DRL - no rear lights on

[blueR36]

Yes mate seen details on bbc F1 website , cheers, was working last one and some pratt at work told me the result, safety car will be out plenty I guess, the re-profiled turn ten looks dangerous

[JonA]

"Old" Yeti's illuminate the tail lamps with the DRL's, new ones don't. The dealer can activate tail lamps when running DRL's with his diagnostic tool.

[Onesque]

I would suggest that the idea behind DRL's is to make your vehicle more visible to approaching drivers, those drivers waiting to turn out of junctions ahead of you, to drivers of vehicles you may be approaching from behind, and other road users who may be ahead of you.

You are far more likely to have a car travelling in the opposite direction carry out a dangerous overtake on another vehicle having not seen you, pull out of a side road in front of you, or a pedestrian step out ahead of you than have someone collide with the rear of you.

Rear impact collisions normally occur due to drivers behind not reacting to you slowing or coming to a halt both of which should be communicated to the other driver by the illumination of your brake lights.

There are a number of terms being used in this thread 'Parking Lights' and 'Side Lights' I believe the correct term is 'Position Lamps'. There is a legal requirement to have these fitted and to display them between Sunset and Sunrise. 'Daytime Running Lamps' are totally different to position lamps.

Well that's my two pennith worth on the subject.

[The Plumber]

"Old" Yeti's illuminate the tail lamps with the DRL's, new ones don't. The dealer can activate tail lamps when running DRL's with his diagnostic tool.

Hi Jon,

how old :wonder: my UK spec WK42/09 (tenth week of UK production) is front only.

Regards,

TP

[JonA]

Hi Jon,

how old :wonder: my UK spec WK42/09 (tenth week of UK production) is front only.

Regards,

TP

Hi!

This could be a national thing.. It could be that the importer to Norway (where all VAG cars arrive in Norway and get their PDI) activated the rear lights on cars until a certain date, and now have stopped doing this.

The rear lights when using DRL's can be activated on all Yeti's using the VAS diagnostic tool. 10 minute job.

Jon A

[900000]

On the A2 owners' club someone listed all the diagnostic settings you could do on the car. One of them was a Scandanavian lights option and there was another for Norway. These involved different day time lighting settings - using the car's normal lights (so front low beam on, but no internal lights on nor rear lights). Unfortunately you also needed a different light switch so I was never able to have day time running lights on my A2 without resorting to installing additional lights. My point being that the DRL settings are all already set up in the Yeti and could be set in the factory before shipment to any country to comply with that country's legislation.

[EdmundBlackadder]

Apologies for can of worms I opened here. Coming from a Volvo where the DRL's are the main dipped lights, and I am sure the rear lights were on as well, meant that most Volvo drivers will run only with their DRL's on. There is simply no need to turn the lights dial to dipped as that triggers the headlight washing device if you squirt your windows, draining your screenwash. Look it up on the Volvo forum and you will see that is the case. Now this is not an ideal system as to cope with the dipped lights being on permanently they use the weediest bulbs known to man and upgrading them does not work as they blow stronger bulbs for fun. The dipped lights on the S40 were truly dangerous. I simply assumed that all cars with DRL worked the same way, the difference being that they use a separate set of lights ie not the main dipped lights. I started the thread to point out to people who moved to Skoda and were used to the lights coming on at front and back.

Funnily enough one of the ways to set people off on the Volvo forum was to raise the issue of parking lights, fog lights was even better, so I am chuckling to myself to see that it is the same on the Skoda one. Now, should I start a thread about the benefits of driving with your front fog lights on?.........................

[900000]

Now, should I start a thread about the benefits of driving with your front fog lights on?.........................

Very true! Now you tell me how TP's wife is going to explain to mister Plod in his Police car (and all the other fog-light haters that will flash her) that she does not have her fog lights on:

They share the same spot on the car! So the ONLY way for her to prove to Mr Plod that she does not have her fogs on is to show him that her rear lights are not on at the same time. (Or show him the switches inside).

I just suspect Mr Plod will give up and from now on let everyone just drive with their fogs on anyway as they can't keep up with what is what anymore.

