OT Idiot lights-out drivers

[clare]

Pull the parking brake on - - - - - - -

[clare]

My 20 year old pickup had DRL

[clare]

Requires specialized body computer programming device to reprogam the BCM - and in Canada it's illegat to defeat them.

[DerbyDad03]

When I taught my kids to drive I told them that they should be courteous to the drivers behind them by signalling their intention to turn *before* stepping on the brake.

My biggest peeve is having someone apply their brakes and slow down as they approach an intersection or driveway and then put their blinker on just before they turn. I should be able to sit in my car and say:

"Oh, look...his blinker is on. He is probably going to slow down and then turn. Yep...there are the brakes lights."

Instead of:

"Brake lights? Why is he slowing down? There is no one in front of him. Oh...there's his blinker. Idiot."

[Percival P. Cassidy]

I see you have .ca email address. AFAIK, DRLs were required in Canada long ago, but on our Canadian-built '02 Chrysler 300M DRLs weren't even a factory-fitted option; I bought the module and plugged it in, and they work.

Perce

[DerbyDad03]

Perhaps if the owner had the computer that the dealer had.

Even some of the newer remote start units have to be programmed by the installer using a computer. No more using key-fob sequences to set the horn or run time options like in the "old days".

[clare]

They were not an option in "export" vehicles in 02 because some idiot states still had laws on the books making them illegal, apparently.

At least on an Canadian built US market vehicle all you need to do is plug in a module to make them work and make them legal for importation into canada. Many US built "domestic market" vehicles require a real bodge job to get DRLs working to make them legal to import into Canada (along with things like having to replace the inferior-spec bumpers etc).It used to be quite a few US vehicles could not be imported into canada at all because they could not be brought up to Canadian spec, but most of them are now over 15 years old and allowed in. There are still some that cannot be brought in - like 2005 2wd Jimmy/Blazer, any Lotus other than 01-04 esprit,, Mercedes CLK63 Black Series or S500 Guard Package, Tesla Model S, some Masaratti and McLaren, and quite a few Saleen, Shelby and Roush Mustangs (if converted after sale - not purchased from Ford as finished vehicles) and van conversions not done by a recognized list of converters.

[Mark Storkamp]

There was a time if you wanted to get lynched, just drive into an astronomy star party with your lights on. Or let your dome light come on. Older cars were easier to make dark, but now you've got to learn all the right fuses to pull.

[Percival P. Cassidy]

We just bought a 2008 Pontiac Vibe (re-badged Toyota Matrix) from a Canadian friend who was returning to Canada and didn't want to have to mess with beefing it up to Canadian standards on top of having to pay import duty.

Perce

[Sam E]

[snip] v

I'm above average. My vehicle is 17.1 years old. :-)

BTW, it does have DRL.

[DerbyDad03]

The light pollution problem is not a thing of the past.

The oil boom in Texas is a bust for some astronomers.

[Don Y]

What about defective head/tail/signal lamps? I consciously notice which lamps are lit (headlamp/running lamp/turn signal) each time I pull up behind a vehicle with some of mine lit. Likewise, notice in the rear view mirror if one side of the car behind me is "less red" (from my brake lights) while we're sitting at a stop light.

Periodically will "linger" behind the car as we are exiting the house and ask SWMBO (driving) to tap brakes, turn signals, etc. so I can verify their operation.

How could you *not* "notice" that the light in front of your vehicle is uneven" Or, that there is no "yellow glow" apparent alongside your vehicle from your turn signal?

[Ans: because you're simply not noticing MOST of the things that you SHOULD be noticing while driving!]

[DerbyDad03]

I'm just on this side of the average - 4 vehicles averaging 10.75 years old, but one of them is on the far side.

SWMBO picked up this beauty last July.

2003 AWD Honda Element EX 69K miles (no, I didn't drop the 1) Single owner (retired engineer) Florida car $6800

Sweet! (No DRL)

[Mr Macaw]

If you can't see an unlit car, you need to either see an optician or stop driving immediately. When I see someone like that I just flash to remind them to put them on.

[Mr Macaw]

Not everybody has brand new fancy cars.

[Mr Macaw]

Those stupid things should be banned, they're a distraction. Lights are to inform you of.... someone making a turn, an ambulance, etc, etc. If everybody has lights, you no longer notice things you should, you don't see unlit things like pedestrians, etc. In countries like Austria where they did proper surveys, they found that they INCREASE accidents by 12%.

[Mr Macaw]

Disconnect the stupid things. If the car moans about it, connect a dummy load under the hood where it can't distract other road users.

[Mr Macaw]

An even stupider thing about daytime running lights is they don't turn the tail lights on, which means there are now loads of people driving around at night with only the front lights on, not realising they are unlit at the back. If you have no front lights on in the day, when it gets dark you notice.

[Mr Macaw]

Can't he just drive it registered to the US? Like if you were on holiday?

[Mr Macaw]

Use normal headlights like people did before all this bullshit.