So I was driving home from class yesterday evening...

"SonorousSpeedJoe" (SonorousSpeedJoe)
09/11/2013 at 22:15 • Filed to: RANT

...And as the sky gradually darkened, I realized just how many drivers forget to turn their cars' lights on or keep at it with just their parking lights when it's nighttime.

It must have been 5 minutes into my 30-40 minute drive when it got dark enough that most people had their lights on, yet it slipped the minds of several others - I'd only ever expect just one or two people with their lights off. Seriously, when most cars I see on the roads around here are post-2000 MY, they probably have an AUTO setting that shouldn't be that complicated to use.

Oh, well. At least that there was that one '90's Chevy Blazer that made up for this lack of light by shining its high-beams (or really bright-ass low-beams) into my rearview mirror at one point.

DISCUSSION (17)

Gimmi-Sagan-Om-Draken > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 22:19

Or through long tunnels! Tossers.

PowderHound > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 22:22

My car has DRL (daytime running lights) that are always on. They are basically just the headlights being on so I just always leave them on anyway, and thank god they turn off when the car turns off. Only thing is I always forget to turn my fogs off during the day

Montalvo > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 22:22

The auto setting can be finicky and there are probably tons of people who are just unfamiliar with how their light systems work for their car. Most of the time the people who do realize they need to turn on their lights kick it onto high beams and I get to have the experience of having my retinas burn with the light of a thousand suns.

SonorousSpeedJoe > Montalvo
09/11/2013 at 22:32

I can understand if they don't work as intended, but all it takes is manually flicking the control on the switch/stalk to turn on the headlights - I know that the general public treats cars as appliances, but that's all the more reason why executing such a basic action should be as natural as working a toaster. I can comprehend laziness, but not the idea of people who can't work their headlights when they commute in their cars.

DRL's, LED's, matrix beams... it makes no difference as long as there's a simple control to turn the light on.

GhostZ > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 22:34

This is why I hate automatic lights, it causes people to be unaware that they need to change it.

That, and you can't make them go dark to hide from people.

Montalvo > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 22:49

You are right, it is a simple task but then again look about who you are talking about. There are people who know the basics of all the cars controls and there are also the people who don't give a crap about their car and only know the minimum. I kind of have a pessimistic view of other peoples competence sometimes because of the extreme stupidity I have witnessed. You are comfortable in your car, many people aren't and so they are always teetering over the edge of causing an accident or they are driving distracted. I always am aware of my surroundings and act as though all other drivers around me could be completely brain dead. That tactic has saved me from too many close encounters than I wish to recall. I think we are looking at this from two different angles with my position being a bit more pragmatic.

POD > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/11/2013 at 23:24

I've always wondered why auto manufacturers even bother having the option to turn your lights off on modern cars.

DRL's are great, but they don't turn on the tail lights. Lots of drivers, especially in larger cities where most of the streets have street lamps, simply don't bother to turn their lights on. Either they forget, they don't know they are off, or they don't care, I'm not sure. This is going to sound pessimistic, but I've just about given up on expecting the everyday driver to do the right thing. So why not just remove the option? Have the headlamps and tail lights hard wired. If the car is running, the lights are on. Add a back-up that if the car is dead, you can still manually turn the lights on as well (like if you are broken down on the side of the road).

Chteelers > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/12/2013 at 07:46

My headlights are on every time I drive, day or night. Convinced the wife to do it also. It's a habit from my motorcycling days. Increases visibility to other drivers in all situations. In 15 years, I haven't had to replace bulbs any more frequently than before I did this. I recommend this for all drivers.

liquid_popcorn > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/12/2013 at 07:49

Whoa. Is that the Euro VW switch? So many more options than mine, haha.

Meatcoma > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/12/2013 at 08:31

Imagine how many more would forget to turn on their lights if there were no 'auto' on the light switch. I own 2 cars without it, 99 ford ranger and a 86 944.

Slave2anMG > liquid_popcorn
09/12/2013 at 08:41

Buy one. I put one in my '13 CC that allows me to turn on the parking lights when sitting. And get a set of the Euro-spec aspherical mirrors...

Notbisondelta > PowderHound
09/12/2013 at 10:11

While this is true you have to remember something. DRL are generally a lower powered version of your headlights and there is a chance that you are driving with no rear lights on. This isn't true for all cars, but I have seen it a number of times.

liquid_popcorn > Slave2anMG
09/12/2013 at 11:15

Cool, good to know. Where did you get them?

Slave2anMG > liquid_popcorn
09/12/2013 at 11:29

I've bought mine from OEMplus.com ...

liquid_popcorn > Slave2anMG
09/12/2013 at 11:54

Cool, thanks!

PowderHound > Notbisondelta
09/12/2013 at 15:01

They are a bit lower than my headlights and not so sure about if the rears are on with the DRLs. But that is why I just keep my headlights on all the time.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > SonorousSpeedJoe
09/14/2013 at 11:25

I've never understood this as my headlights turn on in Auto under large clouds. With it getting darker earlier i see this becoming more prevalent. I think it is directly linked to aholes that drive with their high beams on all the time.