There aught to be a law!

[theory816]

it

Or a requirement that the headlight/running lights come on automatically with the onset of darkness, and can only be disabled with each start of the vehicle. I can't tell you how many people I see driving well after dark with no lights on whatsoever. I was on I-95 at about 10:00PM in very heavy traffic in Northern Virginia and a guy in a Honda Odyssey had NO LIGHTS ON WHATSOEVER. No headlights, no taillights. I pulled up next to him, honking and turning my headlights off and on repeatedly but he never got the message. This is so incredibly dangerous, especially from in front of him, because his vehicle was virtually invisible in my rearview mirror. I blame the manufacturers for this. Nissan Rogues and other Nissan models seem to be the worst offenders. I don't know if this says something about Nissans or about their drivers.

Its not that dangerous.

If the lights need to come on with a sensor, than that means there's enough light outside for the car to be visible. If you look in your mirrors and the reflection isn't of streets, then something is obviously there. That's basic logic.

If this was in an urban setting, there's enough street lights to drive around safely without headlights. And if you know your area well, you'd know where every pothole or caution area is(if you don't, you should). The less light you have on your low beams in urban areas, the better. It's more comfortable on your eyes. Unplug one headlight and drive around if you don't believe me. The only thing about driving with less visibility is that you tend to be more anxious about dark spots.

 

[Lumalux]

Dude, this was at 10:00PM, long after dark on an interstate highway with heavy traffic moving at 80 mph. The car was invisible to me in my rearview mirror. If I had wanted to move over a lane and he was there, I would not have seen him. The rear reflectors were the only think making his vehicle visible from the rear. This most certainly is a very dangerous scenario and I see it all the time. In an urban setting, these cars are nearly invisible. They cannot be seen by oncoming vehicles. It is very likely another vehicle will pull out in front of them at an intersection because they are not seen.

 

[theory816]

If it was at 10pm his lights should've been on 3 hours ago.

most Highways are not well lit at all.

this was a drivers fault, not the auto lights fault

 

[kaichu dento]

Its not that dangerous.

If this was in an urban setting, there's enough street lights to drive around safely without headlights.

You just keep posting the most ridiculous things regarding automotive lighting, now doubling down with support for their being no danger in cars running around at night with no lights on.

 

[theory816]

You just keep posting the most ridiculous things regarding automotive lighting, now doubling down with support for their being no danger in cars running around at night with no lights on.

I should re-elaborate, its dangerous depending on the conditions.

 

[kaichu dento]

I should re-elaborate, its dangerous depending on the conditions.

Cars with no lights on when it's dark out is always dangerous and the only thing that would change that would be if no one had headlights on, and it was the norm. Most all cars driving around in the dark have lights on and with all the additional peripheral lights, a vehicle with no lights on essentially becomes largely unnoticeable.

I've been lucky enough to avoid collisions with these drivers several times in the last few years because of close calls causing me to start looking to see if there is a car with no lights ahead of all the ones with them on. Even got honked at by a driver with no lights on once.

What Lumalux described was absolutely a dangerous situation and his points should not be so lightly glossed over.

 

[idleprocess]

I should re-elaborate, its dangerous depending on the conditions.

If conditions are good, nothing unexpected happens, and everyone is supernaturally alert, sure. But on that last point you're really pulling back the margins against the former two to the point of foolishness even if you do know the route by feel, where every pothole, irregularity in the pavement, and likely spot for vehicles/pedestrians/wildlife to appear. You're operating a conveyance of such mass and velocity that it can inflict terminal reality failure on almost anything it encounters - it's not the odds it's the stakes.

 

[bykfixer]

Where I live the roads are so lit up you can drive around without headlights just fine and can be seen by others just fine. Seriously. You can stand on a sidewalk and read in between street lights due to all of the light pollution.

3am on any given night through a dirty windshield

Yet some folks still drive around with their brights on. I figure so they can tell they have their lights on because it's so bright you don't know if your lights are on until you turn them off to see if they are even on. And if it's raining? Oh yeah, it's even brighter.

So it's not always dangerous to drive around without headlights on.

 

[theory816]

If conditions are good, nothing unexpected happens, and everyone is supernaturally alert, sure. But on that last point you're really pulling back the margins against the former two to the point of foolishness even if you do know the route by feel, where every pothole, irregularity in the pavement, and likely spot for vehicles/pedestrians/wildlife to appear. You're operating a conveyance of such mass and velocity that it can inflict terminal reality failure on almost anything it encounters - it's not the odds it's the stakes.

