Drivers driving with no headlights in the dark

sigma said:
I'd forgotten that, headlights aren't required on lit streets? Surely that needs to be updated? With the invention of DRL we now have the scenario lights on at all times, which makes this rule a bit of an odd one.

People sitting on footbrakes are often driving autos. Apparently it's better for the gearbox to keep it in drive and stay on the footbrake. I've also been told that new drivers are told to use footbrakes because the brakes are then applied to 4 wheels instead of 2.
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I doubt people are being thought to sit on the footbrake if they are they are being thought to drive against the highway code.

"In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again."

DRL aren't headlights though, it's specifically headlights you still need your sidelights on.

I think this also applies.
"You MUST NOT
use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders"
 
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robj20 said:
I think this also applies.
"You MUST NOT
use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders"
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Applies in theory only. I'm often dazzled by bright headlights! A situation that's much more annoying and dangerous than brake lights in traffic.
 
Dup said:
Back in the day the cluster wasn't illuminated unless your lights aren't on, these days it's like Christmas every day lights on/off.

I do see this a lot, unsure how people don't notice, It does seem to coincide with the school run now it's only just gone dark mind yo. I have been caught out once after an MOT and my auto lights were turned off but I'd driven about a meter in the car park which was well lit.
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How far back in the days are we going here? Our 2015 Skoda doesn't illuminate the dash unless the lights are on.
 
robj20 said:
I doubt people are being thought to sit on the footbrake if they are they are being thought to drive against the highway code.

"In stationary queues of traffic, drivers should apply the parking brake and, once the following traffic has stopped, take their foot off the footbrake to deactivate the vehicle brake lights. This will minimise glare to road users behind until the traffic moves again."

DRL aren't headlights though, it's specifically headlights you still need your sidelights on.

I think this also applies.
"You MUST NOT
use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders"
Click to expand...
Doesn’t really work with auto hold though. Squeeze the brake and auto hold comes on, and brake lights stay illuminated.
I don’t think I’ve ever used the parking brake in my car apart from when it comes on automatically when i turn the car off.
 
I’ve seen this increasingly and in the fog too. The mind boggles. You do become accustomed to auto lights, although when they were switched off in my wife’s car by the garage I noticed within about 30 seconds of the journey.
 
dLockers said:
That's part of the problem, as most modern cars have a light-up dash 24x7. Previously it'd only light up if you turned the lights on.

My mums Fiesta was nicked and the thief made the same mistake I often made in that car, and forgot to turn the headlights on (because the dash was lit up). That's how he got caught.
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I wonder if people are sharing between a modern car with auto-lights and an old car, and just forget.

I never touch the lights on our car, if the car thinks it's dark enough then it will switch on the lights.

Frankly it should be mandatory (it may be now) on new cars to have auto-lights. It would stop situations like these.
 
Semple said:
I wonder if people are sharing between a modern car with auto-lights and an old car, and just forget.

I never touch the lights on our car, if the car thinks it's dark enough then it will switch on the lights.

Frankly it should be mandatory (it may be now) on new cars to have auto-lights. It would stop situations like these.
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I think there are three categories:

1. Old car, manual lights, dash only illuminates when lights are on -> no problem
2. Modern car, manual lights, dash illuminated all the time -> problem
3. Modern car, auto lights, dash illuminated all the time -> no problem.

My mum's Fiesta is definitely category 2 and it is easy to forget, especially in a well lit street.
 
Semple said:
I wonder if people are sharing between a modern car with auto-lights and an old car, and just forget.

I never touch the lights on our car, if the car thinks it's dark enough then it will switch on the lights.

Frankly it should be mandatory (it may be now) on new cars to have auto-lights. It would stop situations like these.
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Issue with auto lights though is that in foggy conditions they often don't come on. Driving wife's ID3 today in fog and had to manually put headlights on as the auto lights were not turning the headlights on. Saw =mnay cars driving in the fog without only drls on - presumably they had auto lights that also were not activating headlights.
 
theone8181 said:
Must be poverty spec my wife's 2012 focus did (and had auto lights). Imo should get rid of the options and have either auto or on, problem solved.
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Yup, my 2009 Skoda lights up the dash, lights on or off, and has auto lights* and wipers

* the auto lights required a very minor modification
 
It's also when folk get get a hire car they unfamiliar with and drive at night just thinking their lights are a bit crap.

I was driving the other night in the pitch black and over the brow of the hill in front of me I thought ET was coming back for a second visit - the sky, the trees and everything around was lit up like daytime. Then the lorry came in to view with enough lights to illuminate a large village (with green, blue or yellow decorative lights for added effect). I understand that truck drivers need the lights but the roof bars/lights on some trucks are so high on the roof of the cab that they blind you before the truck driver's vision is over the crest of the hill. With their lights on full supernova setting they can't see your lights peeking over the hill either.
 
It’s basically a combination of always illuminated dashboards and bright DLRs on modern cars. Particularly when in areas with street lighting.

Some DLRs would have passed for headlights 20 years ago.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
It’s basically a combination of always illuminated dashboards and bright DLRs on modern cars. Particularly when in areas with street lighting.

Some DLRs would have passed for headlights 20 years ago.
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Wasn't it something like a 35 or 55 limit, which for a bulb is reasonable, but for anything led it's like a small sun. Imo modern current dipped beams are brighter than full beam in years gone by. I keep getting people flashing me (wahey) as the lights in my Model 3 are very bright, but I can't do anything about that.
 
sigma said:
I'd forgotten that, headlights aren't required on lit streets? Surely that needs to be updated? With the invention of DRL we now have the scenario lights on at all times, which makes this rule a bit of an odd one.

People sitting on footbrakes are often driving autos. Apparently it's better for the gearbox to keep it in drive and stay on the footbrake. I've also been told that new drivers are told to use footbrakes because the brakes are then applied to 4 wheels instead of 2.
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Most stop start systems on autos work only work when using the footbrake, put on the handbrake and release the pedal and the engine will restart. On something like a VW DSG box it will drop into neutral when stopped on the footbrake but will stay in first and drag the clutches when using the handbrake.
 
robj20 said:
You also have to remember that headlights aren't required on lit streets, so don't go flashing those people.

People sitting on the footbrake at lights should be shot though.
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As per the recent thread on it - weirdly many automatic cars are not designed to accommodate the highway code when it comes to brake lights.
 
theone8181 said:
Wasn't it something like a 35 or 55 limit, which for a bulb is reasonable, but for anything led it's like a small sun. Imo modern current dipped beams are brighter than full beam in years gone by. I keep getting people flashing me (wahey) as the lights in my Model 3 are very bright, but I can't do anything about that.
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The legal limits are all based on power consumption or something daft like that and haven’t changed for decades. That means with the swap from halogen to LED, they can put far brighter lights in the car.

Ford fiesta DLRs are brighter than the headlights on my old car.

As for your model 3, the lights in your car are probably just misaligned. If you park it on a slope and update the software, the lights might fall out of calibration. Park it somewhere flat, go into the service menu and hit the recalibrate button. You can also manually pull them down a few clicks in the same menu if needed using the scroll wheels.
 
2015 Polo and the dash only illuminates when the headlights are on. My van has auto lights which I let it do it’s own thing.
 
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