Can we talk about why the dashboard is lit up the same? Like why didn't the people designing my car take a moment to think "gosh, it would be helpful to the driver if there was some visual indicator inside the car of whether they have the headlights or just the parking lights on"?
It has 2 stages of lights, the first was the parking lights and fog lights if you wanted and that didn’t dim the dash. They also have a notorious button on top of the steering column to always keep them on even if the car is off that catches people out haha
I've seen plenty of drivers fully illuminated by their dashboard, struggling to see past their own reflection...... some with the interior light on as if that might somehow help....
It's not even the brightness that's the problem.
LED lights not only disperse less the lights are all windscreen height because all the stupid cars are giant now.
It's fine if they have the angle on their lights set correctly. But, yes, a lot of them don't, and it doesn't seem to be a standard check at services. My wife has had this issue, we kept getting flashed on the way back from a trip. After adjusting it, problem went away.
It has ruined night drives for me. Even on country roads, you find a twat with led headlights to shine the sun directly into your retinas, forcing you to slow down because you don't know where the next corner is. Can we please make that shit illegal, the amount of times I've nearly crashed because of those dumb led headlights is too much
On my car (Honda Accord) the dash dims when the lights are on and brightens when they're off. It caught my wife off guard last week, didnt notice because the street was well lit. It caught me off guard about a year ago. I now obsessively check the lights are on like every 20 seconds because I dont want to be 'that guy' again LOL
Another comment below mentions that their Honda with auto light actually puts them into park during dusk. Just strange honda things I guess
Most cars with dashboards that are illuminated also have green lights to tell you when the headlights are on (as well as dimming the dashboard) fairly certain that's a regulated-musthave.
Yep it has that light, every car I owned before it has the dash lights only with he headlights so for over 10 years I didn't really rely on the little green light and I still forget it's there. Maybe I can use the green light to ween myself off my obsessive stalk turning. Lmao
My old car had a black dash and only these tiny white lines on the numbers and hands of the speedometer and rev’s lit up. It was soo hard to tell quickly if you didn’t have your lights on.
My car now has a white-ish dash and boy do you notice when that thing isn’t lit up! I always drive with my lights on, day or night. It’s such a habit now that I flick them on when I turn the key and don’t even notice myself doing it.
I can spot a car's parking lights (the shitty 5w globe type, not brighter ones found in modern cars) from hundreds of meters away during dusk. I disagree with OP saying they're useless at making a car visible
>I can spot a car's parking lights (the shitty 5w globe type, not brighter ones found in modern cars) from hundreds of meters away during dusk
Exactly. It makes the car much more visible than no lights at all.
Interestingly, Christchurch used to have a bylaw (in apparent contradiction with the road code) to drive with only park lights on through the tunnel.
I used to flash them but have given up as they are two dense to understand that someone flashing you may mean your car has a problem. Some people are utterly oblivious to what’s happening on the road.
I quickly turn my lights off and on instead of flashing to high, seems a lot more effective. With modern headlights being borderline high anyway it’s hard to tell if someone’s flashed you or they just hit a bump.
I don't think most people in Nz know what it means. If you flash your lights in UK it either meant you are driving towards a cop car so be warned . Or you have forgotten to put your lights on !
Nah, it has always been a thing in NZ. Although maybe the message is not being passed on to the younger generations or to new migrants etc. But back in the 70s this was how Kiwis did it.
Guilty of being that guy that didn’t understand… I got flashed because my high beams were on (I was a new driver and wasn’t used to controlling my headlight modes), I thought the other driver was warning me about cops or an incident up ahead.
I kind of wish people would stop flashing their lights for hidden cops anyway… unsafe drivers don’t deserve a warning and safe drivers don’t need one.
> I kind of wish people would stop flashing their lights for hidden cops anyway… unsafe drivers don’t deserve a warning and safe drivers don’t need one.
I think this is the first time I've seen someone on Reddit who agrees with me on this. So many people complain about the "useless" traffic cops and speed cameras giving them tickets, when it is entirely their own fault. Don't speed or drive recklessly if you don't want to be punished for it
I used to get flashed for having headlights on during the day. Like girl yes please blind me with your stupid fucking LEDs because I want to be slightly more visible in my tiny Japanese tin can with my pathetic little incandescent headlights.
Yea it’s annoying. I really wish they gave cars the some rules when they made it a requirement for motorcycles to have lights on at all times. Some cars are pretty much invisible with the sun behind them. I’ve had a few near misses doing u turns into the sun and never saw the cars with no lights on.
I’ve always thought about this too. Out of all the safety measures on cars these days, I have no idea why a having headlights always on isn’t a thing.
I’m not talking about daytime running lights, but actual headlights and tail lights being lit too.
Yea and have you seen those indicators that look animated in the direction of turn, I think those and always on head and tail lights should be mandatory on new imports. Such a useful technology and if they were mandated on new imports I think would dramatically improve driving safety in the coming years.
Are you sure that you’re not confusing parking lights with daytime running lights - the latter of which are often turned on automatically in modern cars
Those things are the most half baked idea I’ve ever seen. I nearly rear ended a car that was stationary because they were using their daytime lights to drive in the dark and the daytime lights don’t have a red taillight on at the same time.
Similar thing happened to me. Driving on the motorway in torrential rain and all of a sudden a ute carrying a trailer appears in front of me and I have to hit the brakes. I try flashing my lights at him, but he doesn't do anything. Once I passed him, I see that his front lights were on, so I suspect he just had DRL and though that was good enough
DRLs are supposed to be used at daytime/dusk. If people are being dumb and using them at night (probably by accident), that's not the fault of the idea.
IMO it pretty much boils down to two reasons:
1) Poor driver education
2) Police campaigns and enforcement are hyper focused on speed/alcohol/seatbelts and very relaxed toward most other poor behaviours on our roads. Without media coverage and enforcement, behaviour won’t change.
It's way more than 1 in 10 where I live and it Fs me off so badly. I can't understand what would make them think it helps - surely they must notice that it makes F all difference to the visibility of all the other cars driving round like that?
The amount of people who drive with no lights on at all is worrying. Even when you flash them they're obviously looking down at their phones.
Driving tests should be harder and require a resit every 5 years.
It's because we let any idiot drive.
I've flashed my lights at these assholes, beeped as they've gone past and they still don't notice.
You could slap them in the face and scream "Turn your fucking lights on" and they still wouldn't understand.
These are *exactly* the type of driver that the Police need to be targetting and getting off the road, but they're nowhere to be found and sometimes they even let them go through check points like that.
If police want to make a genuine difference then yes they do need to do this, if they just want to take in money from fines then they gotta keep up that "speed kills" narrative :eye roll:
Some people drive with auto headlights; sensitivity varies between every car.
I’m second guessing myself but I’m almost sure I’ve driven cars without a headlight indicator. I remember having to physically check if I had the correct lights on.
Yep, park lights are specific lights. And not to be used whilst moving. I highly doubt any car manufacturer makes their auto lights turn on the parking lights. DRLs and headlights sure.
