19 hours ago, GrowlingDog said:

...One of my pet hates is people that sit in traffic stationary with their foot on the brake pedal....

Hear Hear.

I'm guessing those numpties don't realise that it's the equivalent of having their forward facing lights on High Beam, thereby afecting the folowing drivers (night) vision.

Sadly it''s the majority of drivers that do this.

Twonks !!

I have specific vision problems and the medications that I have to take every day make glare from headlights, brakelights etc much worse to the extent that if I am stuck behind someone with their foot on the brake & powerfull LED brake lights especially the high level ones I have to close my left eye and shade the right one with my hand.

 

The worst is on a Eurotunnel crossing where you have to be right up to the bumper of the car in front, some muppets are on and off their brake pedal throughout the whole crossing, its OK if I can recline the seat to sleep but when I am loaded I cannot.

Where I live, a lot of the drivers are comatose and/or distracted by their phones, so the sudden cessation of the glare of the brake lights of the car in front is a signal that, yes, hello, the car in front is about to move, so, duh, it's time to wake up, put the phone down, and prepare for my car to move forward as well. And for these same drivers, when you're the last in the queue, it's an important line of defence to maximise the chance that it actually registers that, oh look, there's a car in front and it's stopped, so, um, yes, better put my brakes on I guess. Or something.

 

I guess what would be ideal would be some sensor in the car that detects a stationary vehicle behind and dims or switches off the brake lights. A rear parking sensor should do the job, no?

On 19/09/2020 at 09:28, MrTrilby said:

There’s a pretty simple solution for drivers who find sitting behind brake lights annoying - don’t pull up right behind them. It’s far safer for all concerned if you leave a gap between you and the car in front: of you get shunted from behind it’s less likely you’ll end up being pushed into the car in front (with associated hassle of insurance claim on you); if the car in front doesn’t pull away for whatever reason, you have space to pull out round them. And the added bonus that you’re not sat right behind brake lights. 
 

I don’t spend much time in cities and I’m glad my brake lights are on whilst I’m sat stationary on a fast A or B road waiting to turn right  - makes me more visible to people approaching fast from behind, and makes it more obvious that I’m stationary. 
 

If people are worried that they might be driving without realising they have a failed bulb rest assured that the automatic bulb warning on the Kodiaq works well - I had a bulb fail on my bike rack recently and the Kodiaq told me straightaway with a very clear dashboard message. 
 

Definitely still worth regular manual checks of bulbs, tyre pressures and fluid levels though. 

 

Completely agree, if you do not like my bright lights leave a gap. I would rather be seen than not. As a driver I would personally not consider someone behind me is inconvenienced by my brake lights. Equally I have never found brake lights on any car an inconvenience or difficult to accommodate.

Whilst I appreciate the highway code isn't law, it does cover sitting in stationary traffic with your brake lights on:

Quote

114
You MUST NOT
-  use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders
-  use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves to avoid dazzling other road users (see Rule 226).
In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.

 

Brake lights are to show you're slowing down, not that you're stationary, once you're stopped they are no longer required so turn them off.

 

As with all things, it's sensible in some circumstances to keep them on, the most obvious to my mind is when you're the the last car in a line of traffic. Keeping the brake lights on until a car or two has stopped behind you is acceptable (in my opinion) but after that, it's just not necessary...

 

Even with a 2-3 meter gap between cars, brake lights, especially modern LED versions, will be causing unnecessary glare to the car behind.

2 hours ago, langers2k said:

Quote

In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again.

 

Brake lights are to show you're slowing down, not that you're stationary

No. The bit you’ve quoted from the Highway Code shows that brake lights are also to show that you’re stationary, not just slowing down. It says to take your foot off the foot brake and deactivate brake lights once the following traffic has stopped. That means keeping your brake lights on whilst you are stationary until the traffic behind you has also come to a stop. 

2 minutes ago, MrTrilby said:

That means keeping your brake lights on whilst you are stationary until the traffic behind you has also come to a stop. 

 

Which is exactly what I said in the second line of that post even with my misquote/misread from the highway code

 

The point is, It's not how various posters are using their brake lights. At least from my understand of their posts, some people are keeping the brake lights lit even when there are vehicles stopped/stationary behind them...?

