certifies instructors for teaching/coaching others?

- I see most (if not all) of the driving school cars carry black font on white background number plates. Shouldn't they be yellow plates?

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Yesterdaysnews

Honking is terrible in Bangalore. I just don’t understand why people honk so damn much. With as much traffic as there is - where do they expect people to go? Why do they need to honk??

All this really goes to show that we Indians are essentially terrible people. “Roads showcase culture” they say, and it is true. We have no respect for others, absolutely no respect for the environment.

Drive well and courteously has got to be a movement. I think it involves legal fines as well as a whole lot of education.

Let’s start this movement!

Can anyone in the legal field advise on how we can start petitions?

I for one am really going to take a hard stand on this - starting personally. My wife honks way too much and is always on with high beams. She says she can’t see without high beams and that honking is the way of life in India. I’ve been trying calmly to explain otherwise, but no more. I am really going to tell her that I am going to apply for a divorce if she doesn’t change immediately and definitely will if she doesn’t!

Your call to improve road manners is certainly a good initiative.

Imagine yourself being a new driver learning to drive, you have to deal with the controls, the traffic, you get scared of vehicles approaching you, cutting across you, people jumping in front of your vehicle from nowhere, you get scared of people honking at you, yelling at you , all kinds of things. But in time you develop the skill and patience (hopefully) to navigate through it all.

Perhaps you may also want to look at this from a personal well being perspective than a road \ traffic behavior issue. At a personal level it would be the fastest path to a peaceful experience on the road.

[Sam800]

People's mentality is the biggest reason of all.
I have seen people parked their vehicles on road side with headlights on high beam and they're either having snacks or chatting or just waiting for someone.

I've lost the count how many times I've fought with my father when i switch to dipper headlight when required and I would get scolded for doing so. For him, lights will be in upper position no matter what. He says "khudko dikh nai raha aur dusro ko dikhana hai" ( you aren't able to see that well far ahead in dipper and you want to let others see well).

Once i wanted to install projector headlights in my Pulsar and went to a FNG for the same. The ballast wiring was such, the stock up-low switch couldn't work and seperate switch was needed for same. I asked the mechanic to install a seperate switch, else headlight would be permanently on upper. He said- leave it na bro, the person in front will feel lights on his eyes, why you bother?
Needless to say, i got installed the switch anyway.

I take my infant on his stroller for walks in night with my pet dogs. I often see cars with headlight on upper, coming towards us and not caring enough. I have to either turn my back towards the car so as to protect myself and my kid from glare, and if car is stationary with headlights on, I knock & ask them to put their lights on Dipper.

These headlight maniac people are snatching away the joy of driving in the night without headache. My 2 cents-

1. install a laminated film on windscreen of your car, it reduces the headlight glare to a good extent. You'll happily drive the car in highways in night.

2. Wear an anti glare spectacles of better quality.

3. If possible, like struck in traffic and the car at your tail is firing their headlight at full power on all 3 mirrors, just get out and ask them politely to switch to dipper. There's no need for upper when you're struck in bumper traffic.

[Kashief]

Agree with Sam800, driver mentality is one of the main reason. Like basic things, driving discipline should also added in school/college academics. So that our next generation will avoid this kind of nuisance. Few things I follow when driving after sunset,

1. No high beam in city driving until or unless if the situation demands.
2. I turn down low beam to parking light when I’m in traffic signal, entering into gated society, toll booth and parked for some short break.
3. My garage has Japanese vehicles, both two wheelers and four wheelers. Their OEM headlight illumination are not great. So I switched to Osram night breakers (quite powerful) with OEM watt. This eliminates the use of high beams for better illumination.
4. Encourage your near and dear ones to use head lights in an away that it will not hurt the person in front.

Thanks!

[xja1]

I have been driving in the city at night quite regularly in two different cars - (A.) one car with LED projector lights, and (B.) the other car with Halogen reflector lights.

(A.) The car with LED projector lights throws a lovely bright beam of light that illuminates everything within a 180 degree field of view. It also comes with an auto levelling system to prevent low beam glare on uphill inclines. In this car, I have never had the need to use the high beam for regular night drives. I think that people who drive cars with LED or HID projector lights are a slightly more aware regarding high beam usage when they see that the sharp low beam cut-off line disappears upon activating the high beam.

(B.) However in the car with conventional halogen reflector lights, I often find the lighting inadequate in certain scenarios. On darker patches I am forced to temporarily switch on the high beam in the interest of my own safety. Also on some 2-way roads with no lane markings, when everyone else has their high beams on, I occasionally need to switch on the high beam to avoid veering off the road.

In an ideal world where everyone drives with only their low beams on, I would have almost none of the issues in situation (B.). We definitely need more awareness as well as stricter penalties to discourage high beam usage.

On the contrary, people will most likely continue to use high beams unless we get better road infrastructure such as: clear road markings, no potholes, no unscientific or surprise speed breakers, properly designed flyover expansion joints, road dividers where necessary, trimming of foliage overgrowth on roads, prompt clearing of stray barricades or stones, proper levelling and curving of roads, clear signage and signaling, and better street light coverage in built-up areas.

[ais]

Originally Posted by Yesterdaysnews

Let’s bring the pleasure back in driving. With increasingly good roads, educating people on how to drive with courtesy and manners is the need of the hour!

After the Cyrus Mistry crash, I had contemplated filing a PIL asking for 3 things-

1. Road construction and revamping existing road to international specifications

2. Thorough Driver training with stimulator training, screening of road accidents for candidates etc, to the extent of reissuing all driving licenses in India irrespective of the scale of the effort

3. Vehicle condition to be optimal, and each and every vehicle to meet road worthiness criteria (as is done in developed countries)

Notwithstanding the scale of efforts entailed in above, I felt that the PIL will succeed given the simple argument that we are No.1 in the world in road fatalities etc.

However, when a close relative who is into road construction declined to provide the specifications based on which our highways are constructed, and the Pandoles showed no interest in a PIL when I mentioned it to them, I dropped the idea.

In case we have any interested lawyers on Team-BHP, we can still proceed.

I'm sure organizations like Western India Automobile Association etc would support such an effort.

We all can possibly put our resources together and make a real difference. We owe it to ourselves.

[Toni]

I totally agree with Yesterdaysnews. Majority of the drivers don't know the cons of high beam when another vehicle is approaching from the opposite side. Many times I have asked them "light niche karo" with very bare minimum result.

I would like the government to slap high fines for unnecessary use of high beam as they have done with speeding, drunk driving, etc.

[Rev2Serenity]

Nothing less than a proper reinduction program with some basic questionnaire by RTO's for all drivers will help! With fast cars, good highways and expressways coming up everyday, more is the need for such a program.

I drive an I20 Active which has miserable projector headlamps. Just came from my hometown driving till 12 am to reach Bangalore on majorly 2 way state highways via Agumbe-Theerthahalli-Thirikere-Arsikere-Bangalore. Crossed atleast 250-300 vehicles after sunset on those narrow roads and hardly 5-6 drivers obliged to show some mercy and dimmed their headlights. Others just didn't care even after me repeatedly asking (begging!) to lower their beams. And some have additional 2-4 lights and flashy strip lights I don't know for what! Absolute disregard to oncoming traffic.

May it be lane changing etiquette, driving in ghat sections, usage of low/high beams, right of way in circles or junctions, I don't think even 10% of drivers in India know or care about it.

Long way to go before one can see some sense and discipline on Indian roads!