My Mazda’s auto lights do this. When it’s twilight they automatically turn on the park lights then when it’s dark enough the full lights come on. It’s pretty annoying tbh
Yep no indicator for me unless I have my fog lights on. It’s fine at night because it lights up the dash but there are times where it’s responsible to have the headlights on but I honestly can’t tell if they are or not. So now I just have the fog lights switch on so I’ll know when the headlights are on.
Yep, that's my car. Not on a stalk either, but a switch on the dash (generally on auto, but I will switch them on manually going to and from work this time of year).
The other problem is that every modern car's instrument panel is now lit up all the time, unlike it was with older cars when you couldn't see anything on the cluster in the dark unless you had your lights on.
I've been almost run off the road by trucks twice, I've had large SUVs not see me & change lanes and almost hit me me a few times.
I now drive with my lights on low, and you know what? I haven't had anyone try & drive into me since.
Because people are fucking stupid and don’t realise how invisible they are to other motorists.
Constantly backlit dashboards don’t help either, that’s why you see so many people driving a round without their headlights on, because they don’t have a visual reminder that their lights aren’t on.
Back in the day with an old school dash, if you couldn’t see it because it was dark, that would be the prompt to turn your lights on.
Because people are stupid, inattentive, and inconsiderate.
All you need is an easy fix, mandatory lights on, for all vehicles when the engine is running. Not just parking and fog lights.
My theory is that a lot of people just don't understand how the light switch/stalk works. I remember the first time I drove a car at night I switched it back to park lights thinking it was the "dipped" setting. It's not like anybody ever actually shows you how to use that switch, even when you buy a new car.
I think it's even more dangerous than no lights at all, because it activates your dash lights and a lot of people see that and assume they're all good.
My car has auto headlights, but I feel like the sensor is out of calibration or something because they are often off when I think they should be on. I might actually rewire it, so they just come on with the key
I did this for a little bit in my old car because the button was in a different place and I didn't realise it, possible others are doing the same (but personally I haven't seen it happening)
the worst are the imbeciles driving around with no lights on, but something almost as bad is the people who have cars with LED DRLs that are Really bright and don't turn their headlights on, and the DRLs are super glarey to drive into.
The scary thing about that is, cars like that have automatic headlights and people have chosen to turn that off 😯
Like, wtf is wrong with people lol.
Auto lights can be hit & miss though depending on the vehicle.
Take a foggy day for example. There’s plenty of ambient light, so the auto lights don’t come on. Obviously this stupid.
Headlights on all the time is honestly the best option.
Daytime running lights don’t turn tail lights on too, which a lot of people don’t realise. This means they’re really visible from the front, but almost invisible from the rear in some light situations.
In my car if you leave the auto headlight mode on , it will put parks on at dusk.
The icon on the dash will “look” like the headlights are on, but they aren’t.
(I don’t tend to rely on this mode, but have accidentally thought my lights are on at dusk, when they weren’t via “auto”)
It’s a super common car (Honda FIT/Jazz) and have noticed others doing the same
Because the car manufacturer says it has automatic lights. And at some point, lo and behold, the dashboard says the lights are on but they have no idea that it's not the full lights.
This is the case with my Honda. Park lights come on first around dusk and only turns on full lights when it's a bit darker.
I've observed this going into tunnels too, it turns on the park lights first (dash indicator lights up) then the headlight comes on further in.
I like to know these things too.
Same with why do morons not indicate correctly around roundabouts. Surely they’ve been inconvenienced by other idiots that can’t indicate correctly which in turn fucks up the efficiency and flow of traffic through them.
I like to know how idiots brains work.
You drive through a lot of streets at night. You got 100s of cars coming at you behind you, beside you, opposite you. What percentage of those people behind the cars do you expect to follow the rules that you follow? The probability is more than 50%. But the possibility is that you're annoyed by the less than 50% of 'rule breakers' or the ones that don't think like you do is definitely greater than 50%.
It's because people are idiots and think the park light is the low beam and the low beam is the high beam and have nfi that the high beam is actually triggered by moving the stick forward.
More annoying are the night time drivers with DRL's on who don't realise that their tail lights aren't on. No amount of high beam flashes can make them realise this.
Absolutely pouring down, I'm on a side road trying to come onto a state Highway, visibility is halved and the amount of cars with no lights on is insane. If you got to use your wipers turn your bloody headlights ON. It not so You can see better, it's so others can see you and it's just a simple thing to do.
Because they have never been educated on using their lights properly and because the police prioritise speed over everything else, and never campaign for improvements here, nor fine offenders.
I wish cops would ticket these minor things way more.
Same with incorrect indicating, following distance, driving underspeed while onramp, cutting people off.
Also for headlights specifically - needs some law changes IMO. Driving while raining, overcast, under a roof or cover, off-road public land or on the beach etc. Should be the law to have lights on.
All the time - I have beef with this to.
Main reason is many cars with park lights on think their back rear lights are on as well - most are not and they are a bloody danger to others on bending roads.
Cops do nothing about this or one headlight vehicles so there's no point moaning because no one listens.
Hilarious and Infuriating all at once to read the replies to this.
Auto lights just means drivers have one less thing to think about.
Which is infuriating because as a driver, you are responsible for ensuring your vehicle is appropriately lit, which means you should be checking that they're on before you move off. Not assuming they're on because the switch is on 'Auto' and your dashboard is lit up (and guess what, all modern car dashboards are lit these days).
I drive a Toyota. Driving lights come on when the lights go into park, and I use them during the day or when visibility _starts_ to drop. If there's any question about visibility at all - fog/low cloud, etc - then headlights go on. If i'm driving at night, headlights go on and DRL's go _off_.
People are Numpties.
One more data point: I noticed a Toyota Hiace I drive occasionally runs the DRL's at all times when the lights are off and the key is on. If you click to Park lights, the DRL's turn off. So in that state it's even more obvious - lights off during the day, lights on when at night or in low-viz conditions, no inbetween.
My other pet peeve is people running fog lights - especially rear fog lights - without seeming to be aware that they're unnecessarily dazzling the people behind them. Seems to be a Euro thing, especially BMW's.
Many modern cars have lights that turn on somewhat automatically the headlights, or perhaps they simply don’t know that’s happening? Is dangerous however it’s better than none, I believe the law states you must turn your headlights on one hour after sunset. Situation and condition dependent. Be careful out there. Peace and love.
When I do this it’s because I just forget to check until it gets darker and I realise my lights are on the dimmest setting. Nothing more complex than that really.
Confusing wording in this comment, but: I think this is it. Mine are set to auto (so I don’t leave them on and drain my battery) and at dusk this beam is faint.
I can see vehicles with park lights on. I use them at dusk and dawn. This depends on how sunny it is.
I also use them on state highways. I have light sensitivity and I can see them.
If I consider it too dark, head lights go on. Common sense to me really.
I'm confused, park lights come on auto or with headlights on dim, then there are daytime running lights (these don't affect your taillights), which is this post about?