28 minutes ago, langers2k said:

The point is, It's not how various posters are using their brake lights. At least from my understand of their posts, some people are keeping the brake lights lit even when there are vehicles stopped/stationary behind them...?

Because that's how most manufacturers (I think) choose to set up brake auto-hold, ie leave the lights illuminated even when foot off brake. I'd guess virtually all drivers never give this a second thought. And with auto boxes, those drivers will simply sit there with foot on brake if the car doesn't have brake auto-hold.

 

Easily fixed - brake lights go off as soon as brake pedal released with auto-hold and/or fit a sensor to switch them off when another vehicle is detected behind the stationary car. The brake lights/auto-hold could surely be a driver choice in the infotainment menu lights setup? 

Edited 21 September, 20205 yr by SinglePointSafety
Extra info

20 minutes ago, SinglePointSafety said:

Because that's how most manufacturers (I think) choose to set up brake auto-hold, ie leave the lights illuminated even when foot off brake. I'd guess virtually all drivers never give this a second thought. And with auto boxes, those drivers will simply sit there with foot on brake if the car doesn't have brake auto-hold.

 

Does the brake light continue to illuminate with the handbrake/autohold on and the DSG taken out of drive - if so, I agree that's a design oversight.

 

I see plenty of cars creeping forwards with brake lights illuminated so I can only imagine it's a DSG/auto and the driver is sitting with the footbrake on rather than properly securing with the handbrake etc :/

The brakelights stay on on autohold.

They are off when the parking brake is on (because it’s no longer on autohold).

On autohold, DON’T take the DSG out of drive into neutral!  All brakes go off and you roll downhill nicely.

This brake light debate is becoming almost as common as diesel vs. petrol used to be, or god forbid which paint colour is best.

 

I've never been blinded, dazzled or distracted by regular or LED brake lights, mainly because if they're bright I know not to stare at them. How do drivers who struggle with a set of red LED's whilst stationary cope with a pair of xenon or modern LED headlights approaching at speed?

 

As for the sidelight / parking light debate, I'll keep this relevant to the Kodiaq fitted with LED headlights. When moving from DRL's to sidelights the light output actually increases as the LED light tube remains at DRL intensity (they do not dim), and the LED 'eyelashes' turn on - so increased light output. The other benefit being that the rear tail lights turn on too.

 

So the "don't drive on sidelights instead of DRL's" argument isn't applicable to the higher spec models of the Kodiaq.

On 17/09/2020 at 12:54, BRUN said:

What controls the auto lights that I could check ?

 

It should be noted that it isn't just the windscreen mounted light sensor that determines when the dipped headlights turn on or off with the switch set to 'Auto'.

 

These are several other parameters too including road speed, windscreen wiper operation and more.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/432645-vw-group-vehicles-auto-hold-do-the-rear-brake-lights-come-on

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/433302-auto-hold-brake-lights

 

2 hours ago, silver1011 said:

This brake light debate is becoming almost as common as diesel vs. petrol used to be, or god forbid which paint colour is best.

 

I've never been blinded, dazzled or distracted by regular or LED brake lights, mainly because if they're bright I know not to stare at them. How do drivers who struggle with a set of red LED's whilst stationary cope with a pair of xenon or modern LED headlights approaching at speed?

100% agree. If brake lights dazzle you then you shouldn't be driving on roads considering the glare from modern/unadjusted headlights as you've mentioned.

 

 

'Approaching at speed' ?    At faster speeds they have come and gone and moved on up the road.

At slower speeds there they are for longer. 

 

Nothing like missing the point for affect.

Many are not OEM lights and certainly not well or correctly adjusted for aim, which in the UK might not be picked up on until the first MOT after 3 years when the adjustment is spotted as being duff.

 

Sitting in the rain behind red lights for many minutes, maybe for a very long time in slow moving grid lock traffic  while a diver has the brake lights on and maybe even a rear fog light or 2 is a totally different thing obviously to even those blinded by the light and that think they are special people that need special lighting.

 

More often than not these days people cope with them in the same way as the driver coming towards you do, they put up with them, or as is common they give you a full beam flash.

 

I will get flashed in the next wee while just driving in the early morning with my Matrix Lights dipped in town and again out on the road.

The Vauxhall lights are just annoying to other drivers and they are correctly adjusted.

