Also most new vehicles have very bright LED DRL’s so it is not imperative to run the headlights .
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And those are the people driving at midnight, sometimes at midnight in the rain, thinking their headlights and taillights are on. I see 3 or 4 of these a night. (I drive a semi at night)
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My 2017 Tucson seems to have all bases covered.
I can select in a menu whether or not to link the headlights to the wipers (I do).
It has automatic headlights and LED DRLs, both can be switched off.
And no, the headlights don’t come on when I use the windshield washer.
Yeah, can’t tell you how many times I have come up on a vehicle in the rain or dark on the expressway that was nearly invisible because of no tail lights. Maybe the tail lamps should come on at the same time as DRLs by default?
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After reading this string I just had to check… My '13 Mustang with automatic headlights and DRL’s turns the lights on automatically if the wires are on. Head and tail lights.
My '04 GM SUV with automatic lights and DRL’s does not.
It is state law in Missouri to have your headlights on when your wipers are on. Missouri may be behind the rest of the country in a lot of ways but I think this is a good law to have. That being said, people don’t do it and it doesn’t seem like the cops enforce it much.
I always see like the most boring and drab gray or silver car like a Camry or Caravan just driving around on a gray foggy day with no lights on. These cars basically blend in and without lights as they look the same color as the gray sky, wet road, and fog. Maybe I just notice it on drab cars of a gray color because they are the ones that need lights most and a bright red car stands out more so I don’t make not of this.
I leave my lights on all the time because of this. It seems there are enough brain dead people on the road these days so anything that helps is a good thing.
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So what happens if you’re waiting in a driveway at night in the rain, and the lights are pointed into someone’s bedroom window? You’d really need the option to turn them off. My wife’s car has daytime running lights, and I hate it. If you’re in a parking lot of a place where the headlights disturb people close by—or don’t want to wake someone getting home you can’t turn them off. Stupid. If I could defeat it, I would.
I might point out something
Some people seem to assume drls and automatic headlights are the same thing
not so
they work differently, serve different purposes and had different regulations in mind, when they came out
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Some cars have a fuse labeled DRL. Look in your owners manual under “fuses” and look to see if you have one labelled DRL or Daytime Running Lights. Remove that fuse, check to see if your regular headlights still work. 3 of my cars have DRL’s and all were disconnected with the fuse.
I do not like DRL’s because I used to ride a motorcycle. All motorcycles have had to have headlights on when the machine is running since about 1981 or so. It makes the bike stand out from other traffic. DRL’s rob the ability of bikes to stand out. Some have added aftermarket strobe kits to flash between low and high beam lights to make them stand out in a sea of DRLs.
What car does she have?
Waiting in a driveway at night with it raining, seems like a time for the headlights to be on anyway.
Daytime lights and headlights are to different things so just turn the headlights off, the DRL’s are not really bright enough to annoy most people anyway during the day.
How many driveways are lined up with a bedroom window anyway, most have a garage in front of the drive.
Then set the parking brake 1 or 2 clicks to turn them off.
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As for headlights pointing at a neighbor’s bedroom window . . .
Almost all people drive straight into their driveway
Logically, that would mean the headlights are NOT pointed at the neighbor’s bedroom window across the street
If anything, they might be pointed at their OWN bedroom window
Exactly. Both of my daily drivers are backed in to my driveway. And the headlights shine right across the street into the neighbor’s living room or downstairs bedroom. If I’m coming or going late at night I turn off the auto headlamps to be nice.
Honda does design them to be paired if th
e drive wishes. I am testing a 2018 Honda Clarity midsized sedan this week. Here is a photo of the menu that allows a driver to do exactly that. BTW, in my state, this is now the law.
What’s your opinion of the Clarity’s looks?
In my opinion, it is hideous
One of my relatives drives one, and he was so proud of it. He was showing it off to me, and I told him he made a good choice. But inside I was thinking “Clearly, our tastes differ”
I don’t mind them. These super-efficient cars all have a bit of aero goofiness. It’s not a looker like a Mazda6 or a pricey car, but one way to look at it this: Which $23K car midsize loaded with every option that has 110 MPGe looks better? The Sonata fuel sipper maybe comes close to that qualification and looks pretty decent.
John, the Honda dealer near me does not have a clarity with a sticker price of less than 34000.00
Even with the DRLs on at night, they aren’t nearly as bright as headlights and, since your dash lights aren’t on with DRLs, it takes a fairly unaware driver to not turn on their headlights. Granted, we all know there are many of them:-). I’d be interested to know how many, if any, vehicles are equipped with DRLs that don’t have automatic headlights. I would guess probably none anymore. Come to think of it, does anyone with a car built in the last 5 years not have automatic headlights?
My '17 4Runner has DRL’s that can be turned off on the headlamp switch.
A lot of cars today illuminate the dash just by turning on the ignition (2011 Caravan, 2013 & 2017 Camry’s).
The 2018 Prius loaner I have right now doesn’t have automatic headlights but has DRL’s, same with my 2002 Camry and 2011 Caravan.
My 2013 and 2017 Camry’s have both DRL’s and auto headlights. All mentioned above can turn off the DRL’s. In conclusion I can state that in addition to the models mentioned there are lots of models without auto headlights.
The 2018 Prius I mentioned above for sure, and I imagine lots of others.