Keep driving with your headlights on, Genius!

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/afp-police-officer-escapes-speeding-fine-in-act/story-e6frf7l6-1225913026086

JP you are obviously a poor sensitive soul – do you feel better for your rant?

You obviously need to go visit one of our wonderful meditation centres or leafy parks to destress and figure out what matters in life.

I’m sorry to be a smartarse on my first post on the forum.

This does annoy me, however, I understand a lot of cars have the feature enabled already, and are unable to turn the lights off due to safety. I know that some people are lazy though.

However, I wish to point out the two things that annoy the hell out of me:

1) Having one light broken, and not bothering to fix it. I see it almost every day on the roads. I work the night shift from 10.30pm to 7am, and every night I see at least half a dozen cars with their lights not working.

2) People who have a dim light, so they use the high beams to compensate, brilliant idea, blind people. How about you fix your light twit?

I had my left headlight die a few weeks ago, I had it fixed within 12 hours (to change it over on my car isn’t a 5 minute job, so I had to wait till I had time). Why can’t everyone else do this?

Hey, that’s actually a pretty good idea. I think I will leave my headlights on during the day too. You can’t be too carefull with all the Canberra drivers on the road down here.

Your post highlights how seperated from other human beings we become when cooped up in a completely enclosed motor vehicle. Normally when humans talk to one another, we are not only listening, we are observing body language, facial expressions, what the eyes are doing… it’s complicated. When driving, that “conversation” is pretty much reduced to blinkers and brake lights. There’s honestly little wonder why humans get frustrated so easily on the road. Then we start to imagine what the other person must be thinking, (judging from what exactly?)… we attempt to show anger by accelerating hard past someone who may have just cut us off… silly really.

Do you honestly believe that people driving with their headlights on during the day actively think they’re superior to others? Or was this just a well written troll?

I personally drive with my lights on all the time. Ignition on, lights on. Don’t know how I got into the habit, but it’s not one I’m about to break anytime soon.

Before you go on your next tirade, some light reading for you re day time running light trials around the world. In regards to a day time running light standard, Australia is a bit behind the rest of the developed world (as usual), however in the meantime, headlights on all the time is a good start:

http://www.acrs.org.au/collegepolicies/vehicles/daytimerunninglights.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2850978/
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809760.pdf
http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1025245_eu-announces-plan-for-mandatory-daytime-running-lights-by-2011

If you couldn’t be bothered reading those… the jist of the articles is that forward facing white lights on motor vehicles during the day can reduce some types of crashes by up to 23%.

Actually, that was an unfair characterisation of your comments. I retract my snark, and apologise.

I acknowledge that studies say it’s safer, but they also say if I stand too close to my microwave I’ll get cancer.

“I choose to ignore science on the basis of convenience, and willingly reject evidence that clashes with my demonstrably cognitive biases. I’m happy to construct bizarre and grossly mismatched metaphors to rationalise my thinking.”

Why not try walking off a tall building? I bet your awesome common sense will make you float in mid-air.

Umm… Wow… This guy must be a politician, he is really tackling the big issues…

Deep issues here…

I run my headlights during the day. The safety benefits are too large. I was convinced by driving across the outback; when you’re doing 110kph and the oncoming car is doing 110kph, the car without the headlights appears out of nowhere, but the car with the headlights appears well in the distance. This is even during the day. It really does improve your visibility.

Whilst I’m a little bemused that Joe Public would go to such lengths to berate people for driving with their lights on during the day (particularly on here), I tend to think it’s a pretty useless thing to do. I acknowledge that studies say it’s safer, but they also say if I stand too close to my microwave I’ll get cancer. I don’t have any problem seeing black or “asphalt” coloured cars without their lights on during the day, or any coloured car for that matter. At the same time, whether they have their lights on or not doesn’t bother me in the slightest.

I think given at worst it could increase visibility for someone who does have a problem seeing some colours against some backgrounds at some stages during the day, and given that cars generate more than enough power to have the lights on during the day (so long as the engine is running of course) then who really cares? Fact remains it isn’t a requirement here in Australia to have them on or off during the day, so live and let live I say.

