Discussion
Look, can the world agree on standard stalks?
On my car (Volvo C70) the wiper stalk is down for intermittent and up for constant. On the vehicle I drive for work, it is the other way around. Do you think I can get my brain to get it right for the right vehicle?
Why do these things need to be different?
On my car (Volvo C70) the wiper stalk is down for intermittent and up for constant. On the vehicle I drive for work, it is the other way around. Do you think I can get my brain to get it right for the right vehicle?
Why do these things need to be different?
My car left indicator right wipers Inter, slow, fast up 3 times total Dads car wipers left and indicators right
Work trucks Mercedes atego all on the right hand stalk inc lights wipers horn, MAN same as car, Iveco all on the left with just the lights on the right stalk, Volvo same as car
Motorbike Suzuki (mine) main controls on the left hand handlebar, BMW (boses) indicators one on each side
I dont think anymore about what I'm driving/riding it all just falls into place when I get in/on each motor
Work trucks Mercedes atego all on the right hand stalk inc lights wipers horn, MAN same as car, Iveco all on the left with just the lights on the right stalk, Volvo same as car
Motorbike Suzuki (mine) main controls on the left hand handlebar, BMW (boses) indicators one on each side
I dont think anymore about what I'm driving/riding it all just falls into place when I get in/on each motor
Mine are (aside from being on the left like they should be) down one click for intermittent, down two clicks for constant, down 3 clicks for fast. Pull towards you for swipe, push button on the end for wash. Dial on the stalk controls intermittent speed. End part of stalk rotates down one click for rear intermittent, two for constant or rotates up for rear wash.
All seems pretty logical really.
All seems pretty logical really.
JumboBeef said:
Look, can the world agree on standard stalks?
On my car (Volvo C70) the wiper stalk is down for intermittent and up for constant. On the vehicle I drive for work, it is the other way around. Do you think I can get my brain to get it right for the right vehicle?
Why do these things need to be different?
Stalk is on the wrong side of the steering wheel anyhow On my car (Volvo C70) the wiper stalk is down for intermittent and up for constant. On the vehicle I drive for work, it is the other way around. Do you think I can get my brain to get it right for the right vehicle?
Why do these things need to be different?
Krikkit said:
kambites said:
Couldn't care less which way the stalk moves to turn the wipers on, but I wish manufacturers would put the indicators on the correct side for the side the steering wheel is on! I hate RHD cars with the indicators on the left and vice versa. 
Why?My left hand is regularly not on the steering wheel because I use it to change gear. That means that with the stalk on the left, I either have to move my gear changes to unnatural times so I can use the indicators or use my indicators at less than optimal times; it also means that if I need to dip my headlights in a hurry (such as a car coming over a blind crest in front of me) it takes me a good second longer to do so if it comes at the wrong point in a gear-changed so I end up blinding the on-coming traffic more than necessary.
If I could change one thing about my car, it would be that. I've thought about ripping the interior and steering system apart and trying to fit a steering column from a car with the indicators on the correct side, but I suspect it would be beyond my engineering ability.
Krikkit said:
kambites said:
Couldn't care less which way the stalk moves to turn the wipers on, but I wish manufacturers would put the indicators on the correct side for the side the steering wheel is on! I hate RHD cars with the indicators on the left and vice versa.
Why???? Both mine work that way.
I'm with Kambites on this. Most older British cars had them the right way round in the past, it's only people have now been brainwashed into thinking they should be on the left of the wheel in a RHD vehicle.
My '77 Triumph has them on the correct side (the right) and it's much much nicer IMO
My '77 Triumph has them on the correct side (the right) and it's much much nicer IMO
Kambites has a good point. It is a faff and can mean you time gear changes differently. But in a world where tooling up for things being the other way round for the RHD market adds to the cost of your car... I'd rather put up with the stalk on the wrong side. It's a faff but it's not *that much* of a faff.
kambites said:
My left hand is regularly not on the steering wheel because I use it to change gear. That means that with the stalk on the left, I either have to move my gear changes to unnatural times so I can use the indicators or use my indicators at less than optimal times; it also means that if I need to dip my headlights in a hurry (such as a car coming over a blind crest in front of me) it takes me a good second longer to do so if it comes at the wrong point in a gear-changed so I end up blinding the on-coming traffic more than necessary.
What do you drive, a Model T?Cancelling indicators should take a fraction of a second. Gear changes slightly more, but still less than a second.
Don't know why so many people make such a palaver about this. You wouldn't need to change your indicators while you were changing gear on a roundabout if you actually did some forward planning and thought about where you would be/where you want to be/what speed you are doing.
My fleet is currently down to two, indicators are on the left on one and on the right on the other.
I honestly don't care. I don't remember ever wanting to indicate mid-gearchange, and either hand seems to be able to cope with sticking a finger out.
I do sometimes flash my lights instead of washing the windscreen, but so far no reports of clinical blinding as a result.
Also, to drag this on topic - one wiper stalk moves up, the other moves down. Both move clockwise, and so I've adapted to cope with this horrific lack of international standard.
I honestly don't care. I don't remember ever wanting to indicate mid-gearchange, and either hand seems to be able to cope with sticking a finger out.
I do sometimes flash my lights instead of washing the windscreen, but so far no reports of clinical blinding as a result.
Also, to drag this on topic - one wiper stalk moves up, the other moves down. Both move clockwise, and so I've adapted to cope with this horrific lack of international standard.
Watchman said:
GravelBen said:
Wonder if either of them are the same as my gen-3 Legacy? (described above)
My old gen-2 had the stalk on the right. Different again. 
Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 27th June 10:34
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