Just chaps my *** .

[George2615]

Using that line of thought, the auto makers might as well put a sensor in that turns the headlights/tail lights on according to some norm. Seein' how there are so many idiots that don't know when it is advisable.

Both of my current vehicles have daytime running lights and as it gets dark it automatically turns on the headlights / taillights. here is an override to manually turn them off if wanted. That technology has been around a few years now.

 

[DuckSlayer1017]

Using that line of thought, the auto makers might as well put a sensor in that turns the headlights/tail lights on according to some norm. Seein' how there are so many idiots that don't know when it is advisable.

GM vehicles have had this for years. I know some other manufacturers have the but not all.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I don't know how many folks ran down their battery by leaving on the headlights prior to the auto on lights AND daytime running lights being added to cars. I cant remember when those two items pretty much became standard features on cars but at least 15 maybe 20 years or more. I have no idea why anyone would want to defeat them permanently. Perhaps if your alternator went out and you wanted to extend your driving range to a repair shop then maybe but to run all the time without running lights or not using lights in low light or white out is plain stupid.
Most states have laws against using parking lights when moving, but I still see some folks with older cars doing it rather than turn on the lights.

What I hate is the guys with the super bright fog lights running them when there is no fog in daytime and night, I guess they think it is cool to show them off.

If you think drivers here in the USA are bad about not using headlights in bad weather, try driving in Peru. Everyone there runs without lights even in heavy fog. I have seen passenger busses travelling before sun up without lights while in a heavy fog. Where I was at was on the coast so it was fogger every day beginning at around sundown and lasting well into the morning the next day and no one used lights. I asked a local why and she said they were afraid of ruining their battery. NOW THAT IS STUPID of at least un-educated. I also saw plenty of car crashes while there because of no lights or passing on blind hills and curves. Most places had no shoulders so there was no where to go when you met someone in your lane so horrible crashes occurred that blocked the highway for hours.

 

[turnkey4099]

Same here, wipers on = headlights on. I think auto makers should incorporate that into the vehicle when building them. Too many people here drive without lights when wipers are on too.

My practice is 'headlights on' always if the car is moving. Also recommended by safety experts and driving educators.

 

[nickmags]

Don't know about all areas, but here and down in Arkansas I've noticed that at least 90% of the people who fail to turn on their lights in fog and rain drive either white or silver cars! I can not speak to a reason for this, have no clue. That is not to say all white or silver vehicles fail to turn on lights in fog, just that most who do not are in white or silver cars. Silver or white the very hardest colors to see in fog. Camouflage??? We have a wiper law here too, but it's about as enforced as no seatbelt. Cops will write a ticket, but normally only after stopping you for something else, or when working an accident where you failed to use. Not slam on cops - they are too few in number and those few have better things to do than sit and watch if cars have lights on in the fog.

 

[mjw357]

We have a wiper law here too, but it's about as enforced as no seatbelt. Cops will write a ticket, but normally only after stopping you for something else, or when working an accident where you failed to use.

It may be a secondary offense like here in Ohio, meaning they can't pull you over just for that, you have to be speeding or commit some other offense. I don't know why things that are potentially such a big factor in accidents are secondary offenses.

 

[Looking4new]

My practice is 'headlights on' always if the car is moving. Also recommended by safety experts and driving educators.

That is our company policy, even though we have Daytime Running Lights.
DRLs don't put the tail lights and marker lights on. A simple flick of a switch and a quick look at the dash to make sure the high beams are off.

 

[k0ua]

There are a couple of things I don't understand. We have had DRL now for many years, but why don't the taillights come on also? This doesn't make sense to me. If the purpose of the law was to make automobiles more visible to other drivers, then why not have the taillights come on also? DRL's work very well for marking autos approaching from the front, but how many times have you come up suddenly on an auto in the fog because the taillights were off as they do not have their main lighting turned on?
I believe the setup of DRL should also automatically turn on your taillights.

Why do some people insist on driving around with parking lights only on? They call them parking lights for a reason, they are to help prevent other drivers from running in to parked cars that are temporarily parked in some area that they not be noticed and accidently collided with.

Why on earth would you not turn on your full lighting when you place the auto in to operation? Why on earth do so many folks in older autos that do not have automatic control of the lights or have that function turned off, fail to use their lights in a timely manner when dusk falls?

I have seen so many people drive around at night in older cars with no lighting at all. How can they possibly see their dashboard instruments? How do they know what their speed is or any other parameter of their vehicle?

 

[Thomas]

We went to Bloomington Il grocery shopping today . While there very dense fog came in . Amazes me the number of morons running up and down the road with not any lights on . My wife hates the interstate but I told her get on , I am not riding home on 2 lane 150 . Is that how bad people reason these days ?

...........................................................................
Like the one try to pass snowplow during a snow storm.

 

[scdeerslayer]

Automatic lights have been around for at least 15 years. My truck is a 10 year old model now and the low beam headlights are also the daytime running lights, but the tail lights come on automatically, and when they do the dash gauge lights come on and the LED displays dim. It took me a few years to figure this out but it also turns on the tail lights and dash lights automatically after the wipers have been on for a certain length of time, but if it's not dark enough the LED displays don't dim.

However, if you're used to having daytime running lights and automatic lights, when driving an older vehicle without automatic lights or daytime running lights, and you get in a situation where you don't need lights to see but you should have them on, you forget to turn them on.