I've seen the vega beam pattern and it compares pretty well with the specialized astro halogen battery powered lamp that I have although it was 2x brighter. If it's in the city, it gets slightly washed out. But if its pitch black, it has a slight umbra of light that lets you see around and slightly in front of you.
Assuming you mount the light above the bar and it's 40 inches up, 8 degree spread, aimed 20ft ahead, the swath would be 180 inches wide. If you mount it upside down, the swath increases to 200 inches. So you get an extra foot and a half. A 2" high object would have a shadow about 2.5" longer.

Less than I thought but it'll be something. Most importantly, it'll protect the light in an accident.