back to article Bright lights, affordable motor: Ford puts LED headlights onto Mondeo

Ford has announced its first car with dynamic LED headlights, which apparently provide as much light as Xenon bulbs – and last for the lifetime of the vehicle. Because LEDs are very much smaller than traditional bulbs, they can affect the whole design of the front end of a car. Ford is trumpeting the freedom it gives them in …

  1. Buzzword

    Daytime running lights

    Aren't they required by EU law now?

    1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

      Re: Daytime running lights

      I think the EU linked to the car's age - AFAIK, new cars must have it.

      1. Neil Alexander

        Re: Daytime running lights

        Yes, I think it is to do with whether the model of car was type-approved before or after February 2011.

        1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

          Re: Daytime running lights

          Oh! I was wondering why I'm seeing more cars wasting energy like this these days.... I thought we'd been invaded by Sweden or something.

          In bright, clear weather (which admittedly is often not the case here in the UK) I don't need to see lights to know if a vehicle is moving, I errr, just see that it's moving.

          I suppose this is yet another driving dumbing down for those morons who don't think to use their lights in heavy rain, or, duuur, at night

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Daytime running lights

            And I thought it was just to accellerate global warming.

          2. Lars Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Daytime running lights

            @Jamie Jones

            Hard to get it, is it. A car with headlights on is easier to detect. For similar reasons aeroplans, ships, emergency vehiles and similar use lights too in daylight. You did however mention the "morons who don't think to use their lights", also that problem dissapears in Nordic countries as the lights go on when you start the engine. To my surprise even many Russians have adopted. Even if there is no such law.

            Trust me James I know more about this than you do, did you have prooblems with the logic behind safety belts too.

            1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
              Happy

              Re: Daytime running lights

              "Hard to get it, is it. A car with headlights on is easier to detect. For similar reasons aeroplans, ships, emergency vehiles and similar use lights too in daylight."

              Well, I don't see that many aeroplanes and ships on my local roads, and as for the emergency services, you've basically proved my point, (as admitedly articulated elsewhere by others) -- emergency services often need to break the speed limit, and go through red lights etc. They also need to be seen by the sort of drivers who typically wouldn't notice their presence unless they drove into them (you sound just like one of these)

              So, how does this help the emergency services if *all* vehicles have their lights on?

              This seems hard for you to get, old chap.

              "You did however mention the "morons who don't think to use their lights", also that problem dissapears in Nordic countries as the lights go on when you start the engine."

              Do you realise, yet again, you are supporting my argument here? Hard to tell.

              "Trust me James I know more about this than you do, did you have prooblems with the logic behind safety belts too."

              Condesending twatty comnent of the week right there, but so 'full of fail' as to be comically tragic.

              1) My name, as on my birth certificate, and as clearly stated on this forum, is Jamie. I've never been called 'James' in any shape or form, so that smug assumption backfired.

              2) You know fuck-all about my knowledge on the matter, although you yourself have demostrated that any knowledge you do have is due to being one of the aforementioned 'dumb motorists'

              3) Enter strawman. Since when do seatbelts make emergency services less visible, along with cyclusts, and other road users? Since when does universal seatbelt adoption totally negate any possible advantage of gaving them? Since when do seatbelts waste energy and have the potential to incorrectly give somoene a false sense of security?

              As "Adrian 4" and "John Arthur" mention above, far more eloquently than I could put it, the more this is rolled out, the more vulnerable other users get, and as it get's even more ubiquitous, it's effectively an arms race to remain effective.

              And all this because apparently we allow people to drive when their eyesight isn't up to the job.

              *smiley face back at ya! Have a nice day!*

              1. Kubla Cant
                Mushroom

                Re: Daytime running lights

                @Lars the condescending twat

                Jamie Jones is right, except that the mention of seatbelts is very relevant. It's fairly well known that the introduction of seatbelts reduced death and injury among car occupants, while increasing death and injury among other road users. Car drivers, feeling safer, tended to drive less carefully.

                The view that making cars more visible is an important contribution to road safety is based on the view that "it's everybody else's responsibility to get out of my way if they know what's good for them" (the Toad of Toad Hall philosophy).

                From the perspective of pedestrians and cyclists, being seen is at least as important as seeing motor vehicles. In a world where something has to be lit up like a Christmas tree, road users with limited or no lighting are more at risk.

          3. Trigonoceps occipitalis

            Re: Daytime running lights

            Sadly my eyes are not as good as they used to be. Others start out with bad eye sight. Then there are the problems of driving into a sun set. All, and more, apply day and night come rain, come shine. Running lights are not just an EU mandated plot to waste energy.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Daytime running lights

              Agreed. While I am fortunate enough to have 20:20 vision and can safely say that DRLs have no effect whatsoever on my ability to see a car, how quickly it is travelling and in which direction, I am also aware that there are other people on this planet other than myself, and some, actually most of them have worse eyesight than I do.

              In fact there exist people who actually have very poor eyesight. My grandmother is one of them. Years of suffering from cataracts has reduced her eyesight to being able to make out shapes and outlines when the contrast between objects is high.

              High contrast? Here's a good idea. Why don't we make modern cars have front lights on all the time so that they can be seen by partially sighted people to stop them being killed and ruining the lives of the drivers who kill them? After all, modern sidelights are all LEDs and use fuck all power. Probably worth it to save a few lives.

              The irony is that some of you morons are so blinded by your own prejudice that you can't see that this might not be about you at all and might be to help someone else. Go back to your Daily Mails.

              Double irony is that my gran reads the Daily Mail. And is racist. She can see cars with their lights on though.

          4. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: Daytime running lights

            "In bright, clear weather (which admittedly is often not the case here in the UK) I don't need to see lights to know if a vehicle is moving, I errr, just see that it's moving."

            In bright clear weather, if you're driving in a wooded lane, a car in shadow may be nearly invisible until it emerges from the shade. Addiitionally your eyes take a couple of second to adjust when going from bright to shaded areas.

            In both cases, running lights give a few extra seconds warning - which is very useful, even if you're only travelling at 20mph.

