Main beam warning light.

Which is fine if there's any ambient light but bugger all use on a moonles cloud covered night. Besides you'll get arrested

I wasn't suggesting you drive down the road with no lights on (!) just that you don't / need / lights to drive, let alone high beam. I'll repeat the operative word, seeing that people seem to be missing it, NEED.

I always find lights a particularly useful thing to have if I NEED to drive at more than a few mph in the dark. Using main beam on the Nissan, I can maintain near-daylight speeds on country roads. Which is nice.

Or to stay alive !

You / don't / need high beam to drive along a road, you / do / need light (in this case dipped beam (otherwise vehicles would not be fitted with duel element bulbs or people would crash whilst trying to drive using dipped beam).

You don't need lights to walk either. Of course you may still bump into something on a dark night. But most don't drive at walking pace at night. If *you* do, then it's you who shouldn't be driving.

Seeing as how I was born on Earth and not the planet Krypton ;) I quite like using high beam on the country roads I travel. Easier to pick out sheep and deer and stuff. Also warns the guy coming the other way with his full beams on that something is coming his way. Funny how people who use country roads regularly know when to dip.:)

Is high beam the duel (sic) element? High beams at dawn and all that? Anyway, most new vehicles are not fitted with dual or even dual element bulbs. Just seeing if I can join in the nit picking too :-)

But I've never said you don't need lights to drive along a road (other than pointing out that the army train troops to do just that in a battlefield situation), the point I was making (that you took issue with) was the need to use high beam - you don't need high beam to drive, otherwise it is *you* who should not be driving.....

LOL. Pluto always seems to come up with something topical ! :~)

If you don't *need* main beam, why have all cars always been fitted with it. Dipped beams came later...

So you believe that the only way you can drive safely in the dark is to use high beam, which mean that you must be unsafe when you have to drive with dipped beam...

Dipped beam was added to make driving in the dark safer, not only does it show up the edge of the road better but doesn't dazzle those coming towards you.

pipes which clog and then flood the car. HTH Phil

They don't actually drive without any lights on. THey just use different lights.

The last fwe nights have been very bright. I reckon you could have got away with it.

Yeah but main beams back int he day were about as bright as modern sidelights.

No, you drive to the speed where you can see safely. So you presumably travel at walking pace, since you don't use any headlights? Or should that be lights at all, given your bit about the army, who don't want to be

You must have pretty crap main beams if they don't show up the edges of the road. What do you drive - a Morris Minor?

To avoid dazzling oncoming traffic, you use dip. How did you ever pass your test if you don't know even simple things?

Dip beam shows up the edge better than main beam because dipped beam is being aimed towards the kerb.

There is no law that states you must drive at all time, unless you are following another vehicle or there are oncoming vehicles, using main beam.

I'll repeat what I said and you refuse to accept is possible, you don't / need / full beam to drive along a road.

If you really can not drive down an unlit road whilst using dipped beam you really should not be on the road, if on the other hand what you mean is that you can't drive so fast whilst using dipped beam I accept that fact, but it's not what I was saying in my original point.

I take it you never drive outside towns, since you're talking about kerbs? Country roads, where you'd get the benefit of main beam don't generally have them - they would be a safety hazard.

And have you ever looked at main beam patterns? Well designed ones will not only illuminate the nearside of the road, but the offside as well - if yours don't, I'd suggest you get them seen to.

You didn't pass English either, then?

You need to, or should be using them, where the circumstances allow. Or do you think having inferior visibility a *good* thing?

You were trying to nit-pick and failed miserably. Main beam lights should always be used, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.

That is rich coming from someone who lives deep within the M25 ! Not only do I have an un-lit country lane almost within a stones throw away from me but used to live on one :~P

Yes, I've had course to look at quite a few hundred (if not thousands) over the years, I've probably looked at more beam patters than you have had hot dinners - occupational hazard setting up headlight alignment...

I hope you are not one of those people who drive along an empty motorway at night with your headlights on full beam dazzling those on the opposite carriageway....

But you don't / need / to, it might best to do so but you don't / need / to. As I said, if you can't drive without main beam you really should not be one the road.

Please do feel free to quote the relevant Highway Code / Law in your defence.

Which part of 'when circumstances allow' didn't you understand?