Running lights on - rear lights off? More common
Has anyone else noticed the number of cars being driven without all the proper lights on. Our car (like other modern cars) has running lights. This means when you set off in the dark it appears that your lights are on - because you can see light at the front of the car - and it's easy to set off without turning on the main lights. However, the front running lights are then on, but not the rear lights. We've noticed an increasing number of cars without rear lights. Because the running lights are on they are not being 'flashed' to indicate that the lights aren't on, which would be the case with older cars driving along without lights. We followed a car yesterday along a long and dangerous stretch of unlit road, and my OH repeatedly tried to flash the car to indicate that his lights weren't on but the driver was oblivious. This is not the first time, and unfortunately more often than not the car in front thinks you're just flashing because you're impatient to overtake - rather than as a warning.
Can I urge everyone to pass on the message to drivers who are likely to forget (perhaps those of a certain age) to remember to check their lights are all on properly BEFORE setting off.
I wonder why the manufacturers don't come up with some fail-safe method of ensuring all lights are on properly. Our dashboard lights up automatically when the light levels require it (even during storms in the day time) - why can't the headlights and rear lights do the same thing?
Comments
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ValDa - I learned on here that my Mitsubishi had front running lights but not rear! These of course run all the time - HOWEVER there is an option to have the Headlights on AUTO which means they turn on when it gets murky. The Skoda also had AUTO which I thought was excellent but didn't have the running lights. I highly recommend the AUTO setting - I noticed mine came on the other day when the rain came. The Mitsubishi has a small light above the rear view mirror when headlights are deployed - which took a bit of getting used to but I suppose it serves its purpose.
Personally I like to see cars with running lights on and have recently decided that I don't need to see rear lights on a car in front in sunlight as that diminishes the brake light effectiveness. As for cars with only one functioning brake light - grrrrrr - or even 2 out of 3 working - that is unsafe!
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I always have the light switch on my XTrail on auto so that when the light gets a bit darker the lights come on. Sometimes the lights come on in bright sunlight and that baffles me 🤔. The auto setting is also handy as the lights go off when I turn the engine off, thus ensuring that I don't forget to turn them off.
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I agree Pippah, we don't like running lights either,but they're mandatory so we have to have them. Do any cars have rear running lights? I also don't think that rear lights are necessary during the day, but not to have rear lights on at night (especially on narrow roads with sharp bends) is quite dangerous. Hence my 'rant' as we've seen cars without lights twice in the last week!
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I pulled along side a half wit in a Juke the other night with no rear lights, I'd followed him for a few miles in the dark . I wound my window down & said you need your lights on, to which the reply was ... 'they're on at the front' Doh!! I told him he had his DRL on ..... the penny obviously dropped as they were all on as he set off. IMHO DRL are a stupid idea that are to cater for stupid people that are incapable of realising it's dark and turning their lights on. Fog is another time when the stupid people show themselves, AUTO lights don't always turn lights on when it's foggy, another such time that the driver should turn their lights on in the old fashioned way of reaching for a switch. I've seen loads of DRL only lately at night, and often the led DRL are very bright & too bright for night time. It doesn't help that a lot of cars have a dash that's permanently lit, whether the car's lights are on or not.
DRL were mandatory on new cars from about 5 or 6 yrs ago
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My new car has daylight running lights and it took me a while to work out that they don't have the same on the rear!!! I can put the car lights on the auto setting but I prefer to control my lights manually and tend to put them on well before it gets dark, I do the same in poor visibilty. They were introduced as a safety feature to reduce day time accidents and there is a lot of research on that to support their use. Some countries insisted that normal headlights should be used even during good daytime visibility. I think daytime running lights were an attempt to get a common standard and they are brighter than normal dipped beams in the daytime. As to rear lights, whilst it is annoying when they are not used I am not sure I would advise flashing an offending car more than once as there are some funny people around these days and it is of course the responsibility of the following driver to maintain a safe distance from the car in front regardless of what lights are being used. There is perhaps need for more education on the use of car lights but we don't seem to have public education films anymore.
David
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I can only speak for my vehicle which is an Audi.
The lights are either off/auto/side/main and since the day I got it they have been set to auto with one exception-when towing.
On auto the running lights are on all the time-front only-and when the light levels drop all the lights come on and, if it then gets lighter they go off.
When I got the car I did experiment, we live in a rural area with some very dark stretches of tree lined roads,and was more than happy that the lights did not need my input.
When towing I set the lights to sidelights as the van lights do not come on when set to auto.
