DRL rant

[Debaser]

Fox- said:

Debaser said:

Automatic lights will soon be compulsory, which should help.

You'd think but I've been caught out a few times wondering why my lights hadn't come on.....

..because the car had come back from a service and the tech had switched them to the 'off' position. This happens every time, they always seem to turn the lights off so they don't come on in the workshop and never switch them back to auto. So people drive off, not thinking about it because hey, it's set to auto, and only realise when its getting really quite dark because the stupid dash is lit up even with the lights off.

But if the lights are in 'auto' every time you start the car, problem solved.

[Fox-]

Debaser said:

But if the lights are in 'auto' every time you start the car, problem solved.

Obviously sherlock but if you set the lights to auto you are not going to reset them to auto every time you ever start the car, are you? So you inadvertently drive off with them 'Off' rather than 'Auto' because many people simply don't realise that somebody else has switched them off.

[jamei303]

Sometimes I want to buy a tank so I can just drive into these people.

[Nickbrapp]

What about people before interior dial illumination and DRLs, who just drove around with no lights because they are dumb?


Vw system is good, if it's dark only the needles light up.

[Sheepshanks]

Nigel_O said:

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.

Yet you saw it OK?

I followed one for a while on the M40 and the rear reflectors were so good it was only when I noticed the number plate was unlit and I looked closer that I realised the rear light weren't on.

OGR4M said:

My car has auto lights, which I have disabled - partly because I don't want them to come on when I drive under a bridge and my car is too stupid to realise that it hasn't actually gone to pitch dark inside 3 seconds, .

After the second time someone pulled out in front of me when that happened I turned my auto-lights off too. I've been fooled by it myself, especially if the car has HID's as they appear to come on with a flash.

[XMT]

This has been done to death.
people always leave their lights off DRL's or not, interior lights on or not. it happens.

[Nickbrapp]

XMT said:

This has been done to death.
people always leave their lights off DRL's or not, interior lights on or not. it happens.

Shh, people need something to complain about between fianance and what car threads

[bony_13]

DRL = DAYTIME running lights!! Clue is in the name!

People are just generally thick/clueless and agree with other posts that its nothing new, people have driven with candle-like sidelights well into darkness for years.....normally people with dark grey or black cars too!

[Ninja59]

ScoobyChris said:

Interesting as my E87 1-series had the rear lights on when the DRLs were active without me having to configure anything. Actually, thinking about it, that's also true for the MINI I had and the Focus I currently have.

Chris

Sadly not enabled by default, coding will allow it to work perfectly,I really do not understand why the EU in implementing DRL's did not go for rear as well. I did like my C30 in that respect to.

The other factor here for those saying illuminated dashboards etc are the problem is when lights are on there is a nice little warning symbol in the dash of many cars anyway.

[Debaser]

Fox- said:

Debaser said:

But if the lights are in 'auto' every time you start the car, problem solved.

Obviously sherlock but if you set the lights to auto you are not going to reset them to auto every time you ever start the car, are you? So you inadvertently drive off with them 'Off' rather than 'Auto' because many people simply don't realise that somebody else has switched them off.

The new regs mean they'll always be in 'auto' when you start, so it won't matter if they were left in the off position.