[Agerbundsen]

Apologies for can of worms I opened here. Coming from a Volvo where the DRL's are the main dipped lights, and I am sure the rear lights were on as well, meant that most Volvo drivers will run only with their DRL's on. There is simply no need to turn the lights dial to dipped as that triggers the headlight washing device if you squirt your windows, draining your screenwash. Look it up on the Volvo forum and you will see that is the case. Now this is not an ideal system as to cope with the dipped lights being on permanently they use the weediest bulbs known to man and upgrading them does not work as they blow stronger bulbs for fun. The dipped lights on the S40 were truly dangerous. I simply assumed that all cars with DRL worked the same way, the difference being that they use a separate set of lights ie not the main dipped lights. I started the thread to point out to people who moved to Skoda and were used to the lights coming on at front and back.

Funnily enough one of the ways to set people off on the Volvo forum was to raise the issue of parking lights, fog lights was even better, so I am chuckling to myself to see that it is the same on the Skoda one. Now, should I start a thread about the benefits of driving with your front fog lights on?.........................

My 2005 Octy 2 was set up with the dipped beam headlights as DRL's - always on, but when the switch was in the off position, the voltage to the bulbs was reduced by about 10%, so the bulbs lasted longer. No problems with high intensity bulbs either. I would assume that all pre-dedicatede DRL Skodas shipped into Scandinavia had the same set-up. You would have to look carefully to see the difference in light intensity, but it was there.

[tarbat]

Very true! Now you tell me how TP's wife is going to explain to mister Plod in his Police car (and all the other fog-light haters that will flash her) that she does not have her fog lights on

It's the same on the Yeti. I still regularly get oncoming drivers on the A9 flashing their lights at me because they think I've got my fog-lights on :( I guess most people are driving around in cars that don't have DRLs, so don't even know about them.

[Llanigraham]

It will be very easy to prove to Mr Plod the fog lights aren't on......tell him to kneel in front of the light, about a foot from them and then turn them on.......................

I'm sure he'll be fine once he get's his sight back

[900000]

It will be very easy to prove to Mr Plod the fog lights aren't on......tell him to kneel in front of the light, about a foot from them and then turn them on.......................

I'm sure he'll be fine once he get's his sight back

Perfect solution Graham! Love that!

[soccerc]

Rearlights and Number plate lights are on with DRL's on my monster

Drivers side rear

Number Plate

Offside rear lights on

Offside rear lights off

[900000]

Rearlights and Number plate lights are on with DRL's on my monster

Interesting soccerc... I would imagine perhaps that Ireland has different legislation to the UK and that Yetis for Ireland are set (in the factory or at the dealer) so that the rear lights come on with the DRLs. So for anyone in the UK wanting this they should perhaps look out for an "Irish Light Setting" in the diagnostics tool.

[Trevorminor]

"Old" Yeti's illuminate the tail lamps with the DRL's, new ones don't. The dealer can activate tail lamps when running DRL's with his diagnostic tool.

No they dom't - well not at least in the UK. My Yeti registered the day before the car was launched in the UK, only has front lighting DRLs. As other posters have mentioned, it must be down to local importers choosing - a little bit confusing.

I won't be activating the rear ones, even if this were possible, for the reason shown in my last post on this thread.

Edited 27 September, 2010 by Trevorminor

[silver1011]

I disagree. To have rear lights on with DLR would mean that brake lights would be much harder to distinguish when conditions are bright.

The idea of DRLs is to make the car more visible to others. In bright conditions the only person to benefit from rear DRLs is the person following and I would argue that it is preferable to only have rear lights showing when the brakes are applied or light is poor.

I have come up behind many different vehicles in the rain or in poor visibility with no rear lights.

Once past the vast majority of them have front DRL's on.

Are people not fully understanding their DRL's? Do they see their DRL's reflecting off the car infront and then assume they have rear lights on too? Or are they simply forgetting / not bothering to turn their lights on?

Either way, this to me is far more common than apporaching a car with rear lights on and them masking the brake lights. I have never experienced this. 2x 21W bulbs and a strip of high level LED's will always be brighter than a few 5W markers.

This is why I believe that having the rear lights come on with the DRL's makes much more sense.

I notice that BMW now do this and I think it works just fine.

[Ian Perry]

I have come up behind many different vehicles in the rain or in poor visibility with no rear lights.

Once past the vast majority of them have front DRL's on.

Are people not fully understanding their DRL's? Do they see their DRL's reflecting off the car infront and then assume they have rear lights on too? Or are they simply forgetting / not bothering to turn their lights on?

Either way, this to me is far more common than apporaching a car with rear lights on and them masking the brake lights. I have never experienced this. 2x 21W bulbs and a strip of high level LED's will always be brighter than a few 5W markers.

This is why I believe that having the rear lights come on with the DRL's makes much more sense.

I notice that BMW now do this and I think it works just fine.

And as somebody else has doubtless already said Volvo have had front & rear DLR's for some years - I had an '85 240 estate with full lights turned on by the turn of the key.

Perhaps some manufacturers are baulking at the cost of wiring the rear lights as well as the front ones & merely paying lip service to EU requirements for daylight lights by having the front only lit??

[ejstubbs]

In free traffic, my light switch has the following positions:-

...

3) Side + front and rear fogs (only in night-time snow, or in fog).

If visibility is reduced enough for the use of fog lights to be legal then you MUST have dipped headlights on as well, see Highway Code rule 226:

226

You

MUST

use headlights when visibility is seriously reduced, generally when you cannot see for more than 100 metres (328 feet). You may also use front or rear fog lights but you

MUST

switch them off when visibility improves (see Rule 236).

4) Full beam + F&R fogs (only in daytime fog).

Full beam headlights in fog reduce visibility due to backscatter; I would only ever use dipped beam.

[CFB]

Very true! Now you tell me how TP's wife is going to explain to mister Plod in his Police car (and all the other fog-light haters that will flash her) that she does not have her fog lights on:

They share the same spot on the car! So the ONLY way for her to prove to Mr Plod that she does not have her fogs on is to show him that her rear lights are not on at the same time. (Or show him the switches inside).

I just suspect Mr Plod will give up and from now on let everyone just drive with their fogs on anyway as they can't keep up with what is what anymore.

They may share the same position and light cluster as the fog lights BUT the DRLs only have a low 5 watt bulb and fog lights are much brighter. Easily differentiated

[freedie]

+1

[Llanigraham]

Mr Plod " I see you've got your fog lights on sir"

Driver " No I haven't, they are my DRL's"

Mr Plod " Oh yes sir and can you prove that?"

Driver " Yes officer. Please go and look into the lense from about 12" away"

Mr Plod does as requested and nice Mr Driver turns fog lights on..

Mr Plod "AAARRRGGGHHHHHH"

Problem solved!!

Couple of points from other postings.

It is not a cost saving thing not having the back lights on as the wiring is already there.

Whether we like it or not, not having the rear lights on is legal and within the UK C & U Regs. That is how Skoda sent the vehicle for it's Type Approval and got the required "bit of paper" to sell them here.

[bahnstormer vrs]

Surely the intention of DRLs is so that other road users, pedestrians et al can 'see you coming'.

So not much point in having rear lights on; unless you intend driving backwards at 60 mph!

[Llanigraham]

Surely the intention of DRLs is so that other road users, pedestrians et al can 'see you coming'. So not much point in having rear lights on; unless you intend driving backwards at 60 mph!

EXACTLY!! :thumbup:

[Sandy.Rogers]

Surely the intention of DRLs is so that other road users, pedestrians et al can 'see you coming'.

So not much point in having rear lights on; unless you intend driving backwards at 60 mph!

Surely the intention of DRLs is visibility - so what's the problem of having rear lights come on at the same time? Whether DRLs are at the front and/or rear, the over-riding factor is visibilty and can only be construed as an added safety feature. Rear DRLs may be superfluous to some but you do get quite a few numpties that don't even switch on side lights in poor visibilty let alone dipped beam or DRLs!.

[900000]

No matter what happens in an accident the onus is ALWAYS on the person from behind to avoid the person in front and anticipate what the driver in front might do. So you do not need to have rear lights on ever as any accident that happens when someone hits you from behind is the rear driver's fault for not anticipating something correctly or just realising "oh there is a car in front of me in near darkness without rear lights on, let me slow down/ switch my lights on to see this car better".

So in my book you really don't need to have rear lights on with DRLs. Yes they will help with some of our Neanderthalian drivers but I'd really not fret about it. Apart from looking in your mirror before you brake what is behind you should really be of no concern to any driver.