If I had my way I'd get rid of the chavvy drls and get back to the warm feeling of having some 'side lights', the ones you use at dusk / dawn / drizzly rain.

Apologies for starting this forum, think I'm losing the will to live now!

I'm not confused, I said that I prefer to call them parking lights. Its only my opinion, but I can't see the point (no pun intended) of sidelights for use when actually driving. Either headlights or none - mind you I am a dinosaur and necessarily agree with the EU law regarding DRL's either.

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thats fine, i just saying that parking lights are DIFFERENT to what you call parking lights

Remember the days of 'dim dip', that good old UK invention that was not to the EU's liking and phased out :wonder:?

You put your sidelights on and the dipped beam illuminated at a much reduced intensity. Turn off the engine and the dipped beam goes out leaving just the 5W sidelight bulbs for parking!

Ah, don't you just love progress

I remember dim dip fondly, in fact I like to think my pseudo DRL's are a nod to good old dim dip

So why does Vectra tell us further up in this forum that his drls maintain full brightness when headlights are on with the auto lights option?

No,

My rear lights are on with DRL's during daylight when in auto position.

I think he meant that when his headlight switch is in 'Auto' but it isn't dark enough to activate the headlights his DRL's are at full brightness (as with everyone else's) but his rear lights are on too.

The reason for this is that some countries are set-up this way so it allows Skoda to tailor the settings for different markets / laws etc.

As Vectra is in Ireland I'm assuming that either his vRS was set-up from the factory to have the rear lights on or he has activated this setting himself.

In a nutshell

As two separate posters have suggested that 'parking lights' means one side only, I should point out that this is incorrect. If you park a car on a road with a speed limit in excess of 30mph with the indicator stalk up/down to illuminate only half of the vehicles fitted parking lights then you will have no defence if you get slapped with a ticket.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regulation/24/made

As far as UK law is concerned, this one side only gimmick that VAG seemed to start and most manufacturers now utilise is worthless.........

Remember the days of 'dim dip', that good old UK invention that was not to the EU's liking and phased out :wonder:?

You put your sidelights on and the dipped beam illuminated at a much reduced intensity. Turn off the engine and the dipped beam goes out leaving just the 5W sidelight bulbs for parking!

Ah, don't you just love progress

Dim dip - didn't a Mini get disqualified after winning the Monte Carlo rally back in the mid 60s because it had dim dip?

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As two separate posters have suggested that 'parking lights' means one side only, I should point out that this is incorrect. If you park a car on a road with a speed limit in excess of 30mph with the indicator stalk up/down to illuminate only half of the vehicles fitted parking lights then you will have no defence if you get slapped with a ticket.

http://www.legislati...ulation/24/made

As far as UK law is concerned, this one side only gimmick that VAG seemed to start and most manufacturers now utilise is worthless.........

I seem to remember that the first cars I saw it on where Mercs and that was way back in the 60s or 70s perhaps. Mind my memory is pretty much shot.

Could be. Maybe it's suitable in some other county/ies. The first I saw of it was on a 1980s golf IIRC.

In any case the point stands that they don't satisfy the UK requirements for parking lights

In any case the point stands that they don't satisfy the UK requirements for parking lights

But then it is also suggested that it is acceptable to drive at night with only sidelights on.

I don't think using parking lights (one side only) is going to get you in any trouble

But then it is also suggested that it is acceptable to drive at night with only sidelights on.

I don't think using parking lights (one side only) is going to get you in any trouble

It's suggested that sidelights only is acceptable because legally, it is. Whether it's advisable. (and whether you'd be absolved in a civil dispute over cause of a crash) is another matter. All this does is support my ( and chappers') view that 'sidelights' should be renamed 'parking lights'

A quick google on the matter finds a poster on a forum who has been fined for putting the '50%' parking lights on. Although it'd probably take an anal copper to report you, the fact remains that you'd have no legal defence and as such would have to admit guilt or (almost certainly) be found guilty.

I.e. the crappy single sided 'parking lights' are insufficient to satisfy UK law.