I am not a DRL fan,

and do not believe that DRL's on Automatically is better than no lights on.

Get the muppets off the road if they can not switch on lights or check they work and how.

 

My point here is on driving in rain, mist and poor visibility as many of us do.

 

Surely drivers must know if Wipers are needed, then Lights on Might be a good idea, actually important to being seen.

Sidelights/Tailights and Dipped beam.

 

It amazes me that a car with no lights & difficult to see from behind untill pretty close to it,

can be following another which is the same and not think, 'ahhh i have no lights on either'.

People that drive Silver, Grey, Black and White cars seeing others near invisible in heavy rain and with no lights on

thinking my Silver/Grey car must also be near invisible, i have no lights on.

 

Then there are those almost invisible in the distance from the rear, and then the full blown brightness of 'Day Time/Light Running lights' shining to the front.

 

Only thing is its not Daylight,

it is Poor Light and visibility.

 

So please all new EU/UK Type Approved cars, to have, 'Wipers are on for more than a few wipes',

then Dipped Beam and Sidelights go on automatically, and gives some warning to the driver, like an electric shock to the groin.

 

george

Especially silver and white cars with no lights in thick fog.

VAG cars fitted with auto lights and wipers have had this feature for years.

 

One of the triggers for the auto lights being activated is when the wipers are on constantly for a set period. It's mentioned in the manual.

 

Whilst I too get frustrated with people driving in poor visability with no lights on at least DRL's provide some visibility, even if there remains none to the rear.

I like DRL's, but I totally agree, people need to get their lights on in the rain!... my last shift included fatalities from an RTC...... why are people so stupid?

One of my biggest pet hates. At work, driving a bus the sheer amount of people who have no lights on in the rain or fog is astounding. They then have the cheek to honk or flash lights at me for pulling out in front of them. *******. Should have just made all cars have lights on automatically like Volvos use to instead of drls. 

I nearly always drive with some lights on, when i had my grey volvo i had it set so i could turn lights off but rarly did as i had a near miss not long after getting it due to somebody pulling out on me,

 

Volvos now have auto headlights when they have DRL's so always have at least some lights on at front all time

All our buses at work are wired to have lights on all the time. The newer ones had it standard, older ones have been rewired. When we were being trained to drive them I never forget the instructor saying "any excuse, put your lights on, even if it's a just little overcast". Kinda carried that with me, people still dont see a 10ft high bus with LED lights all over it and headlights on and pull out so any extra chance of someone seeing me I'll take it. 

Whilst in New England in Summer I was refreshed to see signs in some states stating that Lights must be on when it is raining, or wipers are in use. It is the Law, and it should be here too. It is one of my main driving hates when you can barely see 100 feet in front of you and some people have NO LIGHTS ON!!!!!

I see a lot of this around. Personally if it light rain on normal roads then I am on sidelights, but on the motorway due to the spray I will be on headlights. Heavy rain is headlights on.

 

I regularly drive through the Hindhead Tunnel on the A3, and always have my headlights on in there too. I also would be able to see my speed dial properly too.

A lot of people go through the tunnel without lights on. A black car in your mirror is very difficult to see!

 

I like daytime running lights, however if I had a car with them fitted then I would want the rear sidelights to be on at the same time. It all seems light a bit of a fashion statement rather than for its actual use of being visible.

 

I was taught to be seen, which includes your lights and ensuring you are not in peoples blind spots etc.

Need to be careful not to fully rely on auto lights, especially in the fog, which seems to catch them out.

The rule in California is that if your wipers are on more than intermittent you must have your headlights on, that seems reasonable to me.  If the wipers are only on intermittent there is almost certainly no need for lights.

 

I have a real problem with DRL's however.  In normal UK conditions they have no real advantage.  They were designed to be used in low traffic density where the sun is low in the sky a lot.  They also work well in hot climates with a lot of heat haze.  We don't really get much in the way of heat haze and our traffic density tends to be pretty high.  When it is busy, particularly in town, the DRL 'bling' lights are very good at masking vulnerable road users - pedestrians and bicycles mainly.

