windshield wipers (ugh)

[edstep]

Was out driving in western NC this weