I drove around for two weeks wondering why my digital clock was so dim I could barely read it in the sunlight {I never drive at night}.
I started to curse it and was fondly remembering the analog clock from my old PT cruiser then out of the blue I remembered about the dash dimmer switch, somehow it had gotten turned down to low. I guess I’m getting too old. 
I seem to do that on a regular basis. It must be where the switch is located or something that gets turned down from time to time. It’s just one of those routine things I check now.
I have one of those electronic dashes that lights up for a display. It fools me into thinking that my headlights are on at dusk.
This is why so many people have just their DRL’s on well after dark. And most never even question why the “headlights “ are so dim.
Either that, or they tell us and everyone else that they “will never buy one of these cars again because they have lousy headlights”.
haha… it’s so true… 
a few days ago, at night, I was passing a guy/gal who had DRLs only (evident by missing taillights) and having check engine light blinking bright yellow on the dash… yet keep going 5 under speed limit in a total darkness
Well, I think I can say with a fair degree of confidence that they won’t be driving that vehicle much longer, before a tow truck is necessary. They must be part of the public that thinks that it is “normal” to have a CEL lit-up.
And, if one ignores a steadily-lit CEL and the car keeps running, then why would they bother to investigate a blinking CEL? Isn’t that also “normal”?
And then, when their unmaintained/abused vehicle needs major repairs, they can complain that it is a POS, and they will never buy that make of vehicle again.
Lather, rinse, repeat…
It was an number of episodes in “Big bang theory” where Penney drove her clunker with “that yellow light”, where car finally broke down and she was making a fuss about why and “it was always glowing yellow, what’s normal!”
I guess the message from that TV show was that even brainy people can be clueless when it comes to something like a CEL glowing in their face.
However, I have to say that it is a sad part of human nature to try to convert almost anything unpleasant into a “normal” situation. As a school counselor, I was told by countless parents of jailbird kids that “every teenager has an arrest record”.
Ummmm… no…
Because I maintained a very good relationship with the local PD, I was kept informed about those who had been arrested, and the actual statistic was something on the order of 3% or 4% of the students who had ever been arrested. However, it apparently gave the parents of those kids some mental solace to believe that every kid was a jailbird like their own offspring.
Similarly, there seem to be a lot of people who think that “everyone” is driving around with a glowing CEL. I guess it’s better–in the short term–than dealing with reality. In the long term… nope!
I don’t know why that made me think of our Safety Officer. She was responsible for collecting and updating all the MSDS’s and taking over Safety Committee responsibilities from me. But one day she confessed she had driven off with the gas hose still firmly in the filler receptacle of her car, pulling the hose from the pump and nearly causing a fire. We had mercy on her though, never wanting any of those responsibilities back in our laps. She was a nice and conscientious person but hey, could happen to anyone.
We do work for one of the local phone/cable/internet utilities. I would think that the guys who drive those service trucks for a living would have a basic understanding of auto electrics. Instead they come in on a tow truck and say “The battery lights been on for a couple days and now it dies while I was driving.”
A now long retired Corporate safety/workmans comp manager once told our safety comitee that she had filled out a near miss on herself for tripping at the top of the stairs in one of our stores and there happened to be a number of employees applauding and saying Safety First"
I would never rely on the brightness of my dash to confirm if my lights are on. I look for the “headlight” icon on my dash.
But then, I drive 24/7 with headlights on, only way to guarantee being seen up here in northern territory where low sun angle can blind oncoming drivers and I want them to at least be able to see the pinpricks of my headlights to be noticed.
In summer, the deep shadows from trees alternating with bright sun patches, can also “hide” an oncoming vehicle.
There is a reason why many countries require LIGHTS ON, and why newer cars have this feature too.
Drive to be seen!
or why their “Brights” don’t work at all…
Back in 1991 on a four month trip taking my mom sightseeing through thirteen western states I discovered that driving with headlights on at all times was required in most western states at that time. There were no DRLs or automatic headlight options then, just turn on low beams for day driving or get a ticket. Soon as I got back to Missouri I was given a warning for having on my low beams during the day. Different states, different driving laws.
Times, standard features, and driving regulations have changed. Now more cars than not have DRLs on during the day.
My Camry has a nice feature for detecting how light or dark it is outside via a sensor on the dash close to the windshield. If I have headlights set on the automatic feature it runs the DRLs until a certain dimness outside then switches to regular low headlights with tailights lit.
Lights can also be set manually if I don’t want to use the automatic feature.
21st century ‘gaslighting’?
“Don’t let your heart be troubled”. Don’t have any gaslights, they are all LEDs. First she hasn’t been in my car for a couple years. Second I don’t let her drive it, and third not to be too harsh but been in kinda a foul mood for the last 6 months. Not much joking and needs to get out more, but refuses to leave our castle. The shots are helping some though. God save the Queen ad we used to say in the kitchen.
Have a nephew in Austin. No electricity. He had no cash, only cash accepted so he could not even buy a loaf of bread at the store as electric out no credit debit purchases. His warm dinner was sitting in a car with the heat on eating a jar of peanut butter.