            1. Jamie Jones Silver badge

              Re: Daytime running lights

              "In bright clear weather, if you're driving in a wooded lane, a car in shadow may be nearly invisible until it emerges from the shade. Addiitionally your eyes take a couple of second to adjust when going from bright to shaded areas."

              Indeed, and therefore a good reason to use your lights.

              I also didn't mention tunnels, or times when there is a total solar eclipse, but I assumed I'd made the point that a responsible driver would use their lights when appropriate.

              1. Richard Jones 1
                Flame

                Re: Daytime running lights

                Another week another Monday and another superior being who, while only visiting earth for a short time appears to think he knows absolutely everything about life. As others have pointed out to you Jamie Jones, there are many people living on earth who lack eyesight well above the 20/20 vision limit such as you appear to think you have. Some are so poorly equipped they can be classified as legally blind in some countries, however, even they can sometimes detect moving lights. Humans show what is often called a spectrum of abilities, ranging from the lowest level of, e.g. visual capability to the very highest.

                It may be of interest to check how many accident participants claim not to have seen other vehicles. Motorcyclists are not the only ones who often fail to be noticed, check your next drive and see how many apparently legal drivers fail to see you as you drive along. Given that well above 10% of road users, those with allegedly acceptable eye sight fail to see me on straight roads in day light I frequently resort to the use of dipped head light in an attempt to improve the odds of being seen.

                Now I realised given your superior beliefs you will expect to take all of these failings in your stride. For the rest of us there are prudent steps we can and most do take. As for emergency vehicles; in addition to noisy horns and blue lights they have alternating head lights, this is due to recognition of a human factor. An apparently moving light jumping from side to side will be detected even more rapidly than one coming towards you. Since the emergency vehicle is likely to be moving faster than ordinary traffic increased detection speed is important perhaps, not for you, but for the other 99.9% of the population.

                Sadly in spite of all the steps currently taken accidents still involve even emergency vehicles.

                While the 5mph (or was it 15mph) buffers on American cars were not a success in reducing insurance claims, since they made any at or above the impact limit more expensive. Most safety measures are introduced after careful evaluation including tests over a wide range of conditions.

                It always surprises me how many people are clearly in the wrong line of work given their strident views and widely based synthetic knowledge.

          5. Piro Silver badge

            Re: Daytime running lights

            I agree that DRLs are a pretty pointless addition, and it encourages people only to check for light sources. If you can't see a giant chunk of metal flying at you, but you can now it has a few LEDs on it while in broad daylight, you probably need your eyes checked.

          6. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Lars Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Daytime running lights

      They have been required in many countries for many many years. That "invention" originally came from the USA where Greyhound busses started to use them all day. They where able to show that it improved safety for their busses. I am 100% convinced it does that. A car with lights is a moving object and will appear more agressive and closer coming against you also you will notice the car behind you more easily.

      A very clever invention used in the more clever countries.

      1. Adrian 4

        Re: Daytime running lights

        No, a shortsighted invention which reduces road safety.

        It draws attention to the subset of vehicles that have them, hence the improved safety for the early adopters. Like any road safety improvments, that attention doesn't come from nowhere - it's diverted from vehicles with less light. This makes it a one time journey, as Sweden has found : the only way to keep the improvements is to keep increasing the light levels. While pedestrians, cyclists, animals etc fade into the background.

        The reason those DRLs lights exist is not to do with safety. The clueless politicicians and daily mail safety writers have been tapped to support them, but the real reason is bling - car designers trying to make this year's model stand out.

        1. John Arthur

          Re: Daytime running lights

          "No, a shortsighted invention which reduces road safety.". I fully agree. For some years motorcyclists in almost all countries of the EU have had to ride with their headlights on in daytime to make them stand out from all the other traffic. Putting daylight running lights on all vehicles removes this protective advantage from one of the most vulnerable class of road user. Well done all those politicians who don't bother to think things through.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Daytime running lights

      My Focus has those LED daytime lamps and ambient lighting which incidentally I can change the colour of. Don't like the eyebrows and never have and as for the ambient lighting....

      A distraction.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Daytime running lights

        Downvoted for telling the world how successful your life is...... by owing a Focus

        1. ThomH

          Re: Daytime running lights

          If we're talking about just the transition period then there's also the retroactive interference issue: a responsible person who is otherwise a very good driver recently visited us here in the US and was pulled over for driving in the evening without his headlights on. As you've guessed, it's because his car at home is automated but his rental wasn't.

          He'd even complained just a few minutes earlier that he was having difficulty seeing anything, without the penny dropping...

          1. drewsup

            Re: Daytime running lights

            It used to be the dash lights would only come on when you turned on the headlamps, this was a nice reminder your headlamps were off if you could not see the speedo! Now with daytime lamps, the dash lights are always on, making people sometimes think their headlamps are on.

            1. Lars Silver badge
              Happy

              Re: Daytime running lights

              "Now with daytime lamps, the dash lights are always on" Not in the Nordic countries but I don't know how they work elsewhere. It's all about how that is wired in the car.

              1. Peter Simpson 1
                WTF?

                Re: Daytime running lights

                Nor in the US...instrument lighting is in "daylight" mode unless headlamps are switched on.

                And why all the hate for DRLs? A lighted vehicle is more noticeable in daylight than an unlighted one.

                The energy wasted is minimal...a few hundred watt-hours, and will be less when LED headlamps are used (more efficient than halogen, and cheaper than HID).

                1. This post has been deleted by its author

            2. Terry Barnes

              Re: Daytime running lights

              " Now with daytime lamps, the dash lights are always on, making people sometimes think their headlamps are on."

              That's not the case with our VW. Only turning side or headlights on illuminates the dash lighting. with the lights set to 'off' and the DRLs on (conventional bulbs, not LEDs on our car) only the needles are illuminated.

            3. NogginTheNog

              Re: Daytime running lights

              Yes I've noticed that: it used to be an easy reminder, if you can't see your speedo so well it's probably time to put your headlights on!

