I’m in the camp that think cars headlights should basically work like motorcycle headlights. If the car is running, the lights are on. There’s basically no reason to have them off in general use, it only makes you more visible, even in nice weather.
Don’t all new cars have daytime running lights? I thought that was now standard. Hell, I thought it was required.
Most newer ones have the “auto” feature, which typically involves a daytime light of some kind). Some people just turn it off.
But to the commenter’s point, why not just have them on all the time no matter what? Is there a disadvantage?
Nope. The issue is many drivers don’t understand car electronics and that the alternator is constantly generating power as the car goes along. They turn it off thinking it will save battery life.
To be fair, power isn’t free. I think I remember reading that having headlights on reduces gas milage by something like 1% for LED bulbs and 5% for other types.
Edit: I was wrong, but not like super wrong. HowStuffWorks estimates it to be an average of 1%
The only other reason I can think of is, would it make the headlights burn out fast? Not that it wouldn’t be worth it either way imo. Idk how much of a difference it would make on the lifespan, or if replacing headlights is even something people have to worry about all lol, pls bear with me I don’t drive
No.
Canada requires it, US does not.
The headlights, tail lights are a different story though. My car def can have the tail lights off at night. That’s not right at all
No we do. There was a short period a decade ago where they had it and we didn’t but thats not true anymore
Google says otherwise. Maybe your state does, but it’s not federally mandated.
There are a lot of cars where the daytime running lights are just little outer Halos and not actual headlights. I fucking hate these because people think their headlights are on and don’t realize that the back of their car is completely black at night because the back lights are not on only the front daytime running.
I don’t know what the fuck manufacturers were thinking with that, just fucking turn the lights on if the car is in Drive simple as that
Don’t most cars have sensors to use the full lights at night? Holy shit, have I been driving with no lights at night???
Only if they are in the auto position for the headlights, many of these cars even if they switch is set to off will still have those Halo running lights when turned on which people mistake for headlights because most of them are LED now and fairly bright. So they drive around with the back of their car completely dark but when you go to pass them you realize that they have their running lights on and it does look potentially like a set of headlights even though it’s not
My dad’s 2018 Rav doesn’t and I was shocked.
That’s weird because I have a base model 2018 Rav and it definitely does.
It’s possible I missed it and it somehow was turned off? Also, do you know how to change the settings for the windshield wipers?
settings for the windshield wipers
https://assets.sia.toyota.com/publications/en/om-s/OM0R012U/pdf/OM0R012U.pdf
Page 225
Thank you for linking that! I drove over to my parents place today to take a look at my father’s Rav and let him know. What’s interesting is when I got in there it doesn’t have the little rotating up and down for the windshield wipers when you put it into the INT setting. So I pulled out the manual from his glove box, and it shows the same picture as the manual you sent. But that part is just not there on his vehicle. So confused.
The manual suggests the intermittent wipers are an optional thing, which is bullshit if you ask me, but whatever.
Set it to auto on the left lever’s knob. And are you talking about the speed settings for the windshield wipers? It should be just pushing the right lever down. There are 4 positions, off-lo-med-hi. Hold up for a quick wipe, pull towards you for windshield washer fluid, and away from you for the rear windshield fluid.
That’s a requirement for cars sold in Canada, though I still see cars with their lights off frequently.
Since 2021 only
Some countries have mandatory daytime running light (like Canada). I had an inspection on a 25+ years old car and had to Mumbo-Jumbo some relays in there to have my fog lights turn on when the car’s running but back to manual if my headlights were on.
I drive a school bus and we’re required by law to have our headlights and running/clearance/identification lamps on at all times. So why in the fuck do buses even have a switch for that shit that we have to remember to flick on every time we start the bus?
…they do, nowadays. This is clearly a truck, and probably older.
They definitely don’t in the US. Most have automatic lights, sure. Maybe in the coming years we’ll catch up to other countries in that regard
“daytime running lights” are the worst. Makes the person think “my lights are on, I don’t need to do anything” but then it’s just front lights no taillights or corner lights.
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Put your god damn phone down and stop taking pictures with it when you’re behind the wheel of a semi when it’s raining.
Sorry. Had to be said. Drive safe friend.
Totally. I don’t know if semis are as susceptible to hydroplaning as cars, but I had an awful hydroplaning incident 15 years ago that still scares me. Regained control after what felt like hours of fishtailing.
Semi driver here. No accidents but I have definitely hydroplaned in a fully loaded truck. Load was around 45k putting the total vehicle weight at around 75k.
I felt the hydroplaning start and I clenched hard enough to shit diamonds.
Right after I wrote that I hydroplaned halfway through Wisconsin. Apparently they like to leave a small river in the center of each lane.
I came here to say this, I get the point for the post but OP isn’t making the road safer by doing this.
It’s like you heard “don’t use your phone when driving” on the news one day and thought “okay, that’s because the act of physically holding a phone means you’re driving unsafely, understood newsperson!”