 

Even crap cars can have very bright lights now that will lights up the very very dark world that some seem to live in.

It is no longer the preserve of those with premium vehicles or chavsisters to annoy others.

 

 

Edited 26 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

10 hours ago, silver1011 said:

So the "don't drive on sidelights instead of DRL's" argument isn't applicable to the higher spec models of the Kodiaq.

Am I right in thinking that with lights manually set to “sidelights”, the dashboard lights on the Kodiaq turn off when it gets dark? Which could be a good reason no to use that setting as the already difficult to read speedo markings become invisible. I don’t know what a car with virtual cockpit does. 

Yes, it’s the way the car tells you to turn on your (better) lights.

Correct, unless dipped headlights are on the dash lights deliberately remain off, except for the needle illumination. This is to prompt the driver to turn dipped headlights on.

 

The point I was making is for those who want DRL's at full intensity and rear tail lights on during the day then the sidelight position on the switch will achieve this, unlike lots of other vehicles where the LED DRL's either dim or turn off completely and are replaced with a 5W incandescent bulb.

8 hours ago, e-Roottoot said:

'Approaching at speed' ?    At faster speeds they have come and gone and moved on up the road.

At slower speeds there they are for longer. 

 

Nothing like missing the point for affect.

Many are not OEM lights and certainly not well or correctly adjusted for aim, which in the UK might not be picked up on until the first MOT after 3 years when the adjustment is spotted as being duff.

 

Sitting in the rain behind red lights for many minutes, maybe for a very long time in slow moving grid lock traffic  while a diver has the brake lights on and maybe even a rear fog light or 2 is a totally different thing obviously to even those blinded by the light and that think they are special people that need special lighting.

 

The mention of speed George was to reinforce the point that when driving at night on undulating and unilluminated rural roads a vehicle approaching at speed can require the driver of the opposing vehicle to focus more on the oncoming headlights than they might need to if the speeds were much slower, resulting in an increased chance of glare and disorientation.

 

Compare that to being sat stationary where you're free to look all around you i.e. not at the red lights a car length away. Seriously if you're sat there squinting and unable to turn your head slightly or move your gaze away from the rear of the car in front then there are bigger issues at play here.

 

As for your grumbling about poorly adjusted headlights, non-approved bulbs, misuse of rear fog lights, cornering lights, LED DRL's it's all got nothing to do with the intensity of type approved brake lights.

 

Your eyes will get older and rear brake lights will get more annoying as the years pass, as will front lights because the EU will allow it, yet the world will be no darker and supposedly the cars will be smarter.   Less faulty lights on nearly new cars would be Simply Clever.     Cars know their location, know they are stationary in traffic with vehicles around them and behind them stationary and that 3 brake lights do not need illuminated to the rear.   But then Auto Lights are still not reliable as of 2020 as is the just of this thread.

Edited 26 September, 20205 yr by e-Roottoot

On 26/09/2020 at 19:43, MrTrilby said:

Am I right in thinking that with lights manually set to “sidelights”, the dashboard lights on the Kodiaq turn off when it gets dark? Which could be a good reason no to use that setting as the already difficult to read speedo markings become invisible. I don’t know what a car with virtual cockpit does. 

Virtual cockpit tells you to turn on the dipped beam if it is dark enough and 'auto' lights not selected. Then once that message times out or you accept it, it leaves a bulb symbol showing at the bottom of the dash. 

11 hours ago, snala said:

Virtual cockpit tells you to turn on the dipped beam if it is dark enough and 'auto' lights not selected

Yes, as snala says, and if anyone knows how to turn off this 'nag', please let me know - it appears even in the middle of summer if the road is in tree shade, and, really, those LED DRLs are more than bright enough. Also, headlights coming on when other drivers don't expect it can confuse them: colleague got his car bashed last summer because his headlights came on and the other driver thought he was flashing to let him out of a side-road, with predictable consequences.

Maybe you can change when it comes on by changing the “switch on sensitivity” or whatever that setting is

By putting handbrake on while using auto hold in traffic turns break lights off.

Easy!

29 minutes ago, AndyMorris said:

By putting handbrake on while using auto hold in traffic turns break lights off.

Easy!

But does that not put strain on the DSG. Having foot on brake disengages the clutches, with the hand brake on the clutches are slipping.