              As for DRLs, I don't mind them in principle but some of the new cars seem to have ones so bright that it's really quite distracting to me in my rear view mirror when the car behind has them. In those situations I actually find them quite agressive.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Meanwhile, laser light appears

    It appears LED lights are also not the end of the journey: Audi, BMW (has a nice explanation of the thinking behind it) and possibly others are working on laser light which apparently makes it possible to get a lot more light from an LED chip.

    1. Graham Dawson Silver badge

      Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

      Oh gawd, retina-searing xenon lights were bad enough, the last thing we need is a BMW with lasers mounted on the front.

      1. VinceH

        Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

        Don't worry, they'll be mounting them on frikkin' sharks first, for testing purposes.

        1. Fungus Bob
          Coat

          Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

          Won't be on sharks first but Hyundai Tiburons...

          Mine's the one with the laser pointer in the pocket.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

        Oh gawd, retina-searing xenon lights were bad enough, the last thing we need is a BMW with lasers mounted on the front.

        A "beamer" in more ways than one?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Facepalm

          Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

          oh, gawd

          *bangs head on desk*

      3. This post has been deleted by its author

        1. Jamie Jones Silver badge
          Happy

          Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

          Well done AC, you managed to paste a quote from a completely different article! http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/08/25/police_lie_to_public_about_law_on_terrorism_videos/

      4. Shady

        Re: Meanwhile, laser light appears

        Don't worry, as long as the lasers are being used as indicators then they'll never get fired.

  3. Christoph

    So you can play various tricks with these - does that include being able to switch the headlight direction over when you are in in a country where they drive on the right?

    1. KjetilS

      It wouldn't surprise me if that was indeed possible

    2. Stacy

      Stupid thing is that Xenon bulbs already have this ability! It's just not used that much.

      The first 'new shape' V70s had a setting in the menu for left / right hand drive mode.

      This changed over the model years to have to set it every trip

      And my MY2011 has a manual switch meaning I have to remove the headlight unit (at least they made that easy - 5 min job, but you still get grime over your hands) when arriving at the Chunnel and flick a lever on the inside of the unit.

      Very, very useful! But why remove the menu option!!!!!

    3. Allan George Dyer

      Would you do that by GPS, or by a camera recognising which side of the road you are driving on?

      1. Stacy

        KISS

        I would keep it simple and have it as a menu option where you can say if you are driving at home or abroad. I appriciate that you can always forget to switch it back - but then you can with the manual system in the car already so I don't see much of a difference. Of course there could always be the warning on the dash when you start the car that the lights are not set up for the country the car is registered to so that you are always reminded.

        Though if I was going for a more tech approach I think that I would choose the GPS over the camera - how would the camera cope with dual carriageways, or single track roads etc?

  4. Haku
    Unhappy

    Dazzle.

    I applaud lighting innovation, there's also laser powered headlights (the laser shines on phosphorus which then glows), but there's one major issue I have with headlights getting smaller and brighter - dazzle.

    To project the same amount of light as a larger headlight, a smaller headlight will appear brighter when looked at head on, ie night time traffic on the other side of the road, causing more dazzle than a larger headlight that produces the same light output

    1. Weeble

      Re: Dazzle.

      While it was only AUDI/BMW/MERCEDES fitting these "retina-searing xenon lights" I assumed the dazzle factor was 100% intentional.

      If Ford are joining in (albeit with LEDs) then perhaps it was incompetence after all.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Dazzle.

        "While it was only AUDI/BMW/MERCEDES fitting these "retina-searing xenon lights" I assumed the dazzle factor was 100% intentional."

        My 10-year-old Nissan has HIDs and they're not "searing" by any stretch of the imagination.

        Of course even Halogens are searing if the oncoming numpty doesn't switch off his fricking hi-beams.

    2. frank ly

      Re: Dazzle.

      Also, if the indicator light is close to the headlamp, you won't be able to see if the indicator is flashing, as I've found out on a few occassions at night.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Dazzle and indicators

        If it was an LED headlight on an Audi or a BMW, it was more likely that the indicator wasn't used rather than dazzle....

        1. Otto is a bear.

          Re: Dazzle and indicators

          As a BMW driver I can assure you learned readers that all BMWs, Mercs and Audis come with a special licence allowing us to be totally inconsiderate to other road users.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Dazzle and indicators

            As a BMW driver I can assure you learned readers that I only indicate when I need to. For example you will not find me stopped at traffic lights, in a lane where I can only turn right, sitting there with my indicator on.

            1. Terry Barnes

              Re: Dazzle and indicators

              "For example you will not find me stopped at traffic lights, in a lane where I can only turn right, sitting there with my indicator on."

              Even though such indication would be of use to young people who've yet to learn to drive, or to people with less than perfect vision? Don't presume that just because you know it's a turn-only lane that other people do too.

          2. Nifty Silver badge

            Re: Dazzle and indicators

            Along with the title deeds to the overtaking lane?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Dazzle and indicators @AC bmw&Audi

          you live in Cheshire don't you....

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Dazzle and indicators @AC bmw&Audi

            The problem with dazzle is easily solved by adjusting your headlights correctly. Xenon lights do come with auto-levelling sensors (EU law) but they are also calibrated by screws on the headlight unit.

            1. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Steve Bones

        Re: Dazzle.

        My Audi A5 has DRL's and when you turn on an indicator the LED's below it automatically dim. I'm sure something similar will happen with other manufacturers

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Dazzle.

          The problem with small headlights like LEDs making it harder to see the indicator near it is solved by adding indicators to each side mirrors. Initially this was done in the US on pickups and SUVs, but it is becoming more common on all cars. This is also useful for those behind, as they can more easily see if a vehicle ahead is signalling a turn.

          Xenon headlights should not be a problem, at least not on Audis because they're auto leveling. Where I see problems with xenon is people who add them aftermarket. Lacking the auto leveling they're aimed where traditional headlights are, and will blind oncoming drivers, especially as they crest a hill. Maybe the Audis/BWMs/etc. in Europe don't have the auto-leveling Xenons? Pretty sure it is required by law in the US.

          1. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: Dazzle.

            "Maybe the Audis/BWMs/etc. in Europe don't have the auto-leveling Xenons?"

            Autolevelling _and_ headlamp washers are both legal requirements for HIDs in the EU.

            The problem is that autolevelling assumes the beam angles have been set correctly in the first place (the cut off is so sharp that many drivers illegally adust them upwards) and that drivers know how the high-beam switch works.

      3. Peter Simpson 1

        Re: Dazzle.

        Also, if the indicator light is close to the headlamp, you won't be able to see if the indicator is flashing, as I've found out on a few occassions at night.

        My major gripe with the folks who design the front ends of cars! Do they not drive at night? A few cars get it right...space the indicator miles away from the headlights, and make 'em nice and bright! But, the majority of cars have the indicators snugged right up next to the headlights, and dim as they can be, so they're almost invisible, leaving you guessing as to whether the car approaching you is going to suddenly turn across your bows or not.

        Assuming, of course, that they even choose to USE their indicator. I've noticed that for many busy folks, one hand is on the steering wheel and the other is holding an iPhone to their ear (or, even worse, updating their Facebook status..."just caused an accident, LOL!")

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Dazzle.

      I think dazzle is only a minor part of the problem. My car with small headlamps has an appalling lighting up the road performance. (about equal to a 1930s 6V motorcycle headlight). The beam patterns seem very poor compared to a Lucas 1970s sealed beam unit and the lighting performance is nowhere near a twin headlamp. Her newish Corsa with projector? headlights has much worse road illumination than the 1996 model it replaced.

      1. Ivan Headache

        Re: Dazzle.

        Smaller = more dazzle

        I get dazzled by the ridiculously bright "points" of light from the current crop of pushbike headlamps.

        I can generally see them over a mile away and sometimes they are brighter than the car light behind them - unless the car behind is an Audi with its side-lights on.

        1. Haku

          Re: pushbike headlamps

          Most night cyclists I see have poor or no lighting at all and you're right about the ones with ultra bright lights, dazzle from a further distance than cars and it gets worse when their lights are flashing because that makes it harder to work out just how far away they are.

          I don't like the sharp narrow spotlights of the high power single chip LED lights which is why I made my own rig, it has 360x 3mm white LEDs that uses 10 watts in full beam mode, they produce a much nicer beamspread than typical high power LED bike lights. WIth the brightness control I mostly just use the center 60 for illumination and to let other road users I'm there, but I use all 360 on unlit roads and cycle tracks, plus it allows me to high-beam cars :)

          1. Major N

            Re: pushbike headlamps

            Isn't it technically illegal for the flashing lights to be mounted on the bike itself, I was under the impression that flashing modes were only for when the lights are mounted on the cyclist themselves...

            1. tomban

              Re: pushbike headlamps (flashing)

              > Isn't it technically illegal for the flashing lights...

              No.

              https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82

              60

              At night your cycle MUST have white front and red rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85). White front reflectors and spoke reflectors will also help you to be seen. Flashing lights are permitted but it is recommended that cyclists who are riding in areas without street lighting use a steady front lamp.

              Law RVLR regs 13, 18 & 24

          2. Terry Barnes

            Re: pushbike headlamps

            "Most night cyclists I see have poor or no lighting at all"

            Your statement contains a logical conundrum. It seems to suggest that cyclists with no lights are easier to see.

        2. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: Dazzle.

          "I get dazzled by the ridiculously bright "points" of light from the current crop of pushbike headlamps."

          Most of those are modified MR16 "narrowbeam" spotlights.

          30 degrees may be narrowbeam in a house but it's not when it's on the road. I've seen the cops stopping cyclists recently because of their lights, so hopefully things will sort themselves out.

        3. Anonymous Coward
          Facepalm

          Re: Dazzle.

          That's terrible. These cyclists with their bright lights might be protecting themselves, but they're just drawing attention away from cars and trucks, which is going to lead to those suffering more accidents.

    4. Terry Barnes

      Re: Dazzle.

      " a smaller headlight will appear brighter when looked at head on"

      isn't that why in the UK headlamps have to aim down and to the left? It shouldn't be possible to look at an oncoming car's headlights head on because they should never be pointing that way.

  5. Anomalous Cowshed

    "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

    Speaking as a non-car owning pedestrian:

    Now that's really what we need, cars that look MORE aggressive and determined. What a great step forward, made possible by science and innovation.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

      Speaking as a non-car owning pedestrian:

      Now that's really what we need, cars that look MORE aggressive and determined. What a great step forward, made possible by science and innovation.

      Screen wipers have improved too (evil grin).

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

      “Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive”

      Speaking as a car-owning driver, I can't help thinking about the even more determined and aggressive middle managers who will driving 2 inches from my arse at 80mph on the way to a breakfast briefing, or a game of squash, or some other pointless wank that they consider to be life-threateningly important.

      And no, before you ask, I don't hog the middle lane on motorways.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

        And no, before you ask, I don't hog the middle lane on motorways.

        There's your problem. Get out of that outer lane :)

        I can't help thinking about the even more determined and aggressive middle managers who will driving 2 inches from my arse at 80mph

        As the parent of a child with life threatening allergies (and ambulances too far away for comfort) I had to drive my child a few times to hospital. I have come to the conclusion that if I /can/ move aside I will because I have no idea what someone else's emergency is.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

          "I have come to the conclusion that if I /can/ move aside I will because I have no idea what someone else's emergency is."

          OK maybe I didn't spell it out well enough. I don't drive slowly, but I'm not a nutter. I am really very happy to get out of the way whenever I can, but often it isn't possible. At such times, it's kind of stressful to have some spunkbubble in a mid-range saloon trying to ram me out of the way.

          And no, I don't believe they are all taking a sick child to A&E. More likely they are just twats.

          And Ford isn't helping by making the front of their cars look like angry sharks.

    4. Simon Rockman

      Re: "Slim headlamps can make a vehicle’s exterior appear more determined and aggressive"

      A lower profile can also reduce the damage an impact does to pedestrians.

  6. Adam 1

    Any suggestion about what this does to the repair costs if they get busted in an accident? (Even if you don't plan on having one, it is one of the factors that goes into the spreadsheet to figure out your insurance premiums so it still matters)

    1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

      It may not matter

      I'm not sure it will make that much difference. Most of the costs of accident repairs these days are labour, since cars are designed to crumple, so everything will need to be replaced anyway. The cost of a new LED unit should be comparable to that of a plain halogen one (and probably less than a Xenon one, with all its support electronics).

      At least long-life LEDs may* end the ludicrous situation where we're required by law to carry spare bulbs, yet many modern cars are designed so that you can't change a headlight bulb without considerable dismantling which isn't a DIY roadside effort. I had a Mazda 6 where the official procedure for changing a headlight bulb began with unbolting the whole front bumper (you could do it without, if you had sufficiently nimble fingers and didn't mind getting your hands ripped on sharp metal edges).

      *I say may since I wouldn't put it past our EU overlords to forget to change the law, and still require us to carry spare LEDs in the glove box...

      1. Stacy

        Re: It may not matter

        I always wondered about those with Xenon - there are big warnings about dismanteling the Xenon unit due to the voltage behind the cover. So how am I supposed to change the bulb myself?

        And seriously, 100 euro for a bulb - I'm not carrying a spare!

        And it's not EU - it is certain countries within the EU operating their own local non-overlord policy. Like the French :)

        1. Steven Raith

          Re: It may not matter

          The main risk from a xenons is from the ballast unit (it's multiple kv to strike up the bulb, with maintained high voltage to keep the arc going - low current, but not something you want to test by licking the terminals) - as long as the power to the lamps is off, and you hold the bulb by the glass, with suitable protection (As you should anyway - skin oils on a lamp is the fastest way to kill it) you should be fine.

          You can reasonably safely (although not especially wisely) change halogens with the lamps on, you should never do this with Xenons, period. They aren't supposed to provide strike voltage at any period other than initial power on, but if the unit is faulty, it'd be a nasty shock to get.

          WRT to replacement LED modules, it'd be sensible to have click-lock connectors and a modular system where you can remove the cooling apparatus, lamp module, power reguylator, directional control unit, etc seperately so that you can do roadside repairs quickly (also required by law these days - after a few manufacturers made changing the bulb something that require removing the fucking wheelarch lining!) but I'll put £5 on everything but the lamp module being sealed up.

          Ever tried to replace the levelling motor in a standard headlamp unit these days? Fat fucking chance, that'll be £200 for a new headlamp module, thanks*.

          Steven R

          *unless ebay, and a good screwdriver kit, are your friend, of course - but an OEM garage would insist on replacing the whole shebang.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: changing bulbs

            I had a car where bulbs were only garage changeable. There is simply no way I'd go to the garage to replace some stupid brake light bulbs, so I worked it out for myself. All it took was a little mechanical competence.

            1. John Miles

              Re: There is simply no way I'd go to the garage to replace some stupid brake light bulbs

              I got the garage to change a sidelight bulb once, I couldn't workout how to do so without loosing skin off knuckles or dismantling half the front end so when it was in I asked them to do it - I figured the cost the least pain for me

              1. Peter Simpson 1

                Re: There is simply no way I'd go to the garage to replace some stupid brake light bulbs

                I change side marker and license plate light bulbs ONCE, and replace with LED equivalents.

            2. Lars Silver badge
              Happy

              Re: changing bulbs

              "All it took was a little mechanical competence". Yes, but the point is really if you would do it in the night on the road in -25C or something similar.

        2. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: It may not matter

          "So how am I supposed to change the bulb myself?"

          Surprisingly, the procedure is almost identical to halogens (I've had to do it)

          And if you're paying €100 for a HID then I have a nice bridge I'd like to sell you. If you look around you can get replacement Philips HIDs for about €20 apiece if you shop around (and I don't mean at Halfrauds or Europorks). Replace 'em in pairs, just like shock absorbers.

          1. Stacy

            Re: It may not matter

            The last bulb I bought was about 4 years ago - and it was from a Volvo dealer. After seeing the rigmarole the mechanic had to go through to fit it there is no way I would want to fo it myself. It was nothing like a halogen bulp (pop the cap off, pull out the bulb, put new bulb in, pop the cap back on vs dismantle the electronics behind the bulb, dismantle the auto adjust system behind the bulb. change the bulb and refit by reversing the above - which is obviously not as easy as it sounds!). The fitting is free (of course with the price of the bulb free is a relative term).

            As for the 20 euro bulbs, unless they have improved significantly, no thanks. When I got my first car with xenon bubs I was amazed at how white the light was compared to cars with cheap bulb kits that emit a blue light rather than white, with far less illumination of the road and far more dazzle effect to oncoming traffic. For the amount of times a bulb has to be changed (once in 8 years so far) I'll stick with the Volvo ones.

      2. DropBear
        Facepalm

        Re: It may not matter

        At least long-life LEDs may* end the ludicrous situation where we're required by law to carry spare bulbs, yet many modern cars are designed so that you can't change a headlight bulb without considerable dismantling which isn't a DIY roadside effort.

        Come now, how is this an even remotely new thing...? The first thing one thinks of contemplating a lightbulb change on a 1995 VW Passat is that removing either the battery or the whole air filter box will probably be unavoidable, unless one has tentacles instead of hands...

    2. Dieter Haussmann

      The Audi A8 ones are £1700 each.

  7. Will Godfrey Silver badge

    Very many years ago (1960s I think) there was a proposal to use polarised light for headlamps to deal with dazzle. I wonder if now is a opportunity to revive the idea. The downside is it needs co-operation between car manufacurers. Also it would be a long time beofre the full benefits would be felt.

    The proposal was for all car headlights to be vertically polarised, and windscreens horizontally polarised. The result being that scatterted light reflections would be more-or-less full brightness, but direct light from oncoming traffic would be much weaker.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. frank ly

      I think that scattered reflections would be more or less halved in brightness, as would randomly polarised ambient light. There can be all sorts of complications with using polarised filters for viewing so maybe it got too difficult to ensure adequate vision through them.

    3. Jan 0 Silver badge

      @Will Godfrey

      Just how would that help pedestrians (not to mention those in older cars, on motorcycles, horses, bicycles, etc.)?

      One way to deal with dazzle, in the 21st century, would be to have an active headlamp that only applies bright light to the road ahead and masks the patches where pedestrians', riders' and drivers' eyes are. It might be possible to do that with a mirror scanned laser controlled by a computer vision system, but there is a danger that the beam might become stationary due to a malfunction, so an LED array in a projector might be better.

      Better still let's have driverless cars using lights only to establish the presence of the car and mm to cm wavelengths supplemented with ultrasound for mapping the environment.

    4. majorursa

      Vertical vs. horizontal

      Polarizing the windscreens horizontally is not a good idea. Most surface reflections are horizontally polarized, that is why Polaroid shades have vertical filters. This would make them useless with those windscreens btw.

      1. J P

        Re: Vertical vs. horizontal

        IIRC, there is also an issue with reflections from oil/diesel not showing up - mostly an issue for motorcyclists who I understand tend not to use polarised visors for that very reason, but as a car driver it's always worth understanding why the bike ahead of you has changed course/slowed right down (alongside eg white lines & manhole covers on a rainy day)

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Fun factor

    In the late 70s a mate had a little mini, and managed to get hold of an aircraft landing light, with a 100w bulb. He fitted this monstrosity to the centre of the bumper. and christened the car Cyclops. But when the car was idling, the draw on the generator (pre-alternator mini!) when he switched the light on actually stopped the engine. He used to terrorise oncoming drivers who had the temerity to wait too long before before dimming. Ah, youth....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Fun factor

      I had rallye replacement bulbs in my car, which were 55/100W instead of the 55/60W fitted as standard.

      I ended up having to rewire as part of the wiring just couldn't cope - fortunately I found that out before it got dangerous. On the plus side, at night time it only took a brief flash to convince people coming from the opposite site to dim their lights, that's probably why they were illegal...

    2. ElReg!comments!Pierre

      Re: Fun factor

      Alternatively, you could get a LED floodlight like this one:

      http://www.bltdirect.com/led-floodlight-120w-daylight-7000lm-ip65-720w-alternative-black-finish

      Together with a sufficiently-powerful inverter (I have one that is rated for 120W, what a piece of luck), that should at least be enough to earn ou a not-so-quiet word with the fuzz.

      1. Steven Raith

        Re: Fun factor

        Someone in my family - definitely not my dad, cough - used to have some crazy contraption - a Simca or something - with a bigger engine, IRS rear end, etc, and a 100w floodlamp on the back to discourage tailgaters.

        He then flashed an unmarked cop car and was asked if he would mind removing that from the car. Right now. Or it's to the cop shop with you, sonny. They didn't notice the fully switchable rear lamps (including number plate lamps) though. He's been somewhat more sensible since. Somewhat.

        Mind you, the same set of traffic cops also filled him up with scotch, vodka and gin from the photographers developer tubs (one in each, of course) at the cop shop christmas party where mother dearest worked, when he came around to pick her up. They just told him to drive carefully, he'll be alright....

        This was the 60s, in the far north of scotland - different time back then, it seems....

        Steven R

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

    Does that include the fans ?

    I don't use them when I'm designing kit for long life / high reliability...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

      When did you last need a radiator fan replaced?

      In my long experience (well, dating back to around 1980) the problem with small computer fans is a combination of low power and dust. Filter, decent sized motor, ball bearings, fixed.

    2. Dan Paul

      Re: "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

      I completely agree, fans are completely unneeded. Heatsink Fins to radiate the extra heat are all that are required. I have a Streamlight handheld LED spot light that will blind you, can be seen well from a mile away, that only has a couple of heatsinks and they only get warm to the touch.

      Those fans should be warranteed by Ford FOREVER. Well designed LED's DO NOT NEED FANS!

    3. JeffyPoooh
      Pint

      Re: "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

      Yeah, I noticed that too.

      "Ford claims its LED headlights ...last for the lifetime of the vehicle. …so Ford has fitted fans to its new headlights." Wee electric cooling fans that will probably fail after a few years, thus taking out the overheating LED too..

      It's exactly like the liars that claim that their LED light bulbs will last "100,000 hours", when it's just the LEDs that will last that long. Their crappy overheating driver circuit might last a few months, or years.

      1. Richard 12 Silver badge

        Re: "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

        Anybody saying 100,000 hours for an LED luminaire is using an interesting definition of lifetime - usually 50% at 50% brightness.

        75,000 to 70% initial brightness is plausible under good conditions.

        That should mean around 25 years at 8 hours a day, which seems a reasonable claim for car lifetime.

        But fans? Really?

        Our outdoor LED doesn't have fans and the white edition is brighter than a headlight is allowed to be.

        It is also physically larger than this Ford though, which is probably the real reason - the designer insisted on tiny "piggy eyes", thus ensuring normal heatsink and heat pipes couldn't do it.

        1. DropBear

          Re: "last for the lifetime of the vehicle"

          But fans? Really?

          Allow me to translate.

          "- Boss, the cooling of the LED headlights as designed is proving to be inadequate. They're getting too hot!

          - A re-design is absolutely out of the question. Slap some fans on them! Why are you still bothering me with this?!?"

  10. Gene Cash Silver badge

    Shit plastic

    Both the lenses and the reflectors are ALREADY cheap plastic. At least here in the US, headlights are behind thin plastic lenses that cloud solid in about 6 weeks. You can polish them, but it still only lasts a month or two at most.

    You can look at any parking lot to see 90% of the cars have near-useless headlight lenses.

    1. Joe User

      Re: Shit plastic

      The cars look like they have a bad case of cataracts.

  11. Graham Marsden
    Meh

    Great, maybe...

    ... this will stop all those idiots who think retro-fitting HIDs to their cars is really clever (instead of being stupid and spraying light all over the place) or the prats who think that fog lamps are running lights and should be left on all the time.

    And hopefully it will also mean lights have a longer lifespan, so you get fewer cars driving around with one (or even both!) rear lights out because the owner thinks "meh, it passed its MoT, it's ok" and doesn't even do the simplest basic checks of the road-worthiness of their vehicle...

    (Sorry, I can't stop myself laughing cynically at this point)

    1. joed

      Re: Great, maybe...

      Once they start retrofitting LEDs into their junk you may realize that HID was not that bad. On the other hand, there's quite a number of people that can't replace the headlight bulb correctly and end up beams go random directions (so LEDs will help with these). At the same time, while LED element may be durable, the whole assembly (pcb, power circuitry) is not necessarily so - when one breaks you'll wish you had a good old fashion bulb to be replaced. And with regard to rear lights/bulbs - these rarely burn out. My vehicle is 12 years old and still with original bulbs in the back, front is different story.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Great, maybe...

      Well, part of the problem (in the US, at least) is that running fog lamps without the main headlamps is against the law, which means that the law is stupid.

      1. Adrian 4

        Re: Great, maybe...

        In this country, using fog lamps when there is no fog is illegal. Rightly so, because ancillary lights are not checked for alignment and so can cause dazzle.

        Sadly, this doesn't seem to stop 50% of drivers from using them unneccessarily, nor, surprisingly, have the police latched onto this flagrant breach of the law and the potential for income from fines.

        1. Steven Jones

          Re: Great, maybe...

          The crazy thing is when you see somebody storming down the motorway at 70+ with read fog lights on. Either visibility is such that you don't need your fog lights turned on, or you shouldn't be doing anything like 70 mph.

          Personally I hate rear fog lights being turned on at the slightest hint of mist or rain. Not only do they dazzle, but they also mask brake lights as both are rated the same (23 W I think).

          Rear fog lights should only be used for really poor visibility when you should be traveling relatively slowly.

          1. Terry Barnes

            Re: Great, maybe...

            "Either visibility is such that you don't need your fog lights turned on, or you shouldn't be doing anything like 70 mph."

            I was taught to only use rear fog lights in fog (obviously) and only for as long as no headlights were visible behind. Once I could see lights behind, turn them off - on the basis that they had served their purpose at that point and leaving them on was likely to just mask braking.

        2. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: Great, maybe...

          "nor, surprisingly, have the police latched onto this flagrant breach of the law and the potential for income from fines."

          Police in Manchester have a policy of ALWAYS stopping a car driving around on foglamps. The given rationale is that it's better to stop that kind of behaviour right now - and that it's usually accompanied by other illegal stuff on cars (most usually an expired MOT or illegal exhaust modification).

    3. Fungus Bob

      Re: Great, maybe...

      "the prats who think that fog lamps are running lights and should be left on all the time."

      In the States, fog lights (not driving lights) are legal to use in any driving condition as they are not as bright as low beam headlamps. When they are properly aimed at the road and not oncoming traffic, that is.

      Given the pathetic state of most car lighting over here, a little extra light right in front of the vehicle really helps.

      1. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Great, maybe...

        "In the States, fog lights (not driving lights) are legal to use in any driving condition as they are not as bright as low beam headlamps. "

        Properly aimed foglights _will_ reflect off a wet road surface and dazzle oncoming drivers.

        That's why it's illegal to use them in non-foggy conditions.

  12. Denarius
    Flame

    think of the heat

    might not bother some countries but 45C at night happens in Oz away from the coast in summer. Around the Alice heat sensitive lights could be a problem when avoiding roos, drunks, camels, 4WDs, grey nomads and avoiding road trains. Would fans make a difference in 50C air if one is already doing 120kmh ?

    Anyway, another crap front wheel drive for those who enjoy wheel spins in dampness and crap handling. As for glare problems, there are already enough twats with xenons in 4WDs at eye level because the overstuffed shockers lift the thing up to enhance rollover potential. Apparently looking like a try hard Camel ad model is supposed to impress something.

  13. Nigel Whitfield.

    New fangled nonsense!

    Nothing wrong with my selective yellow headlamps. Other than the slightly disconcerting feeling of driving through a shower of piss.

  14. Tom 35

    A Fan

    So the LED lasts the life of the car, or until the fan fails?

    Or will the headlight just turn off when it overheats?

    Can you replace the fan, or only the full module?

  15. Da Weezil

    D*ckhead Designer requirements

    I hate to see too much pandering to the requirements of designers when the subject is vehicle lighting. There are far too many atrocious lighting designs on modern cars, clearly its a case of form over function which should NEVER be the case with automotive light design. Admittedly this affects the indicator and brake lamps more, but it illustrates nicely where the muppet manufacturers priorities are.

    Motor vehicle lights are safety features NOT styling statements.

    1. Graham Marsden

      @Da Weezil - Re: D*ckhead Designer requirements

      > it illustrates nicely where the muppet manufacturers priorities are.

      And the bean counters when you need to replace the whole lens assembly (or even light cluster) if one part of it breaks... Kerching!!

  16. Dr_N

    Kudos on the Alfa SZ reference.

    Bravo!

  17. Lars Silver badge
    Happy

    Lifetime

    "performance and last for the lifetime of the vehicle.". It would be interesting if somebody at the Reg would manage to get a straight answear from Ford regarding how long that lifetime is. And yes I am also pissed off with lights that cannot be changed without taking the car to pieces. How damned happy those guys at the garage are when I ask them to change a light. See you tomorrow. Sometimes I wonder if they put in used bulbs for the fun of seeing me again shortly. As far as I remember the EU is trying to stop this noncence, I wish they could as I refuse to believe that all those nice engineers are unable to do it right.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Infrared driving?

    Instead of worrying about new headlight lamps that output more lumens per square inch than the freaking SUN, why don't they hurry up FLIR systems for cars?