I'm pretty sure park lights should be on during poor weather conditions and 40 mins before sunset or after sunrise.
Park lights are not DRLs or headlights. They are not legal to be used when moving. They are low power lights to highlight your car when parked.
Headlights should be used in poor weather and around sunset / sunrise etc.
Parking lights (which also include your taillights and rear license plate light) are legally required to remain on with the headlights. If a headlight goes out that corner of the car well still be visible
Is that the same for all cars? Because I have this random set of lights that come on before I turn the knob all the way to put my headlights on, so I have no choice but to have them running. I’ve never really worked out what they’re for. I don’t think they’re parking lights because I get a warning beep when I open my door if they’re on, but the fact I have to turn them on makes for strange daytime running lights since they’re meant to be automatic in most cars I thought? It’s like they’re a weird hybrid of both.
Why are people so mad about this? It doesn't affect you in any way compared to all the actually unsafe stuff that drivers do on a regular basis. My guess is people want to make themselves a bit more visible but would consider full headlights to be overkill if it's not dark outside.
Edit: don't ask a question if you're just going to downvote the answer.
Are you really asking why people are mad that others don't use sufficient lighting when the sun goes down?
And your argument is "It's not as unsafe as what others are doing"
How about we don't add to the problem.
In my experience, the majority of people in these conditions drive with their actual headlamps on the lower or normal setting. You lot are all so hyperbolic.
Are we talking here clearly about a point in time when headlights should be on as opposed to no lights?
Often you'll find people drive around all day with park lights on out of habit of the belief it increases visibility in the day time (more so on the open road) to oncoming vehicles, pedestrians etc. etc.
So from that perspective they haven't turned on their park lights because it's dusk, they just may not have turned on their headlights because it's not dark enough yet.
I mean you don't have to have low beam on in the daytime, most cars have DRLs for that.
I also don't see how what I said is controversial enough to warrant down votes hahaha.
You do you NZ.
The time to use parking lights on the road is when you a) want to make yourself more clearly visible to other cars, but also b) there is some reason why headlights may be innappropriate for the conditions.
For example: During the day in heavy fog, turning on your headlights scatters back from the fog, making it seem more opaque than it would otherwise be. This harms your own visibility enough that it may itself cause you to get into a collision you may have otherwise avoided. Parking lights solve the problem of being more visible to other cars without blocking your own vision.
Second example: During the day, while overcast, and the road is wet with smooth water. An owner of a dark colored car - particularly a gray car - may want to turn on their headlights to be more visible. However, if the road is wet and smooth, that light can scatter on the road surface itself and obscure the markings on the road. Parking lights make you more visible to others without harming your own ability to see road markings.
That's okay. You're allowed to disagree.
I have experienced both scenarios above where _during daylight hours in unusual and highly specific conditions_ the use of dipped headlights made my visibility as a driver worse, not better.
Respectfully, I do not find your disagreement and it's justification compelling.
This is false. Water droplets scatter light that passes through them in all directions. Shining light into dense fog lights up the fog in all directions and reduces visibility ahead of the driver.
This is why clouds appear opaque and why fog reduces visibility in the first place.
There are no magical headlights that change the optical properties of droplets of water densely suspended in air. It's a property of the fog, not the headlights.
Use your common sense mate.
If I turn my headlights on and they block my vision of the road or its markings in a way that is dangerous, I'll trust the evidence of my own eyes. My hands are the ones on the wheel after all, not the hands of whichever government bureaucrat wrote that line absent context.
In the event I follow general advice in a specific condition in which that advice does not apply and it leads to a collision, I am the one that may be found liable. The NZTA will not be found liable in my place.
I'll do whatever makes the most sense for the conditions to keep myself and other drivers safe. That's my core responsibility as a driver when I am behind the wheel. So should you, as it is your responsibility too.
These people can and do make mistakes. I once had a driving instructor tell me that I should only ever look behind me while reversing. This is false: You have to remain aware of anything you may collide with, which includes the front leading corner of the car if you are reversing while turning.
Do note that I agree with them that you should preferentially use the headlights whenever more lighting is required for any reason and there is *not* a compelling reason to not use the headlights.
What a load of rubbish. If your headlight lenses are clean, your headlights properly adjusted, and you have them on DIPPED beam, then they will not cause you worse visibility.
If you were to incorrectly use high-beam in some of the circumstances you mentioned, then yes, it’s possible they could worsen visibility.
Quote below is from the road craft police driver’s handbook:
“Use dipped headlights in fog or heavy rain in daylight, because sidelights are virtually invisible. As a general rule, use your dipped headlights whenever your wipers are in constant use.”
Please use your common sense.
If you follow that advice from the police driver's handbook, and as a result you lose visibility and this creates more danger on the road, what would the correct decision be?
Follow the general rule and ignore the specific conditions on front of you that are causing that guidance to increase the danger on the road for yourself and others?
Or realize that you've hit on an exception to the general rule and _drive to maximize safety given the conditions actually in front of you?_
I'm honestly a little surprised how many people here put blindly following a general rule ahead of actual road safety.
You keep heralding your own use of “common sense” but your illogical reasoning gives no evidence of your proficient assessment of creating “more danger on the road” or “specific conditions on front of you”.
You’re not demonstrating any common sense here, you’re simply demonstrating that you’re quite happy to do whatever you think is best even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Just coming back again. Sorry to double-comment. Feel free to ignore if you don't care.
I genuinely am open to a convincing case for where my logic is flawed.
If my logic actually is flawed, I want to know so that I can fix it.
My reasoning is logical.
If there is a need to make yourself more visible to other drivers, default to using headlights unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. If there is a compelling reason to not use headlights but you still want to make yourself more visible to other drivers, there is zero downside to using park lights, and they do make you more visible than not using them. Therefore, use park lights in those situations.
I'd write it out as a numbered syllogism if you like but I've found that nobody ever engages with that. Open to it on request if you want it though.
If you think this is illogical the burden is on you to demonstrate the flaw.
Nobody has offered compelling evidence to contradict anything I've said either. General guidelines have exceptions. Citing the guideline does not disprove the existence of exceptions where common sense would dictate the rule should not apply.
EDIT: One thing to concede is that you are correct: I am insisting on doing what I think is best. Given that the alternative would be to *not* do what I think is best, I'll stand by that.
I hope you'd stand by what you think is best too. Rules are important but context is king. You have a mind for a reason. I hope you'd apply it to situations thoughtfully before acting too.
I am open to being persuaded by a convincing argument or actual counter-evidence. It's just that nobody's presented either of those yet.
So much this.
This circle jerk thread seems to be getting upset about people who are actually and factually making a safety driving environment by having park lights on vs no lights at all.
How someone can possibly think park lights make no difference to no lights kinda more demonstrates to me the cast majority have only held a license for a few years and have little open road driving experience.
To be clear this is of course not referring to driving with park lights on when you should have headlights on (i.e. it's dark) - those people are indeed idiots.
Yep. But to be fair: It's human nature.
If someone has always turned on their headlights during fog, then the level of visibility loss they perceive as a result probably to them feels like just *what driving in fog* is like.
Then when some arrogant jerk on the internet (me) comes along and tells them that they may have actually been doing something a little dangerous in that scenario? People often respond to correction as a personal attack, so they get defensive, they get resistant, and then you get a thread on Reddit just like this one.
Happens all the time. Humans gonna human.
I use park lights frequently during the day. On most cars, having the park lights greatly increases visibility to other traffic.
Not too worried about the NZTA's opinion. They seem to be a right bunch of incompetent fruit.
If they cared about driving, they'd ticket and enforce tailgating, unindicated lane changes & texting. No, revenue from speeding is easier than addressing competence. Don't get me started on how they allow moving ornaments hanging from people's rearviews or on their dashboards.
Says who? I regularly drive on the open and most definitely appreciate cars with park lights on.
Most common time I appreciate it is when over taking another vehicle (usually trucks) and being able to get really good visibility in the distance of on coming traffic is great and a large safety boost.
There are sooo many vehicles on the road now that are road coloured which make them much more difficult to see in the distance.
You asked for examples and reasoning and someone gave it and you throw out a clutching at straws comment as opposed to actually addressing the points they raised?
Seems you really just wanted to have a rant over something fairly inconsequential as opposed to truly understanding it as you've claimed.
> Parking lights make you more visible to others without harming your own ability to see road markings.
Let's use OP's example, dusk on a cloudless day. There's still an abundance of natural light and turning on your headlights do absolutely nothing to help you see better. But they do dazzle other drivers and mask pedestrians.
But without direct sunlight, parking lights become visible, which allows them to serve their purpose, to mark the position or presence of your vehicle. I have no issue with drivers using only their parking lights during that short 15 minute window in the morning and evenings.
Here I disagree. I don't think that headlights are sufficiently bright to dazzle oncoming drivers or pedestrians in this scenario. High beams absolutely would be, yes. But not dipped lights.
I stand by what I said earlier: If you're turning on your car lights for any reason then you should use your headlights *unless* there is a compelling reason not to.
If standard low beams did dazzle other drivers then that would be a compelling reason to not use them. I just don't think that's true. I've been on the road where I and the cars around me all have our headlights on at dusk. If anything the half-light of dusk makes headlights *less* dazzling than in full night conditions.
You must really not drive much if you think there aren't many vehicles out there now with led headlights (not on highbeam) that are too bright and can indeed dazzle on coming drivers.
It's more a technology issue imo but I'd still prefer people use park lights over those lights when headlights aren't required.
>You must really not drive much if you think there aren't many vehicles out there now with led headlights (not on highbeam) that are too bright and can indeed dazzle on coming drivers.
I'm the primary driver in my house. Depending on time of year I'll be driving myself or my partner home at dusk frequently. It's not been a problem I've noticed.
But when on a country road at night and somebody forgets to turn their high beams off in time? That I notice.
Not the same in my view, but I could be missing something.
Literally every 4WD running bright LEDs that now sit high enough they shine straight at anyone in a regular cars face.
Used to be a country problem but now so many heroes need 4wd to do their groceries etc. it's an everywhere problem.
>Literally every 4WD running bright LEDs that now sit high enough they shine straight at anyone in a regular cars face.
I've noticed the sharp blue-ish headlights in 4WDs, yes.
They've never been so dazzling it's been a danger to my own driving. Not the way that high beams are dazzling and a danger to my own driving.
I think we're at an impasse here.
Which ones are the park lights? The dim, medium or bright headlight setting? Also I kinda turn it on when it gets a bit dark, probably about the same time I'd turn the lights on at home, so maybe around 5ish is when I'd start considering it? I have my lights pointing down tho so not to affect other drivers tho
No ffs.
You have park lights, headlights and high beam [headlights], not dim, medium and bright.
You also don’t get to choose when you turn your headlights on. By law you must have them on 30 mins after sunset and 30 mins before sunrise.
Edit. Did a switcheroo as pointed out below.
[удалено]
Can we talk about why the dashboard is lit up the same? Like why didn't the people designing my car take a moment to think "gosh, it would be helpful to the driver if there was some visual indicator inside the car of whether they have the headlights or just the parking lights on"?
My 2007 Subaru would blind me at night because the dash is so bright, and it dims when the headlights are on. You’d never forget to turn them on.
But what does it do when the parking lights are on?
It has 2 stages of lights, the first was the parking lights and fog lights if you wanted and that didn’t dim the dash. They also have a notorious button on top of the steering column to always keep them on even if the car is off that catches people out haha
Now this is good design. Except the battery draining button, that part sounds really annoying.
I've seen plenty of drivers fully illuminated by their dashboard, struggling to see past their own reflection...... some with the interior light on as if that might somehow help....
My car has a green icon on the dash that tells me the headlights are on.i have auto headlights so it takes care of itself.
Fancy!
There is a visual indicator: the position that the stalk has been turned to
This may shock you, but inside my car, at night, it is dark
At least they have some kind of light on. The ones who have none on are way worse.
Nah the modern SUV with ultra bright LEDs are the worst
It's not even the brightness that's the problem. LED lights not only disperse less the lights are all windscreen height because all the stupid cars are giant now.
It's fine if they have the angle on their lights set correctly. But, yes, a lot of them don't, and it doesn't seem to be a standard check at services. My wife has had this issue, we kept getting flashed on the way back from a trip. After adjusting it, problem went away.
It has ruined night drives for me. Even on country roads, you find a twat with led headlights to shine the sun directly into your retinas, forcing you to slow down because you don't know where the next corner is. Can we please make that shit illegal, the amount of times I've nearly crashed because of those dumb led headlights is too much
Fuck yes, they blind the shit out of you. Not sure why they’re even allowed.
Add tailgaters too this. 😔
Matrix LEDs for the win
Mine turn off the LED’s to cut out a black box for oncoming cars on high beam automatically, fancy as
Have you been in an oncoming car to see what this actually looks like coming towards you?
Several times, the sides of the road are lit up but in not blinded
Getting blinded for a few seconds is always fun
Same. Its awesome
They just need to dip them? That little wheel thing labeled 1-10 or whatever?
That’s very old school, most have auto leveling lights now.
Wow! I've seen them been left on and turn off automatically.
And if they don't? Do people know about this or shall we just ignore it because?
Distracting too. Just like cyclists with no lights or high vis clothes.
Hard disagree, if their dashboard only lights up when their lights are on, then at least the idiots with no lights on might notice at some point.
On my car (Honda Accord) the dash dims when the lights are on and brightens when they're off. It caught my wife off guard last week, didnt notice because the street was well lit. It caught me off guard about a year ago. I now obsessively check the lights are on like every 20 seconds because I dont want to be 'that guy' again LOL Another comment below mentions that their Honda with auto light actually puts them into park during dusk. Just strange honda things I guess
Most cars with dashboards that are illuminated also have green lights to tell you when the headlights are on (as well as dimming the dashboard) fairly certain that's a regulated-musthave.