 

I certainly would agree with the sentiment that if you need front lights, you must need rear lights as well.

 

Now if we could just educate a few of the morons to understand that fog lights are designed to be used instead of headlights, not in addition to them, we might be getting somewhere.

 

As to busses driving round with lights on all the time, in this area with Worst Group I believe it's mainly to stop them running into one another.

If the wipers are only on intermittent there is almost certainly no need for lights.

 

I'd argue against that, especially somewhere like here where the majority of the roads are 60mph + and result in a lot of spray even just from a bit of standing water reducing visibility massively. 

As to busses driving round with lights on all the time, in this area with Worst Group I believe it's mainly to stop them running into one another.

 

Odd that they would come out and say that in public. Basically admitting they're drivers are below standards. 

All our buses at work are wired to have lights on all the time. The newer ones had it standard, older ones have been rewired. When we were being trained to drive them I never forget the instructor saying "any excuse, put your lights on, even if it's a just little overcast". Kinda carried that with me, people still dont see a 10ft high bus with LED lights all over it and headlights on and pull out so any extra chance of someone seeing me I'll take it. 

Er, surely that means that they didn't look, so whether you had no lights or a pair of NightSuns would make no difference to them?

Clearly the experience of one of the largest bus companies says different. Unlikely they'll spend all the money it costs to rewire them all for no reason. I've found people pull out in front of me less when I have them on too. Not like I haven anything to loose putting them on anyway.

Clearly the experience of one of the largest bus companies says different. Unlikely they'll spend all the money it costs to rewire them all for no reason. I've found people pull out in front of me less when I have them on too. Not like I haven anything to loose putting them on anyway.

Would this be the same company who compared "no lights" in February with "mandated lights on" in May and concluded from that that "lights on" was safer?

Can you see the flaw in their experiment design?

Life would be simpler if we could just cull some folk. 

I think DRL's all the time and sidelights/headlights for ALL occasions other than good daylight driving conditions depending on the severity of the ambient lighting conditions.

Would this be the same company who compared "no lights" in February with "mandated lights on" in May and concluded from that that "lights on" was safer?

 

Nope 

The problem with DRLs is that the vast majority are only on the front of the car and not the rear. Fine for traffic heading towards you but not so good on A and B roads coming up from behind. 

I drive with lights on all the time and have done for the last 6 years. I got pulled out in my old silver Toledo too many times on the A27. Now it is all the time to ensure people can see me. 

 

DRLs should just be headlights and tail-lights on all the time. 

I find driving with every single possible light illuminated works a treat.

 

Dipped headlights, main beam, hazard lights, front and rear fogs, you name it the switch is 'ON'.

 

Its amazing how all other motorists avoid me like the plague.

I drive on dipped headlights all of the time regardless of weather. Whilst doing my observed runs for IAM I drove with sidelights all the time. My observer questioned (or suggested) that if I was going to 'make a statement' then it might as well be BOLD

I think road coloured cars (silver / gray) should be banned. (bit drastic I know) but what colour would you paint a car if you wanted to hide on a wet road?

 

I drive the Ellon road out of Aberdeen in a morning (against the 30mph train heading in) on these miserable half light rainy mornings, 99% of cars WITHOUT lights on are --- yep silver /gray, it never fails to amaze me.

I was up to Peterhead on Wednesday and coming back to Aberdeen for 5.00 PM ,

then through the worst rain i have ever seen passed Stonehaven.

(almost impossible to continue the rain was so bad, Bridge of Dee to Brechin and cars had no lights on.)

 

The A90 to Ellon must have the biggest percentage of Prestige cars any place,

and nose to tail with the greatest amount of faulty or wrongly set lights.

also Fog Lights on front and rear. and then drivers with no lights on, getting dark but not fog or rain.

 

george

When I was in Florida last year we were out in a friends car when it rained, five mins he was pulled over and ticketed for not putting his lights on in the rain!