    The whole windshield should be part of the visual detection and range (VIDAR?) system, presenting and enhancing the visual of wild animals, people, the next exit I need to take, cars driving with their lights out, safe distances to obstacles (and potholes), all the sort of stuff you are already have (and need) on airplane HUDs, and some that are exclusive to terrestrial vehicles.

    All the necessary information, all in a need-to-know basis. No Facebooks, no tweets, no BS.

    I know some vehicle manufacturers started some initiatitve on that direction (Jaguar?), I don't see why others should follow.

    I want to drive seeing everything like it was daytime, while on outside the car is undistinguishable from other vehicles, not too much lighting, not too low.

    Once driving conditions are met, you don't need headlamps. Focus on the solution, not the problem.

    I want to see stuff at night, that could potentially jump in front of my car and make me crash, I don't care which means are used.

    Speaking of Jaguar, most large cats can see at night. Great advertising ideas, right there.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Infrared driving?

      Good ideas, BUT… I, as a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist, must be able to see YOU.

      So you will need at least some lights on, and I'd suggest the headlights presently used on vehicles would be a good option.

      "VIDAR" as you call it might be doable in a car, but it's going to be clumbersome to achieve with a motorcycle helmet, and practically impossible for cyclists and pedestrians, who do need to be able to see your car coming when crossing roads.

  19. DanceMan

    Daytime running lights in Canada

    We've had them here in Canada for years, but they are only the headlights at 50% intensity. It has led to many drivers running around at night with no tail lights until their brake lights come on. I hope your EU regs will have enough sense to require the tail lights also. And I agree that it's a case of diminishing returns once all vehicles have them. My 25 year old car does not have them, but I put lights on when visibility diminishes. Then I put the battery charger on when I forget and leave them on. Warning buzzer doesn't work.

    1. Lars Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Daytime running lights in Canada

      Head lights and tail lights, of course for the same reason. But I am not shure if the EU has anything to do with it. There are 28 countries in the EU and I would suppose quite a few are not using daytime lights for some odd reason. I think the Nordic countries started to use them some 30 years ago.

    2. Peter Simpson 1
      FAIL

      Re: Daytime running lights in Canada

      Oh...pet peeve number two:

      My cheap-o Toyota Camry automatically shut the headlights off when I killed the engine and opened the door. I've yet to find an American car that can do that. They're perfectly capable of ringing a chime endlessly, but seem unable to move beyond a dashboard switch that controls the headlight power directly. Relays in the headlight circuit, apparently, are completely beyond the US automakers' competency.

      1. Down not across

        Re: Daytime running lights in Canada

        My cheap-o Toyota Camry automatically shut the headlights off when I killed the engine and opened the door. I've yet to find an American car that can do that.

        Jeep Grand Cherokees have had adjustable delay on how long to leave lights on for after switching ingition off at least since 90s. I'm sure there must be others.

  20. neillanwarne

    Seems like my next car will be as old as I can manage without all this crap on it. Could do the vintage car market the power of good!

  21. Zot

    So in the future...

    ...instead of two dazzling point light sources, why can't we have one thin light across the whole front of the car beaming perfectly out? That would be really nice.

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Joke

      Re: So in the future...

      Is that you KITT?

      1. Zot

        Re: So in the future...

        Hey 80s boy!

        KITT had 6 headlights and sometimes 4! (hmm, never noticed that before), not a single strip of light.

  22. Callum

    headaches and snow

    One of the problems with LED headlights is when you are are driving in snow conditions. Since the falling snow is highly reflective and that LEDs flash with a high intensity - your brain actually tracks falling/drifting snow as a sequence of flashing dots due to the velocity of the vehicle.

    This doesn't happen with regular headlamps and can give drivers a bit of a headache after an hour or so of driving in drifting/falling snow.

    This is also a problem in China where motorways are lit using LED streetlamps.

    1. Richard 12 Silver badge

      Re: headaches and snow

      Only if they use low-frequency PWM dimming. Like everyone else seems to.

      Who am I kidding. We're almost the only company dimming LEDs fast enough for race-line cameras, so how likely are Ford to go at the tens of kHz needed?

      Will make the slo-mo replays interesting though!

  23. Evoflash
    Happy

    ..call me lazy...

    I like the idea of never having to change a light bulb.

  24. LucreLout

    So where does this end?

    To draw attention to something you must also draw attention from something. The most vulnerable classes of road vehicle (not road user as I’ll return to that later) have used lighting during daylight hours to help indicate their presence – bikers & cyclists both being smaller and less frequently encountered are less often expected by the average driver. DRLs must eliminate any advantage conveyed to these groups.

    A competent driver shouldn’t need other vehicles to be illuminated during the day – they should be capable of seeing them in normal lighting conditions. Where additional visibility may help, a competent driver should be able to turn on their lights and turn them off again when it is not needed.

    Onto other road users. The argument that DRLs help the partially sighted better notice a vehicle approaching is valid. However, unless we are going to raise the level of illumination to a level that pains or hinders people with normal vision, then the number of people it can help is probably smaller than the number of people hindered by the loss of their enhanced visibility (bikes, cycles etc). What about other pedestrians? They aren’t lit at all, and logically would be placed in greater danger due to the “if it ain’t lit it ain’t moving” mentality that will develop with widespread use of daytime lighting.

    So are we really saying that the average driving standard in the UK is too low? DRLs would not seem to be the answer to that problem – more frequent training or more difficult testing would seem better solutions. It seems to me the problem is that most drivers aren’t paying enough attention to driving.

    Remember that half of the population have a double digit IQ – more than half if the effects of ageing are factored into the model. Perhaps the question we should be asking is whether the assumption that anyone can/should pass a driving test is the correct one? If it is, then surely we also accept that the less able will continue to kill people in what were largely avoidable accidents.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    As a motorcyclist who has a 100 mile round trip each day, I'm looking forward to anything that'll make me merge into the background a little bit more.

    Although, given the amount of fuckwits that pull out of junctions in front of me now, it probably won't make much difference.

    Might mean the steel caps on the courier boots wear out a bit quicker though....

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