For serious???

Perhaps his next flame will be a rant about the sun, and how horribly distracting it can be when it catches your eye.

Seriously, if headlights in daylight are bothering you, get an eye exam and never EVER look skyward (that is where the sun lives).

I have my lights on always (car automatically turns them off) so I will never cause danger to other drivers by forgetting to turn them on at dusk, in fog etc.

@joepublic – here’s a thought for you – have you considered that people with poor hearing, or little concentration (like children) may have their life endangered trying to cross the road by modern, almost silent, cars?

Is this keeping you awake a night? Seriously, talk about complaining for the sake of complaining. Its been a while but I am pretty sure somewhere in the RTA handbook it even recommends drivers to drive with headlights on regardless of time of day. Get over yourself….idiot.

It’s not much of an issue in town for most cars, but out on general highway (not freeway) it makes a huge difference to visibility for others.

Oh, and as a bonus, I never lose it in carparks either!

Nerdling: what colour was your Datto?

I drive an orange car and rarely, if ever, have issues with people not seeing it. Helps that it’s big too.

The sign said LIGHT UP AND LIVE so I had a joint.

and this month’s Mully Award goes to…..

Driving with my lights on make my car look ppppuuurrrrdddyyyyy

jake555 said :

I realise OP joepublic may not have seen these responses yet, either that or he is too embarrassed to respond. I simply can’t wait to hear the reply from this genius.

I get a feeling that he has fizzled up into a little pile of bubbly vitriol + a waft of sulphurous fumes….

anyhoo – 20+ years of driving experience confirms my feeling that light conditions aside, sometimes a car can be momentarily difficult to see – hence my driving with my lights on.

Then, too – with my mother still on the roads, anything that improves my chances of being seen by her (and the other mobile mouldies) gets a BIG thumbs up…

Having lived in a few countries where it’s mandatory to have DRL’s I have just adopted it- I think it’s safer to drive with lights on especially on Canberra winter days. I don’t do it in Summer.

Think the forum just highbeamed you, Joe.

I realise OP joepublic may not have seen these responses yet, either that or he is too embarrassed to respond. I simply can’t wait to hear the reply from this genius.

Holden Caulfield said :

BenMac said :

I noticed in WA the highways have signs stating to turn your headlights on during the day.

They used to have some near Albury a few years back, too.

In the US they have certain zones where it’s the law to put your lights on at all times.

pwned.

troll-sniffer said :

All the posts here supporting the lights on policy for those who choose it… I concur.

However, people who are too stupid to look down into their wanky European dashboards to see if their lights are on high flocking beam should be:

Hauled out of their cars
Made to look directly into their flocking high beams directly
Made to do 75 hours road-sweeping
Fined $500 for inappropriate use of high flocking beam
Hung drawn and quartered if they don’t admit they don’t deserve to be driving their high falutin’ piece of overpriced European style.
(Same goes for non-European car drivers with o0bvious modifications)

Being the worlds worst enemy & driving a 4WD I just hit them with 300 watts of driving lights……that usually fixes them 🙂

Thanks Joe… I allway like a nice dose of bile with lunch.

True Story: Dricing arround in my while crappy datto I was realy cut off by traffic pulling out of side streets in front of me. After the datto moved on to the next automotive world I picked up a nice metallic blue Nissan (ok another datto), this time though I was gettign cut off alot more, usually requiring a good stab of the breaks to avoid a colision, then, on the advise of a friend I started driving around with my head lights on during the day and guess what…. alot less near misses.

So Joe, if you want to bitch about somthing, lets start with flat out bad drivers.

ConanOfCooma said :

Ten points for Joe Public, but not good points, he only wins dumbass points.

As a general rule, I never turn my lights off. This isn’t because I’m awesome and from Canberra, as I’m from Cooma. It is due to the fact that I have almost been hit several times head-on by idiots on the highway, and this only stopped when I started using my head lights, on the advice of the police.

It was explained to me that regardless of the colour of your car, at some point a natural light source will change what colour is seen by other drivers. So in the adverse lighting conditions in which I drive (dawn/dusk), there is different coloured light reflecting off my vehicle. Anyone that has spent enough time driving has experienced this first hand.

