Thank you.
Is this the part where I can post a rant about fumbducks that cannot operate a vehicle with a manual transmission without complaints of derailing the thread?
Yep. New cars and all their new fangled gadgets suck and nobody knows how to drive anymore...
Iffin we could only go back to the good ole days.
Thank you.
Is this the part where I can post a rant about fumbducks that cannot operate a vehicle with a manual transmission without complaints of derailing the thread?
Going back to my argument that all these "safety" features are actually making more bad drivers. At one time, you HAD to pay attention while driving. Manual transmission, manual steering, manual brakes, etc... meant that if you even tried to do something else, you would crash. Cars/trucks were even self-limiting on speed. Sure the interstate speed limit was 70 MPH for a while, but a whole bunch of cars were WAY to scary to even approach that. Nowadays, you can run 70+ in a 55, sipping your latte and reading the paper. Your car will keep you in your lane, match the speed to the person you are tailgating, and hit the brakes for you. Unless, of course, it doesn't and you are too oblivious to even notice until too late.
Gawd, I'm getting old....
Yep. New cars and all their new fangled gadgets suck and nobody knows how to drive anymore...
Iffin we could only go back to the good ole days.
...I don't know how much I would consider auto headlights a safety feature. I think any gain is balanced by the negatives I mentioned. I think features like that are luxury/lazy features vs safety, imo.
-rvb
Both my current and previous car has had auto and I used them, my wife’s 2009 Nissan Rogue doesnt though. Some cars drl’s are bright enough to think you have your headlights on, especially in the city. My wife got pulled over years ago in her car for not having lights on when she thought she did. I don’t see the auto headlight problem as much as current made cars (like a Lincoln mkc) have such bright lights, I think they have their brights on. People flash me in my equinox from time to time thinking my brights are on. My headlights are aimed right and level also. I do occasionally manually turn on them in my car (snow or rain, going through a tunnel), but most of the time let my led drl’s do the job.
Also a lot of cars gauge cluster illuminates anytime the car is running so it gives the falsehood that the headlights are on. My wifes last 2 cars where that way, they had a separate headlight indicator showing that they are on.
Going back to my argument that all these "safety" features are actually making more bad drivers. At one time, you HAD to pay attention while driving. Manual transmission, manual steering, manual brakes, etc... meant that if you even tried to do something else, you would crash. Cars/trucks were even self-limiting on speed. Sure the interstate speed limit was 70 MPH for a while, but a whole bunch of cars were WAY to scary to even approach that. Nowadays, you can run 70+ in a 55, sipping your latte and reading the paper. Your car will keep you in your lane, match the speed to the person you are tailgating, and hit the brakes for you. Unless, of course, it doesn't and you are too oblivious to even notice until too late.
Gawd, I'm getting old....
Something that has always bothered me is the lack of standardization among manufacturers.
As a guy who routinely drives several different makes and models, I'm forever grabbing the wrong switch to turn on the wipers, which are on opposite sides of the column, depending on make and model. Same thing with trying to find the switch for the safety blinkers quickly as I'm slowing down suddenly on the interstate for an accident or something.
You can familiarize yourself in the car before you leave out, but when you switch back and forth between vehicles where controls are in different places, you're going to grab the wrong control on a regular basis.
And, don't get me started on why they can't put the gas fill on the same side on all vehicles.
Low beams should be engineered with a sharp distance cut-off, you don't need your low beams to be able to reach to infinity (and neither do the oncoming drivers). Unfortunately such engineering is a very recent trend, and when people begin replacing the OEM headlights with HID or LED systems (which are not point source in many cases) they exacerbate the problem because the reflectors are no longer designed for the light pattern being produced and the low beams just scatter light all over
A way to stop people (if they're not stupid) from flashing you is to run with the driving lights on. Since about 2008 or so, factory driving lights go off automatically when you switch to hi-beams (because any condition calling for highs are not the correct conditions for driving lights anyway) so if you can see driving lights on on an oncoming car, no matter how bright they seem, they are in fact on low beams
Low beams should be engineered with a sharp distance cut-off, you don't need your low beams to be able to reach to infinity (and neither do the oncoming drivers). Unfortunately such engineering is a very recent trend, and when people begin replacing the OEM headlights with HID or LED systems (which are not point source in many cases) they exacerbate the problem because the reflectors are no longer designed for the light pattern being produced and the low beams just scatter light all over
A way to stop people (if they're not stupid) from flashing you is to run with the driving lights on. Since about 2008 or so, factory driving lights go off automatically when you switch to hi-beams (because any condition calling for highs are not the correct conditions for driving lights anyway) so if you can see driving lights on on an oncoming car, no matter how bright they seem, they are in fact on low beams
russ and terre, you're clear on what I mean by driving lights, correct? The auxiliary lights usually placed low and near the outside of the lower bumper area, designed to illuminate the edges of the road (driving lights is what most manufacturers call them now). In another age they would have been brighter, possibly yellow and called fog lights. They have a seperate on/off on the light stalk, and when they're toggled they only come on in conjunction with low beams. Switch to high beams and that shuts them off as well
Yep. New cars and all their new fangled gadgets suck and nobody knows how to drive anymore...
Iffin we could only go back to the good ole days.
yea, I think so. Per FMVSS something or other: Any other aux lighting (driving lights, fog lights, flood lights, etc) must only be on in conjunction with low beams.
The difference between DRLs, driving lights, and fog lights is... muddy, legally (though from a functional standpoint, easy)