Drivers driving with no headlights in the dark

Alibaba99 said:
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.
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Ah yeah, I hated that in my Jag.

The Merc system is godlike. Push the brake super hard and the handbrake is automatically applied. Dreamy. Missed this on my Jags.
 
I've forgotten to turn them on in the city a few times in the past few years, usually in autumn when the early nights draw in. I think it's the modern LED street lights illuminating everything in colour which fools me, rather than the orangy glow of old.

I also had an instance one morning where a driver was furiously flashing me and gesticulating for me to turn on my lights, but we were now in daylight and the streetlights had just turned off!
 
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gailjon said:
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.
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Yup, although fog reduces visibility, it doesn't necessarily mean it's dark which is where auto headlights need to be overridden.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Ford fiesta DLRs are brighter than the headlights on my old car.
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Think my Qashqai DRLs are as good as some older headlights LOL. I'm so used to the auto lights I do need to remember to make sure I'm properly lit in day time fog - think at least once I've not realised.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
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.
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I don't think they are, when they come on they light up opposites upstairs. I don't think there would be that much adjustment.
 
Rroff said:
Think my Qashqai DRLs are as good as some older headlights LOL. I'm so used to the auto lights I do need to remember to make sure I'm properly lit in day time fog - think at least once I've not realised.
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The problem with DRL’s is you’re not illuminated from the rear, which can be problem on the motorway when you can barely make out the car in front due to poor weather.
 
theone8181 said:
I don't think they are, when they come on they light up opposites upstairs. I don't think there would be that much adjustment.
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It’s not uncommon to see model 3 headlamps pointing skyward, I’ve not seen anyone suggest they haven’t been able to fix it in the service menu.

All I can say is have a go!
 
Building Candy said:
The worst, by far, is the slightly modified car with sidelights and fogs on. OMG just no.
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I own a modified car :p

my "fogs" are on as DRLs (modified the units with lower wattage LEDs because as foglights they were ******* useless anyway

Anyway back on topic.

The lack of police on the roads means that this is happening more often but even with police present, at least in South Yorkshire, road offences tend to get ignored by them. Currently our law enforcement is derelict, but that's another thread.

As people have stated, DRLS/always illuminated dashs are the main cause of the issue, auto-lights to a lesser extent (fog/low visibility scenario).

Personally I'd have light-sensors fitted to all cars but do away with auto-lights. Instead the sensor would be connected to a 150Db horn inside the cabin, as near to the driver's head as possible, maybe even connected to a brake interlock too.
Goes dark and driver hasn't turned on the lights, horn goes off and if stationary handbrake refuses to release. (obviously brake interlock wouldn't engage if vehicle was in motion)
 
Doobedoo said:
The problem with DRL’s is you’re not illuminated from the rear, which can be problem on the motorway when you can barely make out the car in front due to poor weather.
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I'd have to double check but on my Qashqai I'm 99% sure there is a portion of the tail lights which come on with the DRLs - there is 2 different stages of illumination for the tail lights, not sure on my other vehicles.
 
Rroff said:
I'd have to double check but on my Qashqai I'm 99% sure there is a portion of the tail lights which come on with the DRLs - there is 2 different stages of illumination for the tail lights, not sure on my other vehicles.
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I haven’t seen any I’m pretty sure my Polo doesn’t or the van.
 
Doobedoo said:
I haven’t seen any I’m pretty sure my Polo doesn’t or the van.
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The QQ has the Smart Vision pack which includes additional lighting features as well as other driving/parking assists. I don't know off the top of my head with my other vehicles but I've never noticed the tail lights not at least partially on with the QQ.
 
On my car the DRL’s are always on, I have to turn the switch once to turn the sidelights on and once more to turn the headlights on.
 
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Doobedoo said:
On my car the DRL’s are always on, I have to turn the switch once to turn the sidelights on and once more to turn the headlights on.
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I believe to be the case on the QQ by default but there are advanced options for the DRLs in the menu - I've never played with those settings though.
 
Rroff said:
I believe to be the case on the QQ by default but there are advanced options for the DRLs in the menu - I've never played with those settings though.
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It really is an issue. People think because they have super bright DRL’s that other cars can see them. They can from the front but nothing from the rear. It really become an issue on a motorway when it start to rain for example and the road spray kicks up. You cannot see the car in front very well, especially if they are dark coloured . Not even auto lights can respond to this it requires manual intervention.
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
It’s not uncommon to see model 3 headlamps pointing skyward, I’ve not seen anyone suggest they haven’t been able to fix it in the service menu.

All I can say is have a go!
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I think it's to do with how much charge is in the batteries. The more electricity in there, the more it weighs. It's similar to a car with lots of heavy stuff in the boot.


:)
 
Funny enough this happened yesterday. Evoque driving around with nothing on about at 5.00 ish so pretty dark by then. There's sporadic streetlights so while they probably could still see where they are going I don't know how they didn't notice.
 
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