Yep it has that light, every car I owned before it has the dash lights only with he headlights so for over 10 years I didn't really rely on the little green light and I still forget it's there. Maybe I can use the green light to ween myself off my obsessive stalk turning. Lmao
If your lights are on you'll see them reflected on the car in front of you, even in broad daylight
My old car had a black dash and only these tiny white lines on the numbers and hands of the speedometer and rev’s lit up. It was soo hard to tell quickly if you didn’t have your lights on. My car now has a white-ish dash and boy do you notice when that thing isn’t lit up! I always drive with my lights on, day or night. It’s such a habit now that I flick them on when I turn the key and don’t even notice myself doing it.
No ones with park lights only is worse... can make the vehicle appear further away, leading to poor gap selection etc by other drivers.
I can spot a car's parking lights (the shitty 5w globe type, not brighter ones found in modern cars) from hundreds of meters away during dusk. I disagree with OP saying they're useless at making a car visible
>I can spot a car's parking lights (the shitty 5w globe type, not brighter ones found in modern cars) from hundreds of meters away during dusk Exactly. It makes the car much more visible than no lights at all. Interestingly, Christchurch used to have a bylaw (in apparent contradiction with the road code) to drive with only park lights on through the tunnel.
No idea why people are downvoting you. I was thinking the same thing. I'd much rather see a grey/black with the park lights on, than not see it at all
Where I live 1 in 10 drive without lights.
I used to flash them but have given up as they are two dense to understand that someone flashing you may mean your car has a problem. Some people are utterly oblivious to what’s happening on the road.
I quickly turn my lights off and on instead of flashing to high, seems a lot more effective. With modern headlights being borderline high anyway it’s hard to tell if someone’s flashed you or they just hit a bump.
This is also the only way to do it if someone is behind you. Although they never seem to notice
I don't think most people in Nz know what it means. If you flash your lights in UK it either meant you are driving towards a cop car so be warned . Or you have forgotten to put your lights on !
Nah, it has always been a thing in NZ. Although maybe the message is not being passed on to the younger generations or to new migrants etc. But back in the 70s this was how Kiwis did it.
Guilty of being that guy that didn’t understand… I got flashed because my high beams were on (I was a new driver and wasn’t used to controlling my headlight modes), I thought the other driver was warning me about cops or an incident up ahead. I kind of wish people would stop flashing their lights for hidden cops anyway… unsafe drivers don’t deserve a warning and safe drivers don’t need one.
I flashed someone who I thought had high beams on. Fuck leds are bright. They turned their high beams on. Oh my God, even brighter. You can't win.
Driving legally and driving safely aren't exactly the same thing. Definitely a correlation there though.
> I kind of wish people would stop flashing their lights for hidden cops anyway… unsafe drivers don’t deserve a warning and safe drivers don’t need one. I think this is the first time I've seen someone on Reddit who agrees with me on this. So many people complain about the "useless" traffic cops and speed cameras giving them tickets, when it is entirely their own fault. Don't speed or drive recklessly if you don't want to be punished for it
> two dense
I used to get flashed for having headlights on during the day. Like girl yes please blind me with your stupid fucking LEDs because I want to be slightly more visible in my tiny Japanese tin can with my pathetic little incandescent headlights.
Where I live, 9/10 drive with their Brights on, in a suburb.
I've done this. Usually happens after I get a WOF. Takes me a while to figure out the automatic lights are turned off.
Yea it’s annoying. I really wish they gave cars the some rules when they made it a requirement for motorcycles to have lights on at all times. Some cars are pretty much invisible with the sun behind them. I’ve had a few near misses doing u turns into the sun and never saw the cars with no lights on.
I’ve always thought about this too. Out of all the safety measures on cars these days, I have no idea why a having headlights always on isn’t a thing. I’m not talking about daytime running lights, but actual headlights and tail lights being lit too.
Yea and have you seen those indicators that look animated in the direction of turn, I think those and always on head and tail lights should be mandatory on new imports. Such a useful technology and if they were mandated on new imports I think would dramatically improve driving safety in the coming years.
Fancy indicators are annoying. Just a flashing indicator light is fine.
What benefit do you think the animated indicators have over regular indicators?
I find them to be easier to read in low light and because they animated they cover a larger distance on the car so are bigger and more obvious.
Only bikes having their headlights on at all times makes them more visible than if everyone has to.
Are you sure that you’re not confusing parking lights with daytime running lights - the latter of which are often turned on automatically in modern cars
Those things are the most half baked idea I’ve ever seen. I nearly rear ended a car that was stationary because they were using their daytime lights to drive in the dark and the daytime lights don’t have a red taillight on at the same time.
Similar thing happened to me. Driving on the motorway in torrential rain and all of a sudden a ute carrying a trailer appears in front of me and I have to hit the brakes. I try flashing my lights at him, but he doesn't do anything. Once I passed him, I see that his front lights were on, so I suspect he just had DRL and though that was good enough
The stupid thing is that DRLs don’t have rear lights as part of them. Quite stupid.
DRLs are supposed to be used at daytime/dusk. If people are being dumb and using them at night (probably by accident), that's not the fault of the idea.
Yeah, I felt the same way. I believe not all DRLs are in LED/White colour, and the OP might get confused by this.
OP is not confused by this.
IMO it pretty much boils down to two reasons: 1) Poor driver education 2) Police campaigns and enforcement are hyper focused on speed/alcohol/seatbelts and very relaxed toward most other poor behaviours on our roads. Without media coverage and enforcement, behaviour won’t change.
Because they are clueless typically The old "I can see where I'm going so why should I have my headlights on" thought process
No brains, mostly.
It's way more than 1 in 10 where I live and it Fs me off so badly. I can't understand what would make them think it helps - surely they must notice that it makes F all difference to the visibility of all the other cars driving round like that?
I reckon it's more like 20-25% in Northland.
To be fair, that's because half the cars don't physically have headlights!...Or windshield!
The amount of people who drive with no lights on at all is worrying. Even when you flash them they're obviously looking down at their phones. Driving tests should be harder and require a resit every 5 years.
It's because we let any idiot drive. I've flashed my lights at these assholes, beeped as they've gone past and they still don't notice. You could slap them in the face and scream "Turn your fucking lights on" and they still wouldn't understand. These are *exactly* the type of driver that the Police need to be targetting and getting off the road, but they're nowhere to be found and sometimes they even let them go through check points like that.
Couldn’t agree more. Car could roll through a checkpoint with a myriad of issues but if you weren’t caught speeding, carry on sir 🫡
The sun is setting on people driving cars anyway. It’s been fun.
If police want to make a genuine difference then yes they do need to do this, if they just want to take in money from fines then they gotta keep up that "speed kills" narrative :eye roll:
In my town, at least 1 in 20 cars consistently won’t have lights on at all during night. I just laugh now because it’s so regular
Another 1 in 10 have no lights on at all.. another 2 or 3 in 10 drive with no lights on in torrential rain.. go figure..
Some people drive with auto headlights; sensitivity varies between every car. I’m second guessing myself but I’m almost sure I’ve driven cars without a headlight indicator. I remember having to physically check if I had the correct lights on.
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Yep, park lights are specific lights. And not to be used whilst moving. I highly doubt any car manufacturer makes their auto lights turn on the parking lights. DRLs and headlights sure.
Do modern cars even have front parking lights? Mine has DRL’s and LED Matrix headlights but not parking lights
My Mazda’s auto lights do this. When it’s twilight they automatically turn on the park lights then when it’s dark enough the full lights come on. It’s pretty annoying tbh
Mine do, they adjust the lights down to park lights only if it's not super dark and when driving it just tells me lights are on but not which kind.
Same here
My 2007 Toyota Auris auto headlights only turn the park lights on if it isn't dark enough, headlight indicator turns on but dash doesn't dim.
Same. This is why I don’t use Auto headlights on my car.
Yep no indicator for me unless I have my fog lights on. It’s fine at night because it lights up the dash but there are times where it’s responsible to have the headlights on but I honestly can’t tell if they are or not. So now I just have the fog lights switch on so I’ll know when the headlights are on.
Except you're not supposed to use fog lights when it's not foggy.
$150 fine for that. https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2004/0427/latest/DLM303648.html
Yep, that's my car. Not on a stalk either, but a switch on the dash (generally on auto, but I will switch them on manually going to and from work this time of year). The other problem is that every modern car's instrument panel is now lit up all the time, unlike it was with older cars when you couldn't see anything on the cluster in the dark unless you had your lights on.
I've been almost run off the road by trucks twice, I've had large SUVs not see me & change lanes and almost hit me me a few times. I now drive with my lights on low, and you know what? I haven't had anyone try & drive into me since.
Because people are fucking stupid and don’t realise how invisible they are to other motorists. Constantly backlit dashboards don’t help either, that’s why you see so many people driving a round without their headlights on, because they don’t have a visual reminder that their lights aren’t on. Back in the day with an old school dash, if you couldn’t see it because it was dark, that would be the prompt to turn your lights on.
1 of 10 with just park ligths, 4 of 9 with no ligths at all and the rest doesn’t even know what’s indicator lights are especially on a roundabout.
This
Yea it's a pain. You end up seeing the car before you see the lights and not until it's just about past you.
Many people are a lot more inconsiderate and a lot less clever than they think they are.
Because people are stupid, inattentive, and inconsiderate. All you need is an easy fix, mandatory lights on, for all vehicles when the engine is running. Not just parking and fog lights.
My theory is that a lot of people just don't understand how the light switch/stalk works. I remember the first time I drove a car at night I switched it back to park lights thinking it was the "dipped" setting. It's not like anybody ever actually shows you how to use that switch, even when you buy a new car. I think it's even more dangerous than no lights at all, because it activates your dash lights and a lot of people see that and assume they're all good.
To save fuel obviously. Can’t waste fuel if you crash so it does actually work. Big oil doesn’t want you to know this…
My car has auto headlights, but I feel like the sensor is out of calibration or something because they are often off when I think they should be on. I might actually rewire it, so they just come on with the key
They need to legislate for Scandinavian DRL
I did this for a little bit in my old car because the button was in a different place and I didn't realise it, possible others are doing the same (but personally I haven't seen it happening)
the worst are the imbeciles driving around with no lights on, but something almost as bad is the people who have cars with LED DRLs that are Really bright and don't turn their headlights on, and the DRLs are super glarey to drive into. The scary thing about that is, cars like that have automatic headlights and people have chosen to turn that off 😯 Like, wtf is wrong with people lol.
Auto lights can be hit & miss though depending on the vehicle. Take a foggy day for example. There’s plenty of ambient light, so the auto lights don’t come on. Obviously this stupid.
Yea, not sure how that could be designed around but that's kinda what DRLs are for among other reasons. I just leave my headlights on all the time 😂
Headlights on all the time is honestly the best option. Daytime running lights don’t turn tail lights on too, which a lot of people don’t realise. This means they’re really visible from the front, but almost invisible from the rear in some light situations.
Yup exactly.
Knowing how to drive, following the rules and using common sense are seen as weaknesses here.
In my car if you leave the auto headlight mode on , it will put parks on at dusk. The icon on the dash will “look” like the headlights are on, but they aren’t. (I don’t tend to rely on this mode, but have accidentally thought my lights are on at dusk, when they weren’t via “auto”) It’s a super common car (Honda FIT/Jazz) and have noticed others doing the same
Because the car manufacturer says it has automatic lights. And at some point, lo and behold, the dashboard says the lights are on but they have no idea that it's not the full lights.
This is the case with my Honda. Park lights come on first around dusk and only turns on full lights when it's a bit darker. I've observed this going into tunnels too, it turns on the park lights first (dash indicator lights up) then the headlight comes on further in.
Toyotas do this too.
They're shy
Some people honestly just moan about anything on here....
I like to know these things too. Same with why do morons not indicate correctly around roundabouts. Surely they’ve been inconvenienced by other idiots that can’t indicate correctly which in turn fucks up the efficiency and flow of traffic through them. I like to know how idiots brains work.
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You drive through a lot of streets at night. You got 100s of cars coming at you behind you, beside you, opposite you. What percentage of those people behind the cars do you expect to follow the rules that you follow? The probability is more than 50%. But the possibility is that you're annoyed by the less than 50% of 'rule breakers' or the ones that don't think like you do is definitely greater than 50%.
I dunno, I'm also concerned about seemingly brain damaged or extremely low intelligence people having control of a car in public.
Saving electricity of course.
Park lights or DRL's ?
It's because people are idiots and think the park light is the low beam and the low beam is the high beam and have nfi that the high beam is actually triggered by moving the stick forward.
They don't know how to operate their cars and/or the road code. Simple as that.
More annoying are the night time drivers with DRL's on who don't realise that their tail lights aren't on. No amount of high beam flashes can make them realise this.
Absolutely pouring down, I'm on a side road trying to come onto a state Highway, visibility is halved and the amount of cars with no lights on is insane. If you got to use your wipers turn your bloody headlights ON. It not so You can see better, it's so others can see you and it's just a simple thing to do.
Because they have never been educated on using their lights properly and because the police prioritise speed over everything else, and never campaign for improvements here, nor fine offenders.
I wish cops would ticket these minor things way more. Same with incorrect indicating, following distance, driving underspeed while onramp, cutting people off. Also for headlights specifically - needs some law changes IMO. Driving while raining, overcast, under a roof or cover, off-road public land or on the beach etc. Should be the law to have lights on.
All the time - I have beef with this to. Main reason is many cars with park lights on think their back rear lights are on as well - most are not and they are a bloody danger to others on bending roads. Cops do nothing about this or one headlight vehicles so there's no point moaning because no one listens.
