Question: do you leave your key in the ON position at the drive-in, or do you use the ACC position?Depends on how cold I am, really. Plus, you have to GET there... at 3MPH, parking lights are quite sufficient. (And, if you're "3 deep" at the drive-in, you are being somewhat sphincter-ish if you leave your lights blazing into the car in front, especially if you drive a raised vehicle.)
"It's a gang initiation thing doncha know. If you flash your light at them to try and alert them to the fact that their lights are off, they're supposed to turn around, and come back after you and shoot you."
Hopefully, you were being facetious by posting that statement.
If not, then you have fallen for a falsehood that has been circulating since the late '90s, and is no more true than it was 15+ years ago:
It's a gang initiation thing doncha know. If you flash your light at them to try and alert them to the fact that their lights are off, they're supposed to turn around, and come back after you and shoot you.
That was proven to be a false urban legend some years ago.
LOL, Sarge, you may be right, we may be dinosaurs. But it just seems to me that using extra lights and fancy automatic off & on circuitry rather than simply hooking the headlights to the ON circuit is overkill.
Meanjoe, your point about creeping to your space with your parking lights on is valid. Itās been soo many many years since Iāve gone to a drive in movie, thereās a lot Iāve forgotten. Up here in NH the season was always short anyway, and Iām only aware of one thatās openā¦ I think. Maybe Mike can help me with this; do you know if the Milford drive-in theater is still open?
"IMHO DRLs and these automatic on/off systems are all just added-cost substitutes for simply connecting the lighting circuits to the ON position of the key cylinder. Or, for those cars with START buttons, to the āonā circuitry. Whatever happened to the KISS principle? "
The KISS Principal has been employed by GM since 1995 when they made automatic DRLs
STANDARD EQUIPMENT on their vehicles! Members of my family all know that they are present and working, but they donāt have to do a thing to use them. I have NEVER had a problem with this proven KISS system.
It is hard to estimate how many lives GM has saved and how many accidents involving customer vehicles they have avoided. From 1995 to 2003 alone, a government study estimated that their use avoided 37,000 accidents!
I understand that one of the biggest life savers of this standard equipment feature is that of the lives of child pedestrians. As somebody mentioned, saving just ONE child makes the whole thing worth it.
My family loves GM Automatic DRLs! You never turn any lights on or off. Itās automagic.
āThus, leaving the lights in the ON position serves the DRL purpose. And then some.ā
Not really. Youāll use more headlight bulbs that way. Our GM cars use practically none. I canāt remember ever replacing one.
CSA
But the GM DRL system doesnāt turn the taillights on, and at dusk & dawn and in fog that can make a car much more visibleā¦ especially if youāre stopped without your foot on the brake, which many people unfortunately do.
I have nothing against the DRL system, I just think itās added unnecessary lights & circuits (definitely not the KISS system) and, as I mentioned, doesnāt turn on the taillights. Meanjoe made a good point about the drivein theaters, but I could live with that for the added safetyā¦ and the standard DRL system is as bad in that situation as regular headlights being on.
Note that this isnāt a manufacturer-specific comment, itās a comment on all cars regardless of manufacturer. Many manufacturers implemented DRLs to conform to those countries that mandated them, such as Canada. And Sweden, and Finland, and Norway, and Denmark, and Iceland. DRLs were part of making cars world marketable as best possible.
Mine is an automatic gm system, drl, and headlights on or off by sensor in dash, and they go off when I turn off the car. Perfect, no problem for me.
common sense answer: I donāt have DRLs and as stated I use my headlights during the day. If I use 100 light bulbs and save (especially a child) 1 life it is well worth it!!! I was very unfortunate to hit a little 4 year old boy who darted out between parked vehicles in 1973. He was not too seriously injured and no one was found at fault but remembering it disturbs me to this day.
The arguments against lights on all the time are just silly, in my opinion. More bulbs, more fuel? So what? Youāre sending a couple of tons of car down a road with one or more people inside, and you are doing it in a world of 6 billion people and who knows how many animals. Thereās just no reason why the front and back lights arenāt on all the time.
Thatās my philosophy too sarge.
A standard Sylvania headlight lamp has an operating life rating of 1,000 hours. Thatās a lot of behind-the-wheel time. I used to commute an hour each way. Including two hours each weekend day, thatās 14 hours a week, or 548 hours a yearā¦ almost two years of use. I use a brighter bulb, and even those lasted a year when I was still commuting. Thatās pretty cheap insurance.
"But the GM DRL system doesnāt turn the taillights on, and at dusk & dawn and in fog that can make a car much more visibleā¦ especially if youāre stopped without your foot on the brake, which many people unfortunately do.
That is incorrect.
When driving and dark clouds form or fog, even a dreary rainy day, at dusk and dawn, Iāll see my dash lights come on automatically. When this happens my tail lights turn on at the same time. When conditions brighten then back to DRLs. Itās that simple. Never give it a thought and youāre protected.
You donāt have to believe it, but these GM DRLs are actually quite amazing. Perfection? Well, I canāt figure out how Iād improve them and Iāve lived with them for a couple decades.
"Mine is an automatic gm system, drl, and headlights on or off by sensor in dash, and they go off when I turn off the car. Perfect, no problem for me."
Iād bet Barkydog will agree.
CSA
CSA: And technology never fails. If you (like me) choose to have your headlights on during the day just turn them on!
āCSA: And technology never fails. If you (like me) choose to have your headlights on during the day just turn them on!ā
Thatās how I felt before I had cars with this feature, but believe me Iād never want to lose the feature.
With the GM cars itās not necessary to turn them on. Also, it utilizes the headlights, but at a reduced power, not as if you just turned the head light on. The GM engineers did their homework on this one.
So, I take it you donāt have an automatic lighting system?
CSA
I donāt see that happen that often, but occasionally it does, and it is indeed dangerous. I doubt they intend to do it, they just forgot to turn them on. When somebody approaches me without their lights on at night Iāll signal to them they forgot, and they usually turn them right on.
But what about the other side of this coin? I feel annoyed when cars are driving with their lights on during broad daylight. Not a safety issue, but seems a waste of gasoline.
CSA: I have optional auto on and off light switch controlled by the ignition switch. No DRLS. I donāt have to worry about turning the headlights on and Iām OK with that. I have been driving since 1965. I can pretty much select things as needed. The much younger drivers who have never opened their owners manual may need technological (nanny) assistance.
CSA: If I remember correctly GM was the first US manufacturer with DRLs. Probably driven by Canadaās requirement. It was after the mid 1970s when I worked at a GM dealership. From your description it sounds like GM has everything sorted out and working as advertised. I have only been stating that currently I can still turn lights and wipers on and off as needed. A few years from now I might need an autonomous self driving car. For now I still enjoy clipping a perfect apex at 70% or so of racing speed!
Hopefully, you were being facetious by posting that statement.
Of course I was. I couldnāt find the sarcasm button though.
The real problem is that people are not smart and they DON"T read the manual that comes with their car. As a driver you have a responsibility to know how your car operates. Even if you are in a rental car you should take five minutes and familiarize yourself with all of the controls and switches.
I disagree with leaving headlights ON all the time. DRLās use a low power setting (or LEDās) that cause very little need to replace bulbs. Constant headlight use would mean people like me replacing bulbs once a year or more. Since many cars now have very involved procedures to replace headlight bulbs, such as removing bumper covers or wheel well liners, it can be a very expensive process to replace a simple headlight bulb.
This is just another example of people avoiding personal responsibility. They rely on the car to do everything for them without trying to understand how it works. Then, when something goes terribly wrong, they blame the car instead of coming to terms with the fact that they are simply an ignorant, inattentive driver.
Well when we where young and foolish (we would drive the deserted backroads) (some would do it on the main drag )with lights off ,even with good moonlight it is very easy to miss a lot of things and when you saw other lights you better get yours back up in a hurry ."Moon eyed " people cant do this and never drive at night with your lights off,ever !
I had an uncle in the Army ,who was driving the CO around in a Jeep after dark,it was a very bright moonlit night ,the CO told him to douse the lights ,my Uncle explained that he was " Moon eyed " and couldnt see by moonlight .The CO didnt believe him ,so Uncle had to comply and subsequently crashed (from there on out ,the CO knew what "Moon eyed " meant.
In China they drive without any lights until absolutely necessary.
Itās really interesting to see.
Then it is only the parking lights in the town/city.
(Apparently saving gasoline and filament wear as I do when possible.)
Wifeās bank often has no lights on inside. (To me it first appeared to be a power outage.)
They just use the light coming in through windows.
No air conditioning unless necessary.
Stores are HOT in the summer and COLD in the winter.