This is absolutely nothing like texting or fucking around on instagram. Stop trying conflate doing something that takes literally no braincells and is no more distracting than anything else you do in the car to being completely distracted and non-functional while texting, browsing the web, or watching TikTok videos.
You have to open the camera on the phone and take the photo. That is distracting. That is time your eyes aren’t on the road. That might involve actions that are touchscreen use and more difficult since it’s not based on feel.
You’re too quick to dismiss this.
To play devil’s advocate, depending on the phone you can take pictures with only the buttons. On most android phones you can double tap the power button to open the camera and volume down to take pictures.
Op still should not have used their phone while driving a commercial vehicle though
Everyone under 40 can do this with their eyes closed, more so than all the new touch screen bullshit modern cars have these days to put on the heat.
Just because you’re physically holding a phone doesn’t mean you’re even close to being as distracted as texting.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Just because you can change the temperature in your car from cold to warmer doesn’t mean you should either, but it’s a risk we, for some reason, think is reasonable. Not because it’s not potentially harmful, but because this one person should get a tiny bit warmer even if that means running over a bunch of school children. Why?
You could make the case that what OP is doing is far more beneficial to society, bringing attention to people not using their headlights in the rain with a very clear example showing its effects. This could be spread to thousands or even millions of people to make them realize how dangerous this is. This could potentially save tons of lives.
Is there ever a reason to not have them on?
Old cars had old-school bulbs and no sensors, so the driver, not wanting to waste bulb lifespan, was responsible for.using them when they needed them.
Modern cars with LEDs don’t have the usage problem, but some cheaper models don’t have sensors.
Anyway a modern car has no reason not to be have them on, unless you were parking or something and didn’t want to blind people seated nearby, but that’s a very specific edge case.
Folks need to realize that having headlights on in the rain isn’t meant to help you see, but to help others see you.
This goes for signals too. Don’t turn it on when you’re already turning
Signals??? You mean the turn reminder? Because i use it to remind people i already started turning a second ago.
“No, I can see just fine, it doesn’t matter thay my car is the color of a wet road, I don’t need headlights”.
As a Canadian, we have auto daytime running lights on all the time but then people think they don’t need to turn the actual headlights on which are brighter and turn the rear taillights on so they are still invisible from behind.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out the thought process behind DRLs.
Let’s create a separate set of headlights that are always on for safety and visibility… They won’t be quite as bright as actual headlights, but they are bright enough that you might think you have your headlights on. Oh, and no tail lights for some reason!
Even my 2013 with headlights that turn off automatically when they are in the ON and the car is shut off, still insists I’m supposed to use the AUTO mode which only activates in low light.
Nothing about about it makes any logical or safety sense. There is zero reason whatsoever that the standard for 30 years hasn’t been for all standard lights to be on whenever the engine is running, with the specific option to turn them off if desired.
Headlights are designed to illuminate the road in front of you. DRLs are designed to be seen by others.
Headlights deliberately avoid sending light up or sideways towards the eyes of other drivers, so they often aren’t very visible during the day. DRLs send light in all directions and are bright points or strips of light, so they stand out more without blinding other drivers.
If your DRLs aren’t very good, that’s a different problem. Older ones with incandescent bulbs weren’t. They do have a purpose that headlights aren’t great at, though.
Yeah many modern vehicles do this really well. My car has a bright LED strip that runs over each headlight. Those are my DRLs. They don’t get in anyone’s eyes, they don’t reflect off glass, but they are very clear to see when driving during the day. At night, I have headlights. They do an excellent job at illuminating the road, but they can also shine in people’s eyes going over an incline, reflect in people’s mirrors, etc
I would agree if cunts didn’t pull out on me all the time in broad daylight. Driving a vehicle with DRLs drastically reduced this.
I think the lights trigger a response that gets them to look up from their phone momentarily.
DRLs aren’t for better visible in inclement conditions, it’s in the name. Daytime Running Lights.
DRLs are usually lower power draw the the bulbs last longer. Driving around with your headlights on all day just means you’re replacing headlights more often.
There’s also the heat generated by lots of LED assemblies. It’s nice to have lower power DRLs.
The weird part is why weren’t tail lights included in DRLs.
At least Transport Canada, finally thought about it:
New lighting standard
As of September 2021 the Canadian Vehicle Lighting Regulation will require that all new vehicles sold in Canada have one of the following:
- tail lights that come on automatically with daytime running lights
- headlights, tail lights, and side marker lights that turn on automatically in the dark
- a dashboard that stays dark to alert the driver to turn on the lights
This standard will apply to all new vehicles (cars, trucks, SUVs, 3-wheeled vehicles, motorcycles and heavy trucks).
Why don’t auto manufactures legally have to make them linked to turning on wiper blades? I’ve never understood this?
why don’t your politicians pass a law that makes them mandatory to be turned on at all times?
it has been like that in the EU for fuck knows how long.
whether it’s raining, snowing or sun shining, you turn on your lights.
newer cars (read almost 10 years old by now) have special front leds that are always on as that meets regulation.
personally I have an almost 10 year old car and it automatically switched between he daylight running lights and the normal headlights
older cars simply have to have their headlights turned on all the time.
