DRL rant

Author
Discussion

Nigel_O

Original Poster:

2,858 posts

218 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
How long before these stupid inventions causes a death....

I followed a car on an unlit section of the M42 North this evening at around 6:30 - pitch black, no rear lights. A quick check showed that it was showing LEDs on the front, and illuminated clocks inside, so was clearly running on DRLs only

We both pulled off at Tamworth and we stopped side-by-side at the traffic lights. I wound down my window and shouted to the driver that there were no lights. Driver looked confused, fiddled around with a few knobs and switches, failed to find how to turn them on and then just drove off down the A5, still without headlights, sidelights or any rear lights at all.

What level of fk-wittery allows a person to drive a car at night when a) they don't know they haven't got lights on an b) they don't know how to turn them on when the error of their ways has been pointed out? What happens if it rains? - do they trundle along squinting through a rain soaked screen because they don't know how to turn the bloody wipers on?

It can only be a meter of time before we hear of a story of an unlit car being heavily rear-ended by a 40-tonne truck, with predictable results

Deep breath.... Rant over rolleyes

Composure regained - surely, for the type of car that has these hateful devices (ie relatively modern), it wouldn't be difficult for the vehicle to "know" when its dark - either by virtue of a light sensor, or even by a very simple clock / date algorithm that knows that at 6:30pm on a March evening in the UK, it'll be bleedin' dark....

Alternatively, retailers should explain what the "D" part of DRL means...

Alternative 2 - just ban the things - they're only a styling exercise anyway

MC Bodge

21,552 posts

174 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
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But what about dazzly "dipped"HIDs on oncoming and following Audi's and Land Rovers?!?????!!!!?

Lugy

830 posts

182 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
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I see this pretty often, I think the main problem is the fact that the dash clocks are backlit from a switched live rather than coming on with the headlights like what used to happen, my rule is that if my clocks are becoming difficult to see then I put my headlights on.
The other problem is drivers who are more interested in syncing their playlist to the car instead of paying attention to the basics!

4lf4-155

700 posts

242 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
I don't understand why the rear lights don't turn on at the same time as DRLs - it would Minise the risk of the scenario you describe and I can't see a downside to running with rear lights on a ll the time.

BorkFactor

7,258 posts

157 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
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I have never understood why people do this, my Mum is annoyed that the rear lights don't come on on her 1 series when the DRLs are on - thinks it is a very daft idea that means people will drive around thinking their lights are on when they aren't.

I have flashed a few people when they are driving at night with no rear lights on, no one even notices that. I really think manufacturers should have the rears on at all times as well as the fronts. I rarely drive without at least sidelights on.

Jonwm

2,504 posts

113 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
On vag cars a quick tick in vcds puts the rear lights on with drl, manufacturers must have thought about it for it to be a ticked option in the background. You would think auto lights would be pretty standard nowadays, in my Audi if you turn off auto lights you still get the DRL but dash lights go off so you wouldn't forget you'd done it.

Side note op, I get more annoyed at that junction now they added the filter lane for stonydelph so many people go in it then try and get back on the main A5 when they realise :-(

Nickbrapp

5,277 posts

129 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
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More than likely the same idiots who used to drive at night with no lights at all.

The Vambo

6,643 posts

140 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
Is it 2011 again?

Muddle238

3,871 posts

112 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
Well I just passed two oncoming cars with no lights whatsoever, not even DRL. The rule should be simple; those who climb into a vehicle and set off before first thinking about whether they and the vehicle is appropriately set up must have their licence revoked. 1.5 tonnes of solid metal, travelling at 60mph, in the close vicinity of other people and other peoples property, at night, whilst being completely unlit is gross negligence. It's not being forgetful or a bit dim, it's pure bloody dangerous and not even realising is just utterly disgraceful.

I don't care if someone careers off the road and wraps themselves around a tree because they didn't see the bend in the road because they weren't using their lights. I do care however if someone hits a pedestrian who stepped out because they didn't see the unlit oncoming car.

People need to wake up and go out to their cars, find a shop window or something and move the light switch to see what actually happens on the outside of their car when the switch is in different positions.

I'm driving about in a Hyundai i10 rental this week, it has LED DRLs in the bumper however when you switch sidelights on, then a separate front sidelight bulb comes on aswell as the rears, but the LED DRL stays on. This means when people hit fog or enter rain and think "ooo, I need all my lights on!" then just turn the bloody sidelights on, at least the relatively bright LED DRL gives everybody else a chance to see the fkwit. It seems to at least be a step in the right direction.

However I think the only real solution is for all cars to automatically run with dipped headlights all the time, like the older Volvos used to. This way, regardless of conditions, Mr and Mrs Average-Public will always have an accepatable level of lighting for the benefit of everybody else. Plus the added bonus is a lot more jobs will be created in the H7 bulb manufacturing industry.