In regard to 'flashing' other drivers I to resist the urge-unless it is for the purpose of warning of an unsafe situation-as it almost always results in a misunderstanding.
As my dear Dad told me a long long time ago,if you want to see idiots just go for a drive..........I just hope that he didn't mean me.
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Our new VW Touareg has DRLs both front and rear.
The requirement set by the EU is only for mandatory front DLRs, which I think is wrong, for exactly the reason people are giving.....people forget to turn on their lights properly when there is poor visibility.
The Touareg also has the AUTO setting, which is useful.
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Why wouldn't you use the AUTO setting? Mine come on plenty early enough before it's dark, though it's obvious some manufacture's AUTO is more sensitive than others.
Because like Frank Sinatra I prefer to do things my way
I often turn my main lights on before the auto would cut in. I tend to judge things by the conditions prevailing at the time and use my own judgement. 0 -
The auto setting is very useful abroad in areas with auotoroute tunnels, which require you to use dipped headlights. They switch on as soon as you enter and go off a few seconds after leaving. I generally leave the setting on my XTrail on auto, but often over ride it depending on conditions. As it does not recognise heavy rain or fog when light levels are high.
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Daylight Running Lights, the clue is in the name. They warn other road users ahead of you of your approach during daytime, so no reason for the tail lights to be on. Drivers who do not switch their lights on when conditions require it are idiots. There is so much publicity about drivers not putting headlights on in fog but people still do it. People also drive with just side lights on, why? At least Fiat have made this impossible and probably other marques as well.
Education is the only way to stop drivers running without the apropriate lights switched on, but as my grandad always used to say...you can't educate pork! Of couse another answer is for more traffic officers to catch offending drivers but that aint gonna happen is it.
Drivers who think that it is OK to drive with just DRLs on when conditions dictate otherwise fall into the same category as those who use front and rear fog lights inappropriately, those that don't indicate and those that blind you with their stop lamps when stationary.0 -
I really do not understand this aversion to using lights in daytime. Anything that helps you to see another car, or be seen must be good.
And seeing a car in front of you via rear running lights is as essential as seeing a car coming towards you IMO.
The idea began in Sweden and was piloted by Volvo,many lives have been saved in Sweden alone by the use of lights in daytime.
Having driven Volvos since 1971, we expect our cars to have these lights, it was a shock to discover that so many drivers are apparently against them.
We always drive with our lights on, and were pleased that VW seem to have adopted the idea.
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Val made the comment about those averse to using proper lights when it's dark & drive with just their DRL on. Volvo's lights were on both front & back, unlike today's cars where their DRL are only on at the front &bthe drivrrs are oblivious to the fact.
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I did not think she said people were adverse to using lights, rather that many think their lights are on because they see the front lights (the new DRLs) and forget they have none at the back.
If the legislation had required DRLs to be both front and rear this would not be happening.
It would seem that there are some who are adverse to DRLs of any kind, this is what I do not understand.
Nor do I understand why the EU limited the requirement to front lights only.
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One possible reason for not having DRL's on the rear is that it would likely encourage people to rely just on those lights whether dark or not. According to the AA website DRL's are not suitable for nighttime use as they are too bright. I imagine following a car with rear DRL's would be a bit like following someone with their fog lights on?
David
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Yes, DRLs do dazzle at night. With regard to educating drivers it could start with the salesman on handover. If the salesman could give an explanation of the use of DRLs and warn that they are a safety device and not a substitute for any other lighting requirement we may get somewhere. Of course you would have to educate the salesman first.
It is my understanding that the issue of DRLs has been resisted by various governments for years due to the fact that running with lights on causes more pollution as the alternator has to work harder. Technology has moved on now with LED lighting systems and smart alternators making DRLs viable.
I cannot see the benefit of having the tail lights on in daylight. When driving conditions deteriorate then the driver should be switching his lights on anyway. So, we are back to driver education.1 -
What really, really, get to me are the morons with, (probably), older cars that don't have daylight running lights but when it gets foggy or reduced visibility they turn on their parking lights which only give as much light as a candle. The car emerges from the fog and it is the body of the car which is seen a long time before the feeble parking lights. Don't these drivers ever notice that most other cars have their headlights on and on for a very good reason.
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I have been wondering that for many years and can't help wondering if people think it costs them more money to run headlights! It isn't rocket science to know you are safer on the road if you can be SEEN! (Living in Dumfries and Galloway in the 70s I thought the Scots were particularly bad at turning on their lights).
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Old habits die hard. I just turn on headlights before moving off, even though its is many a year since I have driven carrying live amunition.
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