"Viperfan1" (Viperfan1) 05/14/2014 at 14:27 • Filed to: None

3

9

First post on oppo, but I feel the need to rant. Commuting more and more lately I've realized something. I DESPISE DRL's, light up instrument panels, automatic lights, incompetent manufacturers, and stupid drivers altogether, not in any particular order. Perhaps it's just the stupid drivers, as all of the tech I mentioned I actually like, and have it in my car(except DRL's...wtf Nissan/Infiniti??) How many times have you driven in conditions that required lights and come up on someone who will never know your rage of them not having their lights on?

Inclement weather such as rain, snow, mist, etc.. is easy enough to remember with a simple rule. Wipers on? Lights on.

Foggy, smokey, dusk/dawn/night? Turn your lights on not only to see, but to be SEEN. Go ahead and turn your hazards on if you like because that won't annoy me nearly as much as someone with nothing on.

Perhaps the fancy new instrument panel's are to blame. as most newer cars have the speedo/rpm, etc light up day and night, so it's hard to tell if your lights are on. DRL's seem to make it even worse. People drive around thinking that their lights must be on, often being the only ones on the road at night with their front lights on/drl's on, and zero side or rear lights at all. Just in the past week I've passed, had to slow down and get behind the car in question, flash my lights at them several times, and then see them simply switch to another lane. HOW CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING?! I can't yell too much I guess, as my mom was one of these very same people in her 99 Lexus SC300. The DRL's would give just enough light at night that not many would notice. The lit up dash panel day and night didn't help either. This should really be the job of the manufacturer to idiot proof.

My last gripe is with auto headlights. Sure, they are useful and in most cases make driving easier as they can figure out when it's night and when it's light. But they have no idea when it's raining, foggy, snowy, a tunnel, if there's simply a big ass cloud outside. Sometime they turn on for no reason under a bridge or in the shade and the driver in front of you thinks you're flashing him.

Scratch that, my actual gripe is with the drivers who have done any of the above. If you're not paying enough attention to follow basic laws and safety procedures, I don't see how you should be allowed near a vehicle. Keep on eye on your light knob or the light stalk, it's the same one as your turn signal stalk. Side note, use your turn signal BEFORE you initiate a turn. NOT HALFWAY THROUGH THE ACTUAL TURN. Hell, I guess you probably don't know how to use that one either.

heliochrome85 > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:29

1

So what you are saying is that you hate the BMW angel eyes?

thebigbossyboss > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:35

1

Yeh man DRL drivers at night are the worst. Sad thing is there is pretty much no way to tell the driver they are being dumb. That being said, I once committed that sin in dodge caravan, light up cluster made me think the lights were on.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:44

1

can we add into this rant the people who think they need their hi-beams on all the time. Coming home at 11pm on the Mass Pike I must have passed 10 people with high beams on.

Roberto G. > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:45

1

Totally correct. DRL is the biggest bullshit ever! It was born in Northern Europe, where it's almost always foggy and dark, but here in Italy where we have 8 months of sunshine, it's just ridiculous to oblige us to keep the headlights on, while the sun is cracking the stones!... and the result is that when the evening comes, our roads are full of monocled cars: 3 cars out of five have one only headlamp working... because nowadays to change a headlamp you need to be Houdini... or you are able to remove the bumper, or you have the job done by the dealer... good that here in Italy the regulation is enforced by the Police only on the highways, while they let us live on the normal extra-urban roads. Me, I still do like I was once told, and I turn my headlights on during the day only when it's rainy or foggy... and on the highways of course.

Viperfan1 > heliochrome85 05/14/2014 at 14:46

0

I don't hate DRL's per se. I actually like them and understand that they offer safety benefits and look great in most cases. I hate the DRL's on cars like the GTI, CRV, Accord, SC300, etc. They light up whenever you are in D. They give off just enough light that you can tell you have something on, but not usually enough for night time driving(gti is just regular headlights). What I hate is people who think their DRL's are their night time/inclement weather lights and don't bother/forget to change to regular headlights or think that auto will do it for them, even when auto is not selected.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:55

1

This is honestly one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to driving in the rain or at night. My apt and my gym are 4 miles apart, I passes ATLEAST 20 cars last night alone that had either no lights on or just DRLs. But then on the flip side, you have the dumbasses that when they turn their headlights on, have their brights on so they end up blinding everybody around them so they still can't see their car..........

CalzoneGolem > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 14:56

1

All the lights all the time. Problem solved.

RazoE > Viperfan1 05/14/2014 at 15:22

3

I love my DRLs. Anything that makes me more visible to other drivers is a giant plus in my book. Once it gets dark or starts getting dark I turn on my lights because I'm not a dumbass. If I have to turn my wipers on, I turn the headlights on, you know, the way you're supposed to. I don't know how people forget to turn their lights on. Are these same people forgetting to wipe their ass after going to the bathroom? It's second nature, how can one forget?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Viperfan1 01/20/2017 at 13:18

0

The very first night I owned my Mazda5 I was pulled over for driving without my headlights on at night. After nearly 30 years of driving it was ingrained in me that instrument lights on meant headlights on. Wrong. Who was the moron that thought that changing this was a good idea? I don’t know how many times I’ve tried to indicate to other drivers that their headlights are not on only to be ignored, probably because they’re too busy texting or something to concentrate on their driving. These days, just to avoid this sitatuion again I just drive with my headlights on everywhere I drive, partially for safety and partially so that I don’t forget to turn the lights on again.

In aviation we have something called the ‘dark cockpit’ philosphy. If no indicator lights are on then everything’s good. A light on means something needs to be fixed in order to get the light to turn off, and the color of the light indicates the severity of the situation. Nowadays, whenever I get in my car I have to see the stupid little green light that tells me that my headlights are on. No! I shouldn’t have to! This is the normal situation, not the abnormal situation that requires a warning light. We could add more technology to give the driver a light to tell them when their headlights are not on when it’s dark, but that’s just more things to break, plus WE ALREADY HAD A SYSTEM THAT WORKED!

I remember my mother getting pulled over for speeding and non-functioning tail lights some time around ‘75 or ‘76. The headlights were working fine, but the tail lights were not, and because the tail lights were out the instrument lights were also out, an indication to the driver that something was wrong (although it could have meant that the all of the instrument lights were out and that the tail lights were fine, but not as likely). These engineers in the ‘60s already had this figured out. And when the cop asked how she knew how fast she was going, she calmly said that she was just keeping up with traffic; the officer then responded by saying that if she was keeping up with traffic in California she was speeding and proceeded to give her a couple of tickets...