Nigel_O

Original Poster:

2,858 posts

218 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
Jonwm said:
Side note op, I get more annoyed at that junction now they added the filter lane for stonydelph so many people go in it then try and get back on the main A5 when they realise :-(
Funnily enough, the driver of the DRL'd car this evening did exactly that as well - its not hard to read the bloody huge signs.....

FWIW, I drive with sidelights on in my Alfa GT almost all the time, because the clocks are so far recessed, that they're hard to see without illumination. I don't see it as a problem to have rear lights on, as well as front sidelights in daylight hours

blank

3,439 posts

187 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
4lf4-155 said:
I don't understand why the rear lights don't turn on at the same time as DRLs - it would Minise the risk of the scenario you describe and I can't see a downside to running with rear lights on a ll the time.
May as well just mandate dipped headlamps at all times and be done with the daft fairy lights!

Blakewater

4,303 posts

156 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
I see plenty of people driving in the dark with no lights on at all, many in cars I know have automatic lights which they must have switched off because they think they can manage when to put their lights on themselves.

OGR4M

845 posts

152 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
This is part of European legislation introduced in 2008, and implemented in Britain for passenger vehicles and vans in February of 2011 (HGVs and PCVs in 2012) which requires the use of DRLs for every new car made/sold in this country after those dates.

AFAIK this all started in sweden with Volvos - presumably because of the stereotypical Scandinavian inclement conditions.

But... realistically... it's unlikely that conditions in our mighty nation are so adverse that we cannot see another car in the middle of the day - and if that were the case, they should have their standard headlights on anyway!!

Hopefully a craze that will die out in time, just like big grills and chrome wheels.

OGR4M

845 posts

152 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
swerni said:
Those bloody cyclists
laugh

iva cosworth

44,044 posts

162 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
When the SAABs of the 70s and 80s had DRLs as standard the rear lights were also on.

Probably applies to Volvo too.

panholio

1,078 posts

147 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
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Another side annoyance is that LED DRL's at night are often dazzlingly bright. They usually dim a bit when headlights are on. So these bellends driving around at night with no lights on and DRL's are blinding on-comers and are in ghost mode for followers. Utter plebs.

A solution is the following, 2 settings on your car, auto or on, no off. I believe some cars are like this.

akirk

5,376 posts

113 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
I thought the DRL regs didn't apply in Britain - we simply get cars with them as they are built for bigger markets...
I certainly have a car built / sold in 2012 without them - I don't think the skoda octavia scout I have just ordered has them either...

iva cosworth

44,044 posts

162 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
New cars that were on sale before the regs came in and still on sale now,don't need them.

All new designs do.

I read that on Honest Johns page,so it must be true.

Challo

10,043 posts

154 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
Muddle238 said:
Well I just passed two oncoming cars with no lights whatsoever, not even DRL. The rule should be simple; those who climb into a vehicle and set off before first thinking about whether they and the vehicle is appropriately set up must have their licence revoked. 1.5 tonnes of solid metal, travelling at 60mph, in the close vicinity of other people and other peoples property, at night, whilst being completely unlit is gross negligence. It's not being forgetful or a bit dim, it's pure bloody dangerous and not even realising is just utterly disgraceful.

I don't care if someone careers off the road and wraps themselves around a tree because they didn't see the bend in the road because they weren't using their lights. I do care however if someone hits a pedestrian who stepped out because they didn't see the unlit oncoming car.

People need to wake up and go out to their cars, find a shop window or something and move the light switch to see what actually happens on the outside of their car when the switch is in different positions.

I'm driving about in a Hyundai i10 rental this week, it has LED DRLs in the bumper however when you switch sidelights on, then a separate front sidelight bulb comes on aswell as the rears, but the LED DRL stays on. This means when people hit fog or enter rain and think "ooo, I need all my lights on!" then just turn the bloody sidelights on, at least the relatively bright LED DRL gives everybody else a chance to see the fkwit. It seems to at least be a step in the right direction.

However I think the only real solution is for all cars to automatically run with dipped headlights all the time, like the older Volvos used to. This way, regardless of conditions, Mr and Mrs Average-Public will always have an accepatable level of lighting for the benefit of everybody else. Plus the added bonus is a lot more jobs will be created in the H7 bulb manufacturing industry.
With the nights getting lighter you often see cars that when they set off was light enough not to need headlights, but then proceed to continue like this so as it gets darker they are obvious to the fact no one else can see them.
Often because DRLs are so bright it's like they have hesdlights on, or the dash is illuminated and therefore they don't need to see outside the car.
I hardly ever use sidelights, it's either dipped headlights or nothing at all.

stuart313

740 posts

112 months

Thursday 12th March 2015
quotequote all
I've hired a car in Norway (suzuki swift) and the lights were on all the time the ignition was on, even if you switched the lights switch to off, it didn't seem to do anything.