TOT: Modern car lights: reasoning?

[Nightjar]

[Nightjar]

On 17/09/2014 22:29, Another John wrote: ...

Are there modern cars that have DRLs but not auto lights? If so, it wouldn't take much to mandate auto lighting as well.

[Adrian]

On Wed, 17 Sep 2014 22:59:32 +0100, Nightjar Are there modern cars that have DRLs but not auto lights?

Shitloads of them. DRLs are mandatory. Autolights are still spec-sheet bling.

[Nightjar]

Auto lights have been on every car I've owned this century. As I said, it really wouldn't be a problem to mandate them if, like DSLs, there were compelling evidence that it would reduce accidents.

[Another John]

YES! That's another incomprehensible design "feature"! I wouldn't call them tiny, nor even in the middle ... but some cars (I think I've noticed VW being a culprit here?) have the indicators positioned

*inside* the front lights. If the lights are on (and if they're auto, or DRL, they will be ) then it's often very difficult to see the indicator flashing.

TBH, I don't know if they've started to back off on that one: I don't notice them _that_ often.

I have noticed that ??Jaguars make the DRL flash off if the indicator flashes on ... this makes for a (very noticeable) light show effect... You have to wonder what sort of dorks have replaced the engineers in some car design studios :-)

John

[Andy Burns]

With Audis, the DRLs are dimmed while indicating (not dimmed per flash, but as long as the stalk is up or down).

The thing that annoys me most about modern car lighting are rear clusters which have a circle of orange surrounded by a ring of red (or vice-versa).

[Adrian]

Audi were the originators of that particular admission of fuckwittery, dimming the DRL when the indicator comes on.

[Adrian]

Yep, L322 Range Rover's about the worst.

[alan_m]

Probably because a lot of people can see LEDs flashing they assume that its a turn indicator and you are going to turn off before you reach them.

[Martin Brown]

More likely because they don't bother to look before moving: "there is never anything coming at this time of day school of driving".

You don't see LEDs flashing as such except in your peripheral vision.

Mostly the effect is that you see a stream of images like a strobe effect when you turn your head. Pedestrian crossing red man indicators are particularly bad for this.

[David]

(snip)

I thought this, but was trying to be polite...

I'm 100% with Adrian when he says that drivers should be re-tested every

5 years.

David

[Mike]

I wonder how much it costs (in fuel) to have all cars in teh EU (or in the UK) running with their lights on and also, how much extra carbon this puts into the atmosphere?

- Mike

[Tim Watts]

Ah - that doesn't count because:

Official form to leave lights on all the time regardless of energy wastage/climate change impact:

Tick all that apply

-------------------

a) Health and safety (eg motor vehicles);

b) Business impact (eg shops);

c) Procedural convenience (eg office blocks, guard rounds);

d) Government properties;

[Adrian]

All considered in this TRL report for the consultation period, back in '06.

drl_trl.pdf

Roughly 0.5% additional CO2.

[Adrian]

Oops, sorry - assuming entirely daytime use. Assuming a mix, less than

0.3% additional.

[Alan Braggins]

My parents had one. The manual told you what fuse to remove to disable them, and you could still switch the sidelights on, so I'm not sure why you would want switchable running lights.

[David]

On our car, the LEDs surround the headlamp unit and are so bright, I suppose, if glanced at quickly, it *might* look like I flashed the lights to *allow* them to emerge, maybe...

David

[David]

(snip)

The Ford Kas we had, had brilliant headlamps. Well defined beams and just from normal incandescent lamps. Actually better than the 2003 and

2005 Audis we had after with Xenons, which rather put me off them.

David

[David]

Imagine you are driving a busy urban street in daylight, with shops and pedestrians. The endless line of traffic coming towards you has LED DRLs blazing, how difficult do think it would be to see a small child run out from between parked cars on the other side of the road, or an un-lit cyclist waiting to turn right ? These are easily masked by the brilliant dazzling glare from the high intensity lamps.

What next to be illuminated, DRLs for cyclists, kids scooters, postie trollies ?

IMHO

David

[polygonum]

We already have numerous shoes/footwear with various forms of built-in illumination.