Now that almost all new cars have daytime running lights I seem to have become psychic. On dark nights catching up with a car with no rear lights I can predict that the registration mark is 14 or 64. For some reason these drivers seem to feel the daytime running lights provide better illiumination of the road which is not surprising as they are generally brighter than headlights to be more visible in daylight. However, with daytime running lights in use there are no red lights showing to the rear, which is a ootential danger on roads with fast traffic.
Strangely I do not recall being overtaken by a car with daytime running lights in use at night. Most of my finds are 50mph motorway lane hoggers. My wife counted 12 on a thirty mile section of the Northbound M40 last evening!
Am I the only one experiencing this?
No, and they are dazzlingly bright after dusk. 8)
nope seen it before,
glad our car has auto lights because the running lights do make it look like the main lights are on especially under street lighting, been caught out once or twice on hire cars tho.
if the dreaded big E get their way day time front and rear lights will be compulsory when the engine is running/vehicle moving . The FHVCC are fighting this (Federation of Historic Vechical Car Clubs) , this law will drain a lot of power from already overloaded 'classic/micro car' electrical systems , I for one have 90 wats comming from the Siba dynastarter and the car lights and ignition consume 85 wats thats with out the wipers etc .
Quote from: woodbury22uk on December 10, 2014, 08:10:50 PMOn dark nights catching up with a car with no rear lights I can predict that the registration mark is 14 or 64. For some reason these drivers seem to feel the daytime running lights provide better illiumination of the road
Are you sure it is not just in areas with street lighting?
The main issue is cars manufactured from 2013 onwards have to be fitted with Automated Headlights
Drivers sadly don't need to make any settings changes
However, if the module is faulty then the driver would not be aware; the instrument panel is fully illuminated and the front DRL only are on
At least then there are front lights on, and this is the point of this new feature
Been there, seen that... and in me experience they're mostly French cars at fault...
But when they were doing 50mph in the middle lane of the motorway with just the DRLs on, did they hit and pedestrians? No? so they have done their job of improving pedestrian safety then... ... ::)
I regularly see the same 64 reg Range Rover without rear lights after dark!
You'd have thought they'd be smart enough to realise that being flashed by other motorists every day means they need to switch the lights on...
LED headlights are a pain - as they approach I find them very dazzling even on dipped.
Best regards
Michael
LED everything lights are a pain, I'm regularly blound by LED brakelights whilst sat at les lights du traffic.
And those bluddy halogen headlights regularly blind me in my wing mirrors!
Usually the car behind goes over a bump and OUCH!
Quote from: Only Me on December 10, 2014, 09:47:17 PM
On bmw's auto headlights are an option even 2014 models, only DLRs are now set to be on permanently when the headlights are off.
Not sure this is completely correct. My last three BMWs ( two 3's and a 4 Series) have had auto lights as standard.
As far as the DLRs are concerned, they are on on all four corners. You need to go into the car settings to turn them off default being on. The rear lights come on with the front lights..
I presume you're referring to the HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights Luke as all headlamps have been halogen since about the mid-eighties?
HIDs are a pain especially on higher vehicles like 4x4s and big MPVs - Audi Q7, etc. Just the right height to shine in your door mirror! :no:
Paul
Quote from: Only Me on December 11, 2014, 07:54:21 AM
Quote from: Greybeema on December 11, 2014, 07:41:50 AM
Quote from: Only Me on December 10, 2014, 09:47:17 PM
On bmw's auto headlights are an option even 2014 models, only DLRs are now set to be on permanently when the headlights are off.
Not sure this is completely correct. My last three BMWs ( two 3's and a 4 Series) have had auto lights as standard.
As far as the DLRs are concerned, they are on on all four corners. You need to go into the car settings to turn them off default being on. The rear lights come on with the front lights..
Thats not quite true, auto headlights are part of the 'sight and light (Rain sensor with auto. headlight activation)' option, although it is a standard feature on M Sport and SE models and above... From 03/13 the ability to turn DRL's off on new BMW cars has been removed from the IDrive options menu as an EU directive.
PS I would hope the rear lights come on when the front lights turn on too :D
I stand corrected... As I tend to buy the larger engine model they tend to come as standard..