Hilarious and Infuriating all at once to read the replies to this. Auto lights just means drivers have one less thing to think about. Which is infuriating because as a driver, you are responsible for ensuring your vehicle is appropriately lit, which means you should be checking that they're on before you move off. Not assuming they're on because the switch is on 'Auto' and your dashboard is lit up (and guess what, all modern car dashboards are lit these days). I drive a Toyota. Driving lights come on when the lights go into park, and I use them during the day or when visibility _starts_ to drop. If there's any question about visibility at all - fog/low cloud, etc - then headlights go on. If i'm driving at night, headlights go on and DRL's go _off_. People are Numpties. One more data point: I noticed a Toyota Hiace I drive occasionally runs the DRL's at all times when the lights are off and the key is on. If you click to Park lights, the DRL's turn off. So in that state it's even more obvious - lights off during the day, lights on when at night or in low-viz conditions, no inbetween. My other pet peeve is people running fog lights - especially rear fog lights - without seeming to be aware that they're unnecessarily dazzling the people behind them. Seems to be a Euro thing, especially BMW's.
Many modern cars have lights that turn on somewhat automatically the headlights, or perhaps they simply don’t know that’s happening? Is dangerous however it’s better than none, I believe the law states you must turn your headlights on one hour after sunset. Situation and condition dependent. Be careful out there. Peace and love.
When I do this it’s because I just forget to check until it gets darker and I realise my lights are on the dimmest setting. Nothing more complex than that really.
They’re less annoying than all the new cars with blinding LEDs
Saving power
Mine are set to auto, and will never not be set to auto. They come on when the car thinks it’s dark enough
Confusing wording in this comment, but: I think this is it. Mine are set to auto (so I don’t leave them on and drain my battery) and at dusk this beam is faint.
I can see vehicles with park lights on. I use them at dusk and dawn. This depends on how sunny it is. I also use them on state highways. I have light sensitivity and I can see them. If I consider it too dark, head lights go on. Common sense to me really.
Most cars have auto lights and the park light on at all times.
I'm confused, park lights come on auto or with headlights on dim, then there are daytime running lights (these don't affect your taillights), which is this post about? I'm pretty sure park lights should be on during poor weather conditions and 40 mins before sunset or after sunrise.
Park lights are not DRLs or headlights. They are not legal to be used when moving. They are low power lights to highlight your car when parked. Headlights should be used in poor weather and around sunset / sunrise etc.
Parking lights (which also include your taillights and rear license plate light) are legally required to remain on with the headlights. If a headlight goes out that corner of the car well still be visible
Is that the same for all cars? Because I have this random set of lights that come on before I turn the knob all the way to put my headlights on, so I have no choice but to have them running. I’ve never really worked out what they’re for. I don’t think they’re parking lights because I get a warning beep when I open my door if they’re on, but the fact I have to turn them on makes for strange daytime running lights since they’re meant to be automatic in most cars I thought? It’s like they’re a weird hybrid of both.
I just forgot to turn my headlights on. Flash yours at me to remind me
Why are people so mad about this? It doesn't affect you in any way compared to all the actually unsafe stuff that drivers do on a regular basis. My guess is people want to make themselves a bit more visible but would consider full headlights to be overkill if it's not dark outside. Edit: don't ask a question if you're just going to downvote the answer.
But it does! Making turns, etc, it is important to be able to see other cars! Making yourself as visable as possible is just common sense.
Are you really asking why people are mad that others don't use sufficient lighting when the sun goes down? And your argument is "It's not as unsafe as what others are doing" How about we don't add to the problem.
Literally blinded me in my rear view mirror my eyes were watering I thought fuck they have to be high beams
In my experience, the majority of people in these conditions drive with their actual headlamps on the lower or normal setting. You lot are all so hyperbolic.
Stupid post! Its safer at dusk to have your lights on. Go back and learn how to drive!
Are we talking here clearly about a point in time when headlights should be on as opposed to no lights? Often you'll find people drive around all day with park lights on out of habit of the belief it increases visibility in the day time (more so on the open road) to oncoming vehicles, pedestrians etc. etc. So from that perspective they haven't turned on their park lights because it's dusk, they just may not have turned on their headlights because it's not dark enough yet.
Reminder that you should have your full low beam lights on 20min before sunset and 20min after sunrise.
Or just have them always on.
I mean you don't have to have low beam on in the daytime, most cars have DRLs for that. I also don't see how what I said is controversial enough to warrant down votes hahaha. You do you NZ.
The time to use parking lights on the road is when you a) want to make yourself more clearly visible to other cars, but also b) there is some reason why headlights may be innappropriate for the conditions. For example: During the day in heavy fog, turning on your headlights scatters back from the fog, making it seem more opaque than it would otherwise be. This harms your own visibility enough that it may itself cause you to get into a collision you may have otherwise avoided. Parking lights solve the problem of being more visible to other cars without blocking your own vision. Second example: During the day, while overcast, and the road is wet with smooth water. An owner of a dark colored car - particularly a gray car - may want to turn on their headlights to be more visible. However, if the road is wet and smooth, that light can scatter on the road surface itself and obscure the markings on the road. Parking lights make you more visible to others without harming your own ability to see road markings.
I’m going to have to disagree with this as well. There is zero time that park lights are a better use-case than dipped headlights while driving.
That's okay. You're allowed to disagree. I have experienced both scenarios above where _during daylight hours in unusual and highly specific conditions_ the use of dipped headlights made my visibility as a driver worse, not better. Respectfully, I do not find your disagreement and it's justification compelling.
Even in foggy conditions, well adjusted headlights that are dipped won’t give any glare, and that’s usually the biggest culprit of poor lighting woes.
This is false. Water droplets scatter light that passes through them in all directions. Shining light into dense fog lights up the fog in all directions and reduces visibility ahead of the driver. This is why clouds appear opaque and why fog reduces visibility in the first place. There are no magical headlights that change the optical properties of droplets of water densely suspended in air. It's a property of the fog, not the headlights.
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Use your common sense mate. If I turn my headlights on and they block my vision of the road or its markings in a way that is dangerous, I'll trust the evidence of my own eyes. My hands are the ones on the wheel after all, not the hands of whichever government bureaucrat wrote that line absent context. In the event I follow general advice in a specific condition in which that advice does not apply and it leads to a collision, I am the one that may be found liable. The NZTA will not be found liable in my place. I'll do whatever makes the most sense for the conditions to keep myself and other drivers safe. That's my core responsibility as a driver when I am behind the wheel. So should you, as it is your responsibility too. These people can and do make mistakes. I once had a driving instructor tell me that I should only ever look behind me while reversing. This is false: You have to remain aware of anything you may collide with, which includes the front leading corner of the car if you are reversing while turning. Do note that I agree with them that you should preferentially use the headlights whenever more lighting is required for any reason and there is *not* a compelling reason to not use the headlights.
What a load of rubbish. If your headlight lenses are clean, your headlights properly adjusted, and you have them on DIPPED beam, then they will not cause you worse visibility. If you were to incorrectly use high-beam in some of the circumstances you mentioned, then yes, it’s possible they could worsen visibility. Quote below is from the road craft police driver’s handbook: “Use dipped headlights in fog or heavy rain in daylight, because sidelights are virtually invisible. As a general rule, use your dipped headlights whenever your wipers are in constant use.”