Accidents still happen during broad daylight. I was just pointing out that even if the other driver didn't have their lights on in low light situations, its still safe to drive because you have to make certain checks before switching lanes or any maneuver.

 

[theory816]

Where I live the roads are so lit up you can drive around without headlights just fine and can be seen by others just fine. Seriously. You can stand on a sidewalk and read in between street lights due to all of the light pollution.

Yet some folks still drive around with their brights on. I figure so they can tell they have their lights on because it's so bright you don't know if your lights are on until you turn them off to see if they are even on. And if it's raining? Oh yeah, it's even brighter.

So it's not always dangerous to drive around without headlights on.

I agree. Street lights are pretty good within inner city streets and urban areas and yet people are still putting on their fog lights and Some people are just too overhyped when driving and think they need every safety equipment in the world. Its essentially why cars are getting more expensive and they stuff in more safety equipment for these people.

 

[idleprocess]

Accidents still happen during broad daylight.

Indeed they do. But adding conspicuity - particularly now expected and normal conspicuity like DRLs - never hurts. Especially in low light conditions where color vision is falling off and night vision has yet to check in.

 

[PhotonWrangler]

This is also why I prefer lighter colors on car exteriors. If someone is driving around with no lights on at night and they have a really dark colored car, your only chance of seeing them is from your headlights reflecting off their rear license plate, assuming they're in front of you, and assuming their license plate is in it's normal spot and doesn't have a dark plastic diffuser covering it.

 

[Lumalux]

Where I live the roads are so lit up you can drive around without headlights just fine and can be seen by others just fine. Seriously. You can stand on a sidewalk and read in between street lights due to all of the light pollution.
View attachment 43535
3am on any given night through a dirty windshield

Yet some folks still drive around with their brights on. I figure so they can tell they have their lights on because it's so bright you don't know if your lights are on until you turn them off to see if they are even on. And if it's raining? Oh yeah, it's even brighter.

So it's not always dangerous to drive around without headlights on.

The incidence of drivers improperly using their high beams has grown exponentially in the last decade. Drivers really suck now, especially those younger than 30. I am 57 and couldn't wait to get my driver's license at 15. In fact, I didn't wait and drove the family car around the neighborhood when I was 14. I was able to drive a manual transmission without dumping the clutch at about age 10. Young people today don't even want to drive. It's a chore or a nuisance for them so they have no clue what constitutes good driving.

 

[Poppy]

The incidence of drivers improperly using their high beams has grown exponentially in the last decade.

Part of the problem is plastic lenses that degrade and fog over time.
IMO, they should be tested during annual inspection for clarity.

 

[Bill Idaho]

As a retired county deputy, who wrote a goodly amount of citations (including vehicle equipment violations), based on my personal dealings with the public, one of the significant reasons more people drive around with their high-beams on, is simply because they have no idea what they are, what that little blue indicator light is on the dash, and have absolutely no clue how to turn them on or off. Idaho state code says a person has to dim everything upon 200 feet from behind, and 500 feet oncoming, which includes those fashionable "driving/fog" lights. They get stopped,. and 90% of the time the driver has no idea there is a switch that will turn those off.
I have stopped countless people that pass me without dimming their headlights, and when I stop them and question them.....they are literally ignorant of what is wrong. I was pretty aggressive when it came to vehicle code violations. Not a heartless badge heavy Buford, but strict and firm. I never gave warnings for trailers without lights, or blue lights of any type. Idaho says absolutely no blue lights, lenses or globes (?). Press hard, 5 copies. Another popular violations were those red, green (or blue) led rings around the headlights. The ground effect lights.....you guessed it, press hard 6 copies. Those smoked dark plastic covers people put over their tail lights and headlights? No warnings, and if there is an attitude, they get a citation for each individual light. "But I bought the car with them on it!", or "They sell them at the local parts house!"......."Yeah, they sell beer-- and it's illegal to drink drunk. Did you read the fine print on the packaging? Right where it said something along the lines of "Check local laws and codes before installation, not for street use."




As to the original post, in many jurisdictions, there ARE laws that deal with lighting/equipment......the weak link in the equation is actual enforcement.

 

[theory816]

The incidence of drivers improperly using their high beams has grown exponentially in the last decade. Drivers really suck now, especially those younger than 30. I am 57 and couldn't wait to get my driver's license at 15. In fact, I didn't wait and drove the family car around the neighborhood when I was 14. I was able to drive a manual transmission without dumping the clutch at about age 10. Young people today don't even want to drive. It's a chore or a nuisance for them so they have no clue what constitutes good driving.