Maybe I miss the plot completely but I have a lexus with ' auto ' lights , so day time running and normal lights when it gets dark and I have always in both setting rear red lights. Also doing 50K per year I haven't experienced cars with no rear light but front lights only.
but again, maybe I miss something ;)
Quote from: Greybeema on December 11, 2014, 07:41:50 AM
As far as the DLRs are concerned, they are on on all four corners. You need to go into the car settings to turn them off default being on. The rear lights come on with the front lights..
I've never seen rear DLRs
UN ECE Regulation 87 http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/2013/R087r3e.pdf (http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/2013/R087r3e.pdf) says:
2.1. "Daytime running lamp" means a lamp facing in a forward direction used to make the vehicle more easily visible when driving during daytime
Best regards
Michael
Quote from: Maurits71 on December 11, 2014, 08:47:00 AM
...............doing 50K per year................
You have my deepest sympathy; (from a long retired lorry driver).
Driving became a pain in the butt in the late 80s and has gone downhill ever since, mainly due to the eu! :'(
right, I have to recall my previous answer. on the ' auto ' setting I have front running lights but NO rear red light.
they come on once the car switches from day time to night settings
apologies
M.
Some people are just idiots* and couldn't drive a soapy stick up a dogs **** - let alone remember to put their lights on properly.
I'm also irritated by people that drive on side lights and fog lamps in all conditions - you can get away with this round here as the street lamps are perpetually on at night so the idiots don't realise how little light is being emitted.
In addition to this, how hard is it to not notice the little blue light on the dash when you're on full beam dazzling all other oncoming road users??? Again, here be idiots.
I'm buying a motorbike next year so I'll have to increase my assumption that other road users are all idiots/cannot see me in order to drive around danger from poor road use.
* The word 'idiots' is a substitute for a word I'm not allowed to use on a family forum...
Quote from: d-a-n on December 13, 2014, 02:58:29 PM
I'm buying a motorbike next year so I'll have to increase my assumption that other road users are all idiots/cannot see me in order to drive around danger from poor road use.
* The word 'idiots' is a substitute for a word I'm not allowed to use on a family forum...
there's another EU thing to note , you cant drive a three wheeler on your bike licence , or on your car licence - you have to have both , again the FHVCC are fighting this , as in years to come with less kids passing their bike test there will be historic motor tricycle's (bubbles/bonds and pigs) around with no one to drive them , back in the 1960's I passed my bike test but had to pass a separate one for the three-wheeler - because it had reverse !
I didn't know you had to have bike and car license now for three wheelers!
I grew up with a BMW Isetta. Dad once got caught speeding in it... but got let of because the Policeman said he wouldn't be believed back at the Station!
Now that was a car that barely had lights, let alone daylight Running Lights!
Merry Christmas
Michael
A friend of mine regularly had to exit his Isetta through the sun roof because when he pulled up to park some wag would push the car forward so the front door would not open. He had no reverse gear.
Once we had been on the beach collecting starfish, anemones, etc. for a school project. We had a large plastic tub which just fitted behind the seats, and above the engine. Unfortunately this tub filled with seawater to conserve our catch spilled over and through the floor as we climbed the hill away from the beach. The engine spluttered a lot and only reached the top of the hill by me getting out and pushing. Engine emitted a very strange smell as the sea water boiled off!
Bema Isetta's horrible things , best thing about mine is No1 reg , BMW M'bike R28 engine ?
that apart did you know they was built UK ones at Brighton - in the old LSWR workshops ?
I have said it for 10 years plus now, I strongly believe all vehicles should show a front and tail light any time of day. I personally think sidelights are next to useless, they should be DRL standard or something bright enough to be seen in daylight. Don't care what it is -just bright enough to be noticeable. Few years ago I thought we were very good at putting out lights on, but it has slipped the past 12 months.
Having just swapped cars, the outgoing had auto lights but the new one hasn't and it's one of the few things I miss.
I'm finding that when out in the evening I'll put headlights on but I often forget to turn them off once home so can have them on while driving during the day.
I also dislike those dazzling HIDs, especially on the taller vehicles when the headlights are near level with your rear view mirror!
Dave G
Quote from: RST on January 21, 2015, 12:47:21 AM
I have said it for 10 years plus now, I strongly believe all vehicles should show a front and tail light any time of day.
NO! NO! NO! Drls - spawn of the devil!!!!!! :veryangry:
If you can't see a vehicle in daylight without lights on, God help pedestrians! :hmmm:
Quote from: oscar on January 21, 2015, 09:55:40 AM
If you can't see a vehicle in daylight without lights on, God help pedestrians! :hmmm:
I'll agree with that. Its surprising how many 'blind' drivers there are out there.