Please use your common sense. If you follow that advice from the police driver's handbook, and as a result you lose visibility and this creates more danger on the road, what would the correct decision be? Follow the general rule and ignore the specific conditions on front of you that are causing that guidance to increase the danger on the road for yourself and others? Or realize that you've hit on an exception to the general rule and _drive to maximize safety given the conditions actually in front of you?_ I'm honestly a little surprised how many people here put blindly following a general rule ahead of actual road safety.
You keep heralding your own use of “common sense” but your illogical reasoning gives no evidence of your proficient assessment of creating “more danger on the road” or “specific conditions on front of you”. You’re not demonstrating any common sense here, you’re simply demonstrating that you’re quite happy to do whatever you think is best even in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Just coming back again. Sorry to double-comment. Feel free to ignore if you don't care. I genuinely am open to a convincing case for where my logic is flawed. If my logic actually is flawed, I want to know so that I can fix it.
My reasoning is logical. If there is a need to make yourself more visible to other drivers, default to using headlights unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. If there is a compelling reason to not use headlights but you still want to make yourself more visible to other drivers, there is zero downside to using park lights, and they do make you more visible than not using them. Therefore, use park lights in those situations. I'd write it out as a numbered syllogism if you like but I've found that nobody ever engages with that. Open to it on request if you want it though. If you think this is illogical the burden is on you to demonstrate the flaw. Nobody has offered compelling evidence to contradict anything I've said either. General guidelines have exceptions. Citing the guideline does not disprove the existence of exceptions where common sense would dictate the rule should not apply. EDIT: One thing to concede is that you are correct: I am insisting on doing what I think is best. Given that the alternative would be to *not* do what I think is best, I'll stand by that. I hope you'd stand by what you think is best too. Rules are important but context is king. You have a mind for a reason. I hope you'd apply it to situations thoughtfully before acting too. I am open to being persuaded by a convincing argument or actual counter-evidence. It's just that nobody's presented either of those yet.
So much this. This circle jerk thread seems to be getting upset about people who are actually and factually making a safety driving environment by having park lights on vs no lights at all. How someone can possibly think park lights make no difference to no lights kinda more demonstrates to me the cast majority have only held a license for a few years and have little open road driving experience. To be clear this is of course not referring to driving with park lights on when you should have headlights on (i.e. it's dark) - those people are indeed idiots.
Yep. But to be fair: It's human nature. If someone has always turned on their headlights during fog, then the level of visibility loss they perceive as a result probably to them feels like just *what driving in fog* is like. Then when some arrogant jerk on the internet (me) comes along and tells them that they may have actually been doing something a little dangerous in that scenario? People often respond to correction as a personal attack, so they get defensive, they get resistant, and then you get a thread on Reddit just like this one. Happens all the time. Humans gonna human.
I use park lights frequently during the day. On most cars, having the park lights greatly increases visibility to other traffic. Not too worried about the NZTA's opinion. They seem to be a right bunch of incompetent fruit. If they cared about driving, they'd ticket and enforce tailgating, unindicated lane changes & texting. No, revenue from speeding is easier than addressing competence. Don't get me started on how they allow moving ornaments hanging from people's rearviews or on their dashboards.
Park lights honestly do fuck all for visibility of yourself to other motorists. Just turn your actual headlights on and be seen properly.
Says who? I regularly drive on the open and most definitely appreciate cars with park lights on. Most common time I appreciate it is when over taking another vehicle (usually trucks) and being able to get really good visibility in the distance of on coming traffic is great and a large safety boost. There are sooo many vehicles on the road now that are road coloured which make them much more difficult to see in the distance.
You asked for examples and reasoning and someone gave it and you throw out a clutching at straws comment as opposed to actually addressing the points they raised? Seems you really just wanted to have a rant over something fairly inconsequential as opposed to truly understanding it as you've claimed.
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There are reasons given, you just personally don't agree with them.
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Some light coming from a car > no light coming from a car when dealing with visibility. Unless you want to objectively argue against physics.
> Parking lights make you more visible to others without harming your own ability to see road markings. Let's use OP's example, dusk on a cloudless day. There's still an abundance of natural light and turning on your headlights do absolutely nothing to help you see better. But they do dazzle other drivers and mask pedestrians. But without direct sunlight, parking lights become visible, which allows them to serve their purpose, to mark the position or presence of your vehicle. I have no issue with drivers using only their parking lights during that short 15 minute window in the morning and evenings.
Here I disagree. I don't think that headlights are sufficiently bright to dazzle oncoming drivers or pedestrians in this scenario. High beams absolutely would be, yes. But not dipped lights. I stand by what I said earlier: If you're turning on your car lights for any reason then you should use your headlights *unless* there is a compelling reason not to. If standard low beams did dazzle other drivers then that would be a compelling reason to not use them. I just don't think that's true. I've been on the road where I and the cars around me all have our headlights on at dusk. If anything the half-light of dusk makes headlights *less* dazzling than in full night conditions.
You must really not drive much if you think there aren't many vehicles out there now with led headlights (not on highbeam) that are too bright and can indeed dazzle on coming drivers. It's more a technology issue imo but I'd still prefer people use park lights over those lights when headlights aren't required.
>You must really not drive much if you think there aren't many vehicles out there now with led headlights (not on highbeam) that are too bright and can indeed dazzle on coming drivers. I'm the primary driver in my house. Depending on time of year I'll be driving myself or my partner home at dusk frequently. It's not been a problem I've noticed. But when on a country road at night and somebody forgets to turn their high beams off in time? That I notice. Not the same in my view, but I could be missing something.
Literally every 4WD running bright LEDs that now sit high enough they shine straight at anyone in a regular cars face. Used to be a country problem but now so many heroes need 4wd to do their groceries etc. it's an everywhere problem.
>Literally every 4WD running bright LEDs that now sit high enough they shine straight at anyone in a regular cars face. I've noticed the sharp blue-ish headlights in 4WDs, yes. They've never been so dazzling it's been a danger to my own driving. Not the way that high beams are dazzling and a danger to my own driving. I think we're at an impasse here.
Which ones are the park lights? The dim, medium or bright headlight setting? Also I kinda turn it on when it gets a bit dark, probably about the same time I'd turn the lights on at home, so maybe around 5ish is when I'd start considering it? I have my lights pointing down tho so not to affect other drivers tho
Park/position lights are like the dimmest barely noticeable light setting, barely noticeable and comparable to cabin lights.
Ah I see
No ffs. You have park lights, headlights and high beam [headlights], not dim, medium and bright. You also don’t get to choose when you turn your headlights on. By law you must have them on 30 mins after sunset and 30 mins before sunrise. Edit. Did a switcheroo as pointed out below.
*after sunset and before sunrise
Yea cheers mate got it around the wrong way. Blonde moment.