Keith: I should not have been so definitive, sorry. But the driving lights are headlights, and as far as I can see, they meet the definition. At least as far as I can tell from the signs along the roads. without reading the full definition of the law. My headlights (or driving lights) are on all the time.
I think once it starts getting dark, you should put lights on. it does suck when you forget to turn them off but once you get in the habit of checking that they are turned off, you will be okay.
âApparently, buyers believed that GM cars didnât get involved in accidents.â
I think that you are probably correct about that assumption.
Either that, or they thought only about zero to sixty times, and did not consider occupant protection.
Sadly, if those folks chose a Chevy and were involved in a T-bone collision, they would probably die as a result of the cost-saving âXâ frame used on Chevys of that era.
VDCdriver: I think you got it. My comment was sarcastic.
Judging By Comments It Seems That others Enjoy The GM Standard Equipment DRLs As Much As I Do. Youâd Think That After A Couple Of Decades Other Companies Would Catch On To It.
GM tried to get the Feds to enact mandating this nearly no cost life saving technology, but I believe they were unsuccessful. Like @jtsanders, I would wish my cars had it if they were not equipped.
People enjoy taking potshots at GM and suing them, but how many people take the time to thank them for their safety initiative and the many lives theyâve saved? I appreciate their dedication to keeping my family members safer.
CSA
Seatbelts (lap) were not mandatory vehicle equipment until 1968. My 1963 Ford Galaxie 4 door Grandma car had none. My 1963 ford Galaxie 406 cu in/405 hp had very robust lap belts which were no doubt after market since the previous owner was a NASCAR Winston West driver. If I have seat belts I use them. My 2010 Kia headlights will turn 6 years old in about 2 months of being constantly on. When they fail they are fairly easy to replace and cost about $20.
On the internets one can always find the contrarian:
âOn the internets one can always find the contrarian:â
True story: Back when seat belts became mandatory in cars, I knew a guy who refused to use them. He actually had a theory that heâd be better off in a collision if he was âthrown clear.â
He crashed in an old Chevelle Malibu, of the era, and his beautiful young girl friend got her face ground up when it broke the windshield with it.
You get these idiots when practically any obvious improvement in safety is implemented.
CSA
I drive at the speed of light.
Can you even see my headlamps when I drive?
Lights on is a safety item and for those like Mountain bike it would take a very large research grant to determine how much extra fuel he uses in a years time if any.
It works out to 10 to 15 gallons of gas per year.
CSA, I have nothing against safety improvements incorporated into GMs, but theyâve done nothing spectacular that deserves accolades. DRLs in any form are hardly a leading edge technology.
In my case my Vegaâs rear axle came out of the housing while I was moving. And GM knew about the problem and did nothing. Even after they were forced to issue a recall, they did nothing but a useless inspection. I had mine checked twice at two different GM dealers after the recall, and the axle still came out. And it happened to a whole lot of other people too. Hardly the stuff safety is made of.
If you prefer GMâs thatâs great, but letâs not shout praises where none are due. Besides, I cannot praise a company that went from being the largest and most successful in the world to needing a multihundred billion dollar handout of public (tax) dollars to survive⊠and then openly lying to us claiming they paid it back when they did not. According to the CBO there was $10 billion that we never recovered from that bailout.
He actually had a theory that heâd be better off in a collision if he was âthrown clear.â
Those people obviously live in an alternate universe where the pavement and roadsides are covered with Tempurpedic mattresses, sofa cushions, and marshmallow fluff, and where there are no other vehicles to endanger a person lying on the roadway.
In my world, the pavement is hard and abrasive and frequently has rocks or broken glass on its surface, the guardrails are unyielding to the weight of a person, and a person who lands on the roadway is very likely to be run over by other vehicles.
In a slightly different version of this denial of reality, I can recall when my now-deceased Aunt took a steak knife and cut the seatbelts out of her brand-new '70s-era Malibu. When I asked her why she had done that, her response was, âIf I broke my arm as a result of a collision, I wouldnât be able to open the seat belt latch, and I could be trapped in a burning carâ.
I then pointed out to her that the same broken arm would probably prevent her from being able to open the carâs door, thus leading to the same result. Of course, I also pointed out to her that a broken arm was somewhat less likely if she was properly belted-in, instead of being flung about the interior of the car during a collision.
She was at the stage of life where she didnât like being contradicted by facts or by reason, and she reacted to those bits of reality by telling me to âstop being impertinentâ.
I see at least a half dozen cars every single night with DRLs on but not headlights or tailights. You can barely see them on the expressway until youâre on top of them. Look inside and the instrument cluster is all lit up. The DRLs are bright enough to be mistaken for the headlamps by the driver. This issue really does need to get solved.
âI see at least a half dozen cars every single night with DRLs on but not headlights or tailights.â
This is not possible on my 4 GM units with automatic DRLs. At dusk all lights are on at full power every time. I know this as fact. Iâve driven these cars, and inspected them from outside (and followed some of my other cars, at time) under all lighting and weather conditions for decades.
CSA
The above is true ONLY if lights are left in âautomatic.â
"The above is true ONLY if lights are left in âautomatic.â "
That is not completely accurate.
When the headlights are âONâ all the lights are on.
When the headlights are âOFFâ then it is in the DRL/Automatic lighting mode.
CSA
I even belt my dog in the seat when he rides in the car. I put him in his harness. I then attach the harness to a loop that I bought at the pet store. The shoulder harness in the car goes through the loop and the dog is belted in. The dog knows when the harness comes out that he is going for a ride. He sits on the car seat calmly until he is secured by the shoulder harness. What is interesting is that the dog prefers riding in the back seat over the front seat. I donât know if he is concerned about the passenger side airbag or if he remembered watching the movie âDriving Miss Daisyâ and is acting out the part âDriving Mr. Poochâ. At any rate, if my dog has,enough sense to want to be strapped in while riding in the car, people ought to be smart enough to use the seat belts.
Maybe on some GMs; not on my Cobalt. If you specifically select âlights off,â theyâre off.
At any rate, if my dog has,enough sense to want to be strapped in while riding in the car, people ought to be smart enough to use the seat belts
Your dog has been TRAINED that wearing a seat belt is part of the rote required to get the reward of a car ride. Itâs quite a stretch to equate that to something it has inherent sense about or desires to have done out of some measure of safety. Heâd probably ride on the roof if you had trained him to do it that wayâŠ
Well, maybe, we need to train some people the same way. The,auto makers rigged the 1974_cars so that the cars wouldnât start unless the driverâs seat belt was fastened. I guess this is a form of training.