I used to drive busses for a living. Bright green & yellow two tone double deckers. The company
policy was for all busses to drive with dipped headlights at all times. Its surprising how many
drivers could still not see the bus coming towards them :goggleeyes:
Bright green & yellow two tone, dipped headlights on, 8'1" wide x 14' 8" high - bus? BUS? - what bus :o
Roger
Quote from: d-a-n on December 13, 2014, 02:58:29 PM
...how hard is it to not notice the little blue light on the dash when you're on full beam dazzling all other oncoming road users??? Again, here be idiots.
Living in a community that has about 75% OAP's, I have become convinced that the majority think the little blue light just means the headlights are on.
Of course, many people (at least here in the US) have no idea what the dashboard warning symbols actually stand for. Many years ago, part of my job entailed reading the Federal Register to see if any of the proposed regulations and rules would affect the company. To make it less deadly-dull :sleep: (and because I'm something of a gear-head) I used to scan the ones from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration also. One day they published a rejection of a petition from a bunch of european carmakers to use the ISO symbol for brake failure in place of the (then) current one. NHTSA explained that they had rejected the request since fewer than 18% (IIRC) of those surveyed understood the ISO symbol whilst 63% understood the current symbol. Several pages later they explained that the ISO symbol looked like (O), while the current symbol was BRAKE. So what did 37% of the survey population think a red light that read BRAKE mean ??? :drool: :doh: :dunce: ?
That something had broken ??? ::)
I have often been bemused by US rental cars some of which still come with almost flat glass in the door mirrors. Etched on the glass is something to the effect that "objects appear further away than they are".
The almost flat glass has a very narrow field of view, and the reflections appear to be about the right size.
Presumably the ones who do not understand BRAKE are the ones whose first language is not English (I hope).
It's actually the passenger-side mirror that has the inscription "Objects in Mirror are Closer than they Appear". This is required in the US, Canada and India because the mirrors are convex in order to make the field of view larger. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objects_in_mirror_are_closer_than_they_appear (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objects_in_mirror_are_closer_than_they_appear)
This gave rise to one of the funnier moments in the original Jurassic Park film where the T-Rex is chasing the Jeep ("Must Drive Faster") Similar to this: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/311452130451586198/ (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/311452130451586198/)
I gather rear-view cameras are shortly to become mandatory here in the US (Honda are already providing them on all 2015 US vehicles) so that will give drivers something else to ignore.
I second the statement if you can not see a car in broad daylight without it have bright lights on, ask your self should you be driving.
On another point, I used to wire up lights on recovery trucks and emergency vehicles, beacons, side markers, spot lamps etc and Hella used to supply a wall chart with all the measurements where it was legal to position the lamps. Unless somebody has chucked out The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations most of these daylight running lights are illegal, too low to the ground, in too far from the outside edges and too small angles of conspicuity. Back then the maximum for a road legal headlight was from memory 48 watts for a car, these lights are a lower wattage but far brighter so may be there should be a limit in candelas so they dont dazzle all and sundry.
My pet hate those idiots who drive at 90 on the motorway with rear fog lamps on, why?
Geoff C+E licence holder
Agree with all the moans/complaints but I thought the lights were for the 'benefit' of pedestrians rather than fellow drivers.
Dave G
Quote from: geoffc on January 22, 2015, 11:06:39 PM
I second the statement if you can not see a car in broad daylight without it have bright lights on, ask your self should you be driving.
Geoff C+E licence holder
Geoff
My original post was about the use of daytime running lights in the dark,which means no lights show to the rear.
I agree about being able to see cars in broad daylight being a pre-requisite for safe driving, but the big problem comes with the in between times like low winter sun, or heavily overcast days which have been prevalent recently. Then drivers need to show lights front and rear to be seen from a distance. When I am driving I try to read the road as far ahead as I can see as well as everywhere in between. I'll probably spot a vehicle (lit or not) sooner than people who read the road only between them and the car in front. Lights help me read ahead in poor visibility.
My car has 55w bulbs in the headlights, but I am not sure what the maximum allowed is these days. I managed to replace the failed bulb on mine in 3 minutes yeasterday. Pleased it is not one of the Renaults where you have to dismantle the wing liner to do it.