I’ve always wondered this. Why are the on just when it’s raining? Why not all the time? What is the justification for operating a car on the road without lights on?
In Slovakia and AFAIK nearby countries you will get pulled over and ticketed if you don’t have your headlights on at all times
saving a few bucks on the bulbs I guess. No real reason not to have them, owning a car is already expensive, the added cost from headlight bulbs being replaced more frequently is a rounding error.
Really the main reason is gonna be that that’s how things are done and so there is no political will to change it.
I think I’ve had to change bulb once every ten years and I live somewhere they’re turned on during the day. It’s probably the cheapest part of car ownership.
The corolla I had 20 years ago had auto lights. It was not a fancy trim. Literally the base model with a standard transmission. I don’t get why other manufacturers are so far behind.
why don’t your politicians pass a law
I’m gonna stop you right there chief. We don’t pass useful laws here. We only pass laws on congress dress code and play speaker of the house shuffle. Maybe you were thinking of some other country.
Let’s not act as if this is a good solution. Constantly running your headlights fucks them up. Plenty of cars on the EU roads with one headlight not shining, really dim ones etc. And the LEDs you mention do fuckall since they aren’t even close to the required intensity, they are lit up to satisfy the law and nothing else.
I rarely ever see a car with defect headlights here in austria and didn’t have to change mine once over the past 200k kilometers.
Also LEDs not only run with significantly higher efficiency (meaning they shine brighter, on less power); they also have a much longer lifespan. They use up less space and they are more resistant to damage from vibration than its two competing technologies. They are the superior lighting source in most every aspect. You were thinking of halogen lamps, which are the old standard that is currently being removed.
And yet I see those all the time in Poland, where a lot of people have older cars.
No, I am talking about daylight LED’s, the one that turn on when you start the engine. Most of the ones that are on cars I see are just a glorified LED strip. They simply exist so you don’t have to use the main ones. And again, they do fuckall. They’re just there so the cops don’t ticket you.
And the LEDs you mention do fuckall since they aren’t even close to the required intensit
In the U.S., this isn’t currently a requirement. But data suggests that maybe it should be. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that daytime headlights use reduced daytime crashes from light trucks and vans by 5.7%.
Daytime running lights are mandatory in Canada, unfortunately your politicians are unable to pass useful legislation if it can’t be played for votes
Was this picture taken as the driver? While driving? …what appears to be a school bus?
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Having worked on these school buses it’s possible that this is a special needs school bus. The bus monitor may have been the one taking pictures. I’ve taken photos before, especially when there are aggressive drivers, or safety hazards on the road to report to non emergency and emergency services.
It’s my constitutional right to do whatever I like. -Republican coal rollers.
Yeah, they used that argument when seat belts became legally required and when they banned drinking alcohol while driving.
I wish I was joking but you can look up the news clips on YouTube…
Person being unsafe with camera use while driving complains about others being unsafe while driving.
Passenger seats are a thing
Person violating dot rules and just risked their commercial license.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/driver-safety/distracted-driving/mobile-phone-restrictions-fact-sheet
But my lights are on auto!
It’s really dumb that automatic windshield wipers dont also turn on the automatic headlights.
On many cars, they do.
Automatic windshield wipers sounds like it would annoy the hell out of me. Possibly even more than how cars never seem to have a wiper speed suitable to the rain level I end up driving in.
They are irritating af. They either don’t react fast enough to changing weather, or they overdo it and force you to turn the auto feature off anyway. Terrible design.
This is what I had envisioned apart from it automatically changing speed too, or trying to. Based on the other response I guess the implementations vary across different cars and ability to function as intended also varies.
I ended up with them on my crv… u do actually enjoy them! The wiper speed seem to match the level of moisture
For some cars* On Hyundai’s the lights come on when the rain sensor is triggered or the wipers are on.
Where I live it’s mandatory to drive with you lights on during the day.
It’s your responsibility, not the car.
Just turn them on when your car is on, no matter the weather or time.
How we haven’t made that an automatic feature for all cars boggles me.
Shit, I’ll compromise, only when it’s in reverse or drive, the lights should be on.
Became a feature in Canada in 2021! Mandatory auto headlights became the minimum required by law.
Don’t use your phone to take pictures while driving.
Not sure if it’s your truck or not but rain x can go a long way for your visibility. Also agree with headlights being on.
One of the brands of hydrophobic car wax at can tire is great too. I put it on the glass after washing, razoring, and claying it. It lasted so damn long and I didn’t even use the wipers until snow started. I also fully cleaned off all the mold or mildew gunk off the house windows and applied the same wax almost ten years ago and it has stayed crystal clear to this day. The first time I cleaned it, it went back to how it was after a year or so.
I fucking hate shit like this. Also, possibly even more, if you’re going to drive a car, fucking maintain it. I have been behind a shitbox rattletrap that lost its rear passenger wheel that I was thankfully far enough away from it to be able to avoid it before it hit my car