There is no such thing as a headlight that can blind you in daytime hours, unless it’s high beam; the light from the sun is much, much brighter. It’s like shining a torch on the ground at midday – Doesn’t do much, does it, jackass?

But then, if someone is driving at you with their high-beam on, it’s not just a day time problem, is it?

I wish all people could be as smart as you, Pubic Joe, because it would make conquering the world so much easier.

I was going to use that as an example. On the Mad Mile (Billingra) on a 35 degree summers day it is almost impossible to see a silver/grey/champaign coloured car. They blend into the Monaro backdrop beutifully.

BenMac said :

I noticed in WA the highways have signs stating to turn your headlights on during the day.

They used to have some near Albury a few years back, too.

Yeah, but what about cyclists?

tl;dr

I noticed in WA the highways have signs stating to turn your headlights on during the day.

All the posts here supporting the lights on policy for those who choose it… I concur.

However, people who are too stupid to look down into their wanky European dashboards to see if their lights are on high flocking beam should be:

Hauled out of their cars
Made to look directly into their flocking high beams directly
Made to do 75 hours road-sweeping
Fined $500 for inappropriate use of high flocking beam
Hung drawn and quartered if they don’t admit they don’t deserve to be driving their high falutin’ piece of overpriced European style.
(Same goes for non-European car drivers with o0bvious modifications)

I just spent way too much time readign that. At least it was less time than you spent writing it.

dvaey said :

No, but maybe you should read before you post.. Joe Public was expressing his happiness at people who travel with headlights on, not his displeasure.

He’s got a funny way of expressing it.

dvaey… I think you may have failed to recognise sarcasm when you read it.

I might bring out my inner sheep on this one and agree with the general consensus. Anytime I’m on the highway its lights on – night, rain or even full sun. I usually leave for work fairly early in the morn so it’s lights on most the way even tho there’s full sun by the time I get there and same on the way home, the suns going down so it’s light on all the way even tho it’s fairly light when I’m leaving.

Like others I’d much prefer people having lights on all the time than waiting till dusk is over

If this is an issue worthy of so much time and attention then clearly that’s a bleak existance

Rossco Downunder said :

My Falcon is set up so that the lights come on automatically even though the switch is in the “off” position.

The car used to belong to Telstra who I understand had this option fitted to their whole fleet. Perhaps, they are not the only fleet operator to do so.

Im not sure if its still around, but a few years ago there was legislation passed requiring all fleet operators to setup their vehicles so headlights automatically come on while driving.

Pommy bastard said :

I ride a Suzi, the lights are permanently on as a spec of the bike. Should I yank the headlight wires so Joe Public doesn’t suffer further trauma?

No, but maybe you should read before you post.. Joe Public was expressing his happiness at people who travel with headlights on, not his displeasure.

I intentionally drive with my headlights on during the day on the highway to make myself more visible to on-coming traffic. Drivers minds tend to wonder if they have been driving a long distance so it is good to make yourself stand out a little more especially if the colour of your vehicle blends in more with the surrounds. Not to mention if part of the trip takes you through heavily shaded areas like when heading down to the coast.

As for having the lights on during the day whilst driving around the city, well I drive a late model Subaru and the lights turn off when the key is removed from the ignition and turn on when the key is inserted if they have been left in the on position in the first place. Because of this I’m less conscious to whether they are on or off, no flat batteries to worry about and no “chimming” to indicate you have left the lights on.

You seem quite passionate though JoePublic, I suggest you turn your efforts towards speeding and reckless drivers, talking on mobile phone whilst driving, those that drive unregistered, vehicles that aren’t roadworthy and other such dangerous situations as this worries me far more…

Hey JoePublic, I think we need to put things into perspective here. There’s an alarmingly high number of drivers in Canberra driving around in the daylight with their headlights on because:

– There are relatively more pretentious people living here who love driving around in European cars, the majority of which, as some comments here say, have the automatic lights function.
– There are relatively more conservative people living here that would rather look idiotic than running into invisible trees and other cars in daylight.
– There are relatively more people here living in apartment blocks with dark and badly organised underground car parks as the quality of building construction here is notoriously bad.
– Area and population wise, Canberra is relatively small compared to other major cities – therefore you tend to notice more people driving around with their headlights on.

