Board logo

Bikers and full beams
Benzine - 12/11/25 at 06:57 PM

I'm fed up of the permanent full beam bikers who blind every other road user. Want to be seen? Wear hi viz clothing, hi viz jacket, and dipped main beam. Nobody does though as looking "cool" (I.e. anything but hi viz) is more important than being considerate to other road users. Utter planks, throw your bike keys down the toilet and flush.


jester - 12/11/25 at 09:59 PM

I have rode motorcycles for well over twenty years I have seen the new breed of riders most must drive BMW'S

So its fog lights on all the time as soon as the nights got in & Rain starts in the car so it's fine to do the same with the full beam on a motorcycle

They must have all done a special driving test that says its ok to blind your fellow road users.

There was a young lad at one of the places I worked at years ago.

asked me one morning after following behind for miles before the works car park I want to get a motorcycle any advice I said yeah don't drive around in the dark

with your fog lights on It cheese's Motorcyclist riders off.

They have a enough to worry about in front of them with morons pulling out/Trying to side swipe them with out some moron dazzling

them from behind for miles on end

roadrunner - 13/11/25 at 07:07 AM

To be honest. A lot car drivers use there fog lights when it's not foggy.
Do what I do, wait until the last two seconds and pull your main beam stalk to dazzle them back

roadrunner - 13/11/25 at 07:45 AM

Just to clarify.
Bikers don't bother me with there lights. They appear and I let them pass straight away, problem solved.
I get the be seen approach.

Sarah - 13/11/25 at 02:57 PM

As a motorist (42 years) and motorcyclist (36 years), I generally have a problem with modern headlights (and the government is going to to look into them).

Twobeers - 13/11/25 at 04:10 PM

The whole vehicle lighting thing has just become a mess, manufacturers making cars with inappropriate lights, drivers using them incorrectly etc, motorcycles are probably at the bottom of my list of stuff when it comes to lights, very rarely bothered by them.

Sanzomat - 13/11/25 at 05:04 PM

Maybe just I'm lucky where I live but I've never noticed a problem with bikers on main beams. When I ride my motorcycle I use dipped (day and night) and only main like I would in the car - when nobody else is there. I've had more problems with cyclists using super bright front lights that I'm guessing don't have dipped setting. Some of them seem brighter than car headlights. I do prefer cyclists who use over bright lights to those that don't use lights at all and wear dark clothing and still expect you to see them though!

When driving my GTM at night, I guess because I'm quite low down, every car seems to be on main beam as my eyeline must be below the typical dip cut off level of modern SUV's (which seems to be every car these days).

SteveWalker - 13/11/25 at 08:23 PM

One of the advantages of a Robin Hood monocoque - cars or bikes coming up behind, with full-beam on, simply dazzle themselves with the mirror-finish bodywork! No need to dip the mirror or avoid looking at them.

[Edited on 13/11/25 by SteveWalker]

Benzine - 14/11/25 at 10:25 PM

I understand what's been said about modern lights. They often make me think "is that full beam? No. Yes. No. Not sure"

Re: fog lights. I've not often seen people using these when it's not foggy. If they do, they're not dazzling.

Bikers using full beams are intentionally dazzling other road users. That's the main issue.

westf27 - 15/11/25 at 04:04 PM

There not alone,some of these cyclists have some very bright lights.Back in the day with tungsten filaments with that power would have flattened your D cells in a few minutes.

coyoteboy - 26/11/25 at 12:29 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Sarah
As a motorist (42 years) and motorcyclist (36 years), I generally have a problem with modern headlights (and the government is going to to look into them).


They're gonna get blinded.



I'll be honest, this has been a pet peeve of mine for years, but not just biker related. I get the be seen side of things, I used to cycle a lot for commuting and fun, but generally a bright front light doesn't help on a push bike, a big flashy red rear light does wonders but as a driver they annoy me too and sometimes make me look away as I pass which isn't what they're looking for.

The problem is the overall lumens race occuring in road users. There's absolutely no need for headlights to light 200m up the road. None. It's further than the stopping distances of 1960's cars and drivers at 70. IF you need that sort of beam throw, you're driving like a nut, not to the conditions. Because cars have moved up to two portable suns, motorbikes had to to get noticed. And in turn bikes had to. So now everyone's riding about with a dazling array of lights. And the street lighting is like a sodding stadium lighting affair - it's been shown time and time again that adding permanent light doesn't add safety/security, and roads that are highly lit are great but then when people pop out into unlit areas they don't slow down and now have no night vision.

Don't get me started on matrix headlights that don't "see" you because the central res barrier is between it's camera and your headlights, so it full beams you. Or when one is following you and the light shed past your car is constantly flicking up and down causing variable shadows.

Honestly, just drop the brightness, make people realise it's night and they need to be a bit less blase about speed, and stop dazzling everyone coming the other way.

In return for the endless dazzling I have 2x300W light bars on my car, you get a wee flash to let you know you're dazzling, if you don't sort it you get your retinas seared.

[Edited on 26/11/2025 by coyoteboy]

coyoteboy - 26/11/25 at 07:50 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Benzine
Re: fog lights. I've not often seen people using these when it's not foggy. If they do, they're not dazzling.


Eh? Fog lights are super dazzling when it's not foggy.

Benzine - 26/11/25 at 08:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by coyoteboy

Eh? Fog lights are super dazzling when it's not foggy.


Okay then it must be something I've barely ever seen. I'd also fully condemn people using them when it's not foggy. I made this thread about bikers using full beam and I'm surprised by the amount of whataboutism.

David Jenkins - 27/11/25 at 07:59 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Sarah
...modern headlights (and the government is going to to look into them).


With sunglasses on, I hope...

jacko - 27/11/25 at 10:04 PM

Not only bikes electric scooters have bright lights too
I must say they seem to set the light to point at drivers then down on the road to see potholes etc

Partofthechaos - 29/11/25 at 09:18 PM

The one that gets me is the auto lights in fog, so many modern cars drive around with only DRLs turned on at the front and nothing on the back. A few years ago I came out of the Hindhead Tunnel into dense fog, but on a bright day. One by one all the dull coloured German cars turned their lights off and more or less disappeared. The problem is with auto lights there are no indications on the dash of what it is doing. If people realised they needed their fogs on that would over-ride the sensors and turn the normal lights on too, but people don't think about it any more. Fine if the sensors get it right, but that is not often enough for my liking.

I think this is the same problem with dazzling other people. We used to have manual headlight levelling so that the driver had to make the decision as to what they did with their lights. Now the auto levellers do what they think is best, but a bit too high is my opinion and there is nothing the driver can do about it.