Jump to content
Click here if you are having website access problems ×

Night driving - or - driving at night.


Tom Pickering

Recommended Posts

Driving a Careham at night is a very different experience - well for me anyway - it has a certain ambience (ambiance), almost a calming effect. I want to go fast but then again, I don't.

If you do go fast, it can be a bit hairy, but the nature of a Carterham (for me) say's "go on have it". Yet you can't, especially if your unfimilar with the road you are on.

Is it me, or does any body-else experience these conflicts of night driving in a Caterham.

 

 

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I avoid driving quickly at night becaus the visibility restrictions have in the past caused me to:

 

1. Fail to negotiate a hairpin bend

2. Hit and kill Bambi

 

Both on the same stretch of road.

 

Also:

3. My Seven is perennially broken so I don't get the chance any more

 

Peterid=teal>

253 BHP K-seriesteeth.gif, gearbox and diff on the waythumbsup.gifid=red>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Area Representative

Night driving reminds me of those arcade games in the 80's (showing my age, there smile.gif where everything passes you in a blurr as you look into the darkness.... the windscreen seeming like a TV screen... And somewhere in the Twilight Zone...!

 

Time for bed now, I think

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mmmm...

Glad to hear that your experiances are similar to mine ( sorry to hear about Bambi though Peter, although Bambi was an unpredictable element in the equasion).

Had a weird/strange/funny (how ever you wish to catogorise it) experiance last night.

Familar road, fast straight., then road goes to the left 90deg, my turn off to the right 90deg (almost like a T junction). Came up sooner than I thought after the straight - good job there was a run off. No harm done.

Good things come from bad - learning from experiance.

 

 

Tom

 

Edited by - Tom Pickering on 5 Jul 2002 00:27:39

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tend to drive to my parents through the lanes and return home late at night on the motorway. At that time, in the dark and with little or no other traffic, the Se7en seems eerie at speed, particularly as I wear earplugs. I get an almost "detached" feeling which can't be a good thing when piloting such a vehicle. The lights are OK as I've replaced the original bulbs with some slightly higher powered ones (illegal) on main beam but I have fitted brackets which lower them, effectively minimising their range. The whole event is very similar to a video game when driving in night mode... yes, detached.

 

Worcs L7 club joint AO

Membership No.id=red> 4379id=blue>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love driving it at night (when it's running - I've only done about a hundred miles this year :-(

I especially love driving on a very warm night with a full moon.

A few years ago at the height of summer, it was about ten o'clock and we were thinking of going to bed. Outside the sky was clear and the moon was full. I suggested a drive. It was wonderful. We got out at a local hill-top beauty spot and walked around with the moon casting big strong shadows. We could see down the whole length of the valley, lit up by the strong moon. Driving around with the moon above and the roar of the engine and being able to see because of the moonlight - ooh, I'm coming over all tearful !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

V. confusing if you've been playing one of the Star Wars pod racing games... keep looking for the button to fly upwards, but then discovered that approaching hump-back bridges at fast speed has the same effect, though not as dignified a landing...
Link to comment
Share on other sites

definitely a fan of night driving ideally on a road you know well or following somebody who does. except for overtaking on an unfamiliar road where you really have no chance unless the cats eyes tell you its straight for a sufficient distance.

 

its particulalry good of the car is a "bit" rich and spurts flames at every opportunity! smile.gifsmile.gifsmile.gif

 

 

 

Dave Hooper - dmch2@lineone.net

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's nice to know if somebody isn't coming around the bend the otherway, so country lanes are greater at night smile.gif I also love the hogsback at night, something to do with looking at all those lights smile.gif.

To counter my first point, I also love cycling at night, on country lanes, with out street lights, or lights on the bike, for some reason the roads seem vaguely luminousient (?) the best so far is 43mph, which is very scary indeed smile.gif Just hope I don't meet some lunatic in a caterham doing 80odd mph in the opposite direction.

It might just be me, but it also make you wonder about werewolves, wild cats etc etc....

 

I really should drink less on a Friday lunchtime, less cheese before bed may help too

 

Geoff

J392PPD

VX & Flares how untrendy can I be?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For preference stilton, rochfort, chevre, actually now I think about it most of them except that nasty Napolian stuff with almonds & orange (not brandy) stuff & anything too shiny on the outside. Anything else I leave to the misses...if I am really lucky smile.gif

 

 

Geoff

J392PPD

VX & Flares how untrendy can I be?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love night driving too but just to even up the balance here are a few downsides.........

 

You catch somebody up and they're doing 45mph on dipped headlights (aka to**ers)

Worse - A line of 5 drivers all doing 45mph and the front one is on dipped headlights!

You can't be sure whether or not the headlights behind are attached to a plod-mobeel

You can't glance at the expression on your passenger's face on the fast bits

Suicidal foxes, badgers(and Bambis apparently) seem to be prevalent when the sun goes to bed

You switch main beam on for the first time in months as you open up on a straight and find the trees and opposite verge helpfully illuminated

You stop to point the headlamps correctly and then one begins to rotate steadily, though this can be quite helpful initially for seeing around certain bends.

 

etc etc but I still love it

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad I could start a thread that made me have a good laugh from all the replies and one that brought back some wonderful memoriesbiggrin.gif. Anthony's reminded me of the time I drove a Caterham from Italy to France, I think from memory it was around the hills or mountains of Livron just over th French border?. Nothing else in site, just me, the mountains and the moon (some animals, deer, rabbits, and things. No cheese though), it was wonderful. Hang on I think I'm fillin upblush.gif.

Ok, I'm OK now.

My mum's 83 and loves my Caterham, but struggles to get in now - she kind of falls in and has to be dragged out, it's a struggle for me to extract her. She lives in one of those places where they have independance yet the security of a warden who keeps an eye on them. When I tell her I'm coming over she always asks if I'm coming in the Caterham. If I tell her that I am, she tells all her friends and when I arrive there all looking out for me - Mad old bu**ers or are they just living their dream througe me and my Caterham. Suppose we all have to do our bit for the community.

My headlights seem to have a mind of their own too.

Cheers

 

 

Tom

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...