Night driving

[David.H]

This subject is certainly generating a lot of discussion -- all good stuff.

The same problems existed back in " the sixties" although modern headlights then were less blinding. Night driving in an Austin Seven in those days was fairly common and we didn't have the advantage of LEDs.
One strategy was to knock off  the rear view mirror, and drive in the middle of the road using the following car's headlight to see where you were going. I remember getting back from Brighton to London in a Ruby using this technique and as far as I can remember no one got too upset, but of course everyone was more tolerant in those days and road rage had yet to be invented!

Charles.  (Safely in rural Norfolk)

Ha, love it Charles. I recall many years ago as a student running from the midlands to south Devon in my Nippy. We negotiated the Devon lanes after dark in a pea souper (actual fog that is, not a bit of mist) with my passenger standing on the passenger seat trying to find the white lines with a torch! It seems inconceivable now that one might attempt such a thing - how the world has changed...

Interestingly I now use your above technique, more or less, in my modern car - I can't see a thing with my mirrors normally adjusted and Mr. Hi-Intensity sitting on my rear bumper. He gets so cross when I slow down too.

Memories! Returning to Birmingham from a weekend rock climbing in Snowdonia in an open 1931 box saloon (someone had cut the roof off) about Easter time in 1958 we had got about as far as Wenlock Edge (long pull up!) when it became clear (?) that we were running out of lights, so eventually everything was turned off and we were virtually driving by the thump of the cats eyes on the road. Fortunately the battery (must have come from a tractor) was very big so was jammed in behind the passenger seat and it kept enough urge to keep the coil going. The next day we had to get back to Sandhurst and before leaving managed to fiddle about with the dynamo enough to get a charge back. The battery had sat on charge all night & was ok anyway by then. The car had no hood, was painted flat grey and had a big carburettor stuffed on to the engine (no idea how or what!) It was thirsty, but went well enough for my co owner (who didn't then have a licence) to be stopped on the A30 into London by a policeman on a motor bike (not a silent wonder Velocette!) who wanted to know how the car went so quickly! He was a Seven owner as well! No details were passed over & my friend passed his test very smartly afterwards.