Im sure young people still love to drive but can't afford a car. Just the other day I say a kid that looked underage driving his parents minivan to get some mcdonalds lol.

 

[theory816]

As a retired county deputy, who wrote a goodly amount of citations (including vehicle equipment violations), based on my personal dealings with the public, one of the significant reasons more people drive around with their high-beams on, is simply because they have no idea what they are, what that little blue indicator light is on the dash, and have absolutely no clue how to turn them on or off. Idaho state code says a person has to dim everything upon 200 feet from behind, and 500 feet oncoming, which includes those fashionable "driving/fog" lights. They get stopped,. and 90% of the time the driver has no idea there is a switch that will turn those off.
I have stopped countless people that pass me without dimming their headlights, and when I stop them and question them.....they are literally ignorant of what is wrong. I was pretty aggressive when it came to vehicle code violations. Not a heartless badge heavy Buford, but strict and firm. I never gave warnings for trailers without lights, or blue lights of any type. Idaho says absolutely no blue lights, lenses or globes (?). Press hard, 5 copies. Another popular violations were those red, green (or blue) led rings around the headlights. The ground effect lights.....you guessed it, press hard 6 copies. Those smoked dark plastic covers people put over their tail lights and headlights? No warnings, and if there is an attitude, they get a citation for each individual light. "But I bought the car with them on it!", or "They sell them at the local parts house!"......."Yeah, they sell beer-- and it's illegal to drink drunk. Did you read the fine print on the packaging? Right where it said something along the lines of "Check local laws and codes before installation, not for street use."




As to the original post, in many jurisdictions, there ARE laws that deal with lighting/equipment......the weak link in the equation is actual enforcement.

I think most people know what that blue light high beam is because generally to turn them on you push the rod instead of flicking a switch. They most likely were playing dumb when you pulled them over for it. The reason I say that is because highbeams make the road signs light up very brightly. There's no way you can miss it. I find that if people do turn them on, its because they accidently hit it in which case I would give them a courtesy flash, or, their headlight covers yellow and cloud so they will turn on the highbeams to make up for the lost of brightness. I think you did an awesome job giving warnings to high bimmers because those are more forgiveable but not to blue aftermarket lights. I wouldve done the same.

This doesn't apply to current headlight technology, but I think when driving around urban and inner city, I think manufacturers should add a low power headlight mode, which under powers and dims the headlight. Less light on the car means you'll use the street lights to guide your driving. And when you get on the highway at night, you turn it back on to full power.

 

[idleprocess]

This doesn't apply to current headlight technology, but I think when driving around urban and inner city, I think manufacturers should add a low power headlight mode, which under powers and dims the headlight. Less light on the car means you'll use the street lights to guide your driving. And when you get on the highway at night, you turn it back on to full power.

So rather than using headlights as a consistent-orientation and -output primary light source you'll instead rely on variably-spaced streetlights with constantly-changing orientation and immensely variable output for ... what ... benefit?

Sure, headlights are optional at the like of the Losail International Circuit, and perhaps the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles. But in my experience such lighting is quite the exception with most streets featuring light standards every 50-100 meters or simply at intersections.

 

[orbital]

+

For the same reason motorcycles have headlight & tail light always On,
it's to be seen by other cars, trucks, whatever.

I'm very in favor of having DRLs' mandatory on vehicles.

 

[theory816]

So rather than using headlights as a consistent-orientation and -output primary light source you'll instead rely on variably-spaced streetlights with constantly-changing orientation and immensely variable output for ... what ... benefit?

Sure, headlights are optional at the like of the Losail International Circuit, and perhaps the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles. But in my experience such lighting is quite the exception with most streets featuring light standards every 50-100 meters or simply at intersections.

Lol. This really shows how much power understand about night lighting.

Your headlights only light up about 100 ft ahead of you. This means, you are using ONLY 100ft of visibility if you depend only on the headlights.

Where as

If I use the streets lights to see up ahead, I'm using the ENTIRE road to see. If you drive in the suburbs and inner city, the streets are well lit. The spacing of the lights pose no problems. Yes, there are some blind areas, but again, this pales in comparison to the 100ft you are getting with your headlights.

And btw, I never said to turn off the headlights entirely. I said to put it in a low power mode, so that it fills in just enough light for those dark spots created by street light.

People hit animals and objects on the road regardless if they have headlights. This is due to the nature at which they come out onto the road, in which case you're helpless either way.