Daytime running lights on road vehicles

[d-a-n]

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...

[mr bachmann]

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 !   

[Michael Shillabeer]

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

[woodbury22uk]

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!

[mr bachmann]

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 ?

[DELETED]

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.

[daveg]

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

[oscar]

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!!!!!! 

If you can't see a vehicle in daylight without lights on, God help pedestrians!

[Oldun]

If you can't see a vehicle in daylight without lights on, God help pedestrians!

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 

Bright green & yellow two tone, dipped headlights on, 8'1" wide x 14' 8" high - bus? BUS? - what bus

Roger

[Jon898]

...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  (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   ?

[MikeDunn]

That something had broken   

[woodbury22uk]

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).

[Jon898]

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

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/

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.

[geoffc]

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

[daveg]

Agree with all the moans/complaints but I thought the lights were for the 'benefit' of pedestrians rather than fellow drivers.

Dave G