JOEPUBLIC, you are a moron.

It’s about safety, in particular when overtaking and driving at speed on a highway. The amount of morons probably like yourself, who are in a dream state whilst driving and don’t notice other cars around them overtaking or approaching is astounding.

Best part of this discussion is the reaming joepublic has received!

FYI; I drive with my lights on during the day time. It’s a safety thing. It isn’t to make things easier to see for you, it’s to make you easier to see for others.

The OP gets top trolling points. Had me convinced he was a total arse clown, but not I can see he is actually a supporter of the very sensible operation of daytime running lights, and is trying to raise awareness of this practice.

Next I’m hoping for a full throated defence of having fog lights on at all times because it makes your car look so cool (only at night of course, during day would be weak).

Telstra apparently had a drop of 15% in accidents when they had the fleet wired for headlights on at all time. Good enough for me. I never turn them off.

I ride a Suzi, the lights are permanently on as a spec of the bike. Should I yank the headlight wires so Joe Public doesn’t suffer further trauma?

My car is the colour of asphalt. I drive with my lights during the day at times, particularly when driving long distances on country roads, to increase the visibility of my car for those idiots coming towards me who think overtaking the car in front of them is more important than, you know, having a good look at what’s coming the other way.

Oh screaming banshee you are so right!
Holden Caulfield you are spot on. I drive a black car too and I often wonder if I’m casper because the amount of people that pull out in front of me is nuts. If I see another black car on the road that is harder to spot then I turn on my headlights too.

Ten points for Joe Public, but not good points, he only wins dumbass points.

As a general rule, I never turn my lights off. This isn’t because I’m awesome and from Canberra, as I’m from Cooma. It is due to the fact that I have almost been hit several times head-on by idiots on the highway, and this only stopped when I started using my head lights, on the advice of the police.

It was explained to me that regardless of the colour of your car, at some point a natural light source will change what colour is seen by other drivers. So in the adverse lighting conditions in which I drive (dawn/dusk), there is different coloured light reflecting off my vehicle. Anyone that has spent enough time driving has experienced this first hand.

There is no such thing as a headlight that can blind you in daytime hours, unless it’s high beam; the light from the sun is much, much brighter. It’s like shining a torch on the ground at midday – Doesn’t do much, does it, jackass?

But then, if someone is driving at you with their high-beam on, it’s not just a day time problem, is it?

I wish all people could be as smart as you, Pubic Joe, because it would make conquering the world so much easier.

Amusing that the OP hit daytime headlights so hard (when they are often enforced, and shown to have benefits), but completely missed daytime foglight use. This is my own current pet peeve, and which I reckon do have the effect of distracting and/or annoying other drivers … and is quite illegal in this country (in good weather).

What else would we do if we DFTT? Perhaps we’re all really trolls deep down.

Long live the internet troll.. it has kept me in eye rolls and belly laughs and popcorn for over a decade now.

Are you seriously that precious that you think someone driving with their headlights on affects you? If you find it so distracting, I strongly suspect the issue lies with you, not other road users.

I don’t understand how this can possibly be distracting or dangerous. Please, help me out here. I’ve read your rant several times, but can still find absolutely nothing beyond ‘blinding’. WTF? Do you also find streetlights dazzling? Lights in a house? Solar lights in someone’s garden?

FWIW, I drive a black car and always drive with my parking lights or headlights on low beam. This has saved my bacon quite a few times – inattentive people are challenged enough just performing the basic functions of driving, and I’m happy to help in any way possible to ensure my own safety and that of others around me.

And don’t even get me started on the people driving without lights in the fog yesterday morning….

Have we all forgotten the simplest of rules in this much more moderated riot act

DONT FEED THE TROLLS!

I did enjoy the post though, ’twas funny!

I thought it was good to see motorbikes having them on always. Not that I’ve noticed either way for a long time.

Surely you jest – or perhaps you’re not terribly bright. You will usually see a car with its’ headlights on fractionally sooner than you will see a car without its’ headlights on – even in daylight, but especially in sub-optimal light conditions (overcast day, rain, fog, shadows).

I hope you’re not one of those dimwits who drive around in the fog with no lights on, somehow convinced that turning your damn lights on is a sign of weakness.

Joepublic, you are a douche.

There are a great many cars, especially european ones, have this feature as standard. I would recommend you try doing some research before running your mouth off http://www.acrs.org.au/collegepolicies/vehicles/daytimerunninglights.html

Apart from the fact you are a clown, in what way does other peoples headlights affect you during the day??

FOTW!!!

Really makes you wonder who the bigger idiot is doesn’t it, the person who forgets to turn their headlights off or has them turn on automatically, or this guy who gets his knickers in a knot and spends a good ten minutes of his life typing up the above rant about a petty issue thinking he’s pretty clever for it.

Wow, what a rant, I can’t believe you invested so much time into writing about something as trivial as people driving with their lights on. Especially seeing as we’ve had this discussion on RA before.

Having lights turned on during the day does increase visibility and subsequently safety, that’s why a lot of motorcycles have their headlights permanently wired on.

Fog lights and driving lights are a different story, but driving with your headlights on is perfectly legal and reasonable. If you have a personal problem with it, I suggest you purchase some sunglasses, they’re not expensive.

Never mind the fact that studies around the world have shown headlights during the day, or daytime running lights, can actually have safety benefits…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp#Safety_performance

When I drove a black car I would put my headlights on all the time. I did this for the simple fact that I noticed other black cars were sometimes difficult to see during the day when driving through a tree lined street, for example, where light and dark quickly affect visibility (especially on sunny days). Realising that my black car was no different to the others I was seeing I concluded that sometimes I might difficult to see as well.

It may only be an incremental improvement in visibility, I agree, but I see enough idiots on the road already to realise they need all they help they can get to see other road users around them.

My current car has daytime running lights and I think they’re a pretty good feature, to be honest.

You might also be surprised to learn that some hire car companies have their fleet wired up so that low beams are on at all times. I first noticed this back in the late 90s, so it’s hardly like this is a new phenomenon.

Haha, but keep getting fired up about it. It’s good to have a laugh from time to time.

You know what JoePublic, I would much prefer people leaving their lights on during the day than all the nutters who don’t put them on at dusk/dark. Just so you know, people who drive with their lights on during the day might not be aware. For example, I live in an apartment block with underground parking that isn’t very well lit so I put my lights on and sometimes forget to turn them off thus driving in the bright light of day with lights on. I remember to turn them off 98% of the time.

Can’t speak for everyone else…

But, on closer observation you might notice that Fords are over represented. My Falcon is set up so that the lights come on automatically even though the switch is in the “off” position. You can turn them off only by having parking lights on instead. Which since the parkers are in the headlights just makes them look dimmer.

The car used to belong to Telstra who I understand had this option fitted to their whole fleet. Perhaps, they are not the only fleet operator to do so.

You’d be pleased to know I’ve since had it deactivated because it was costing me a small fortune in globes. (Not to mention that the fitting of globes to a Falcon is best done by a contortionist with masochistic tendencies and involves partially disassembling the car).

Also, some cars nowadays will turn the headlights on automatically… and an overcast day is sometimes enough.

Won’t stop it annoying you… but, at least it’ll shed some light on your musings about there intellects. They DIDN’T turn them on necessarily.

FOTW ??
D*&KHEAD

“How the rest of the planet drives during sunny afternoons without headlights on is a mystery akin to… international airports that only have domestic destinations!”

Let’s not forget that in many countries of the world it is mandatory to drive with headlights on all the time, for example, in all Scandinavian countries as far as I know. In Germany, as another example, it is recommended but not mandatory as often it makes it easier to spot traffic from far away when you’re trying to overtake, etc.

While I don’t personally adhere to this practice, I can’t really find fault in it either.

Most modern cars (especially European ones) automatically switch on lower powered head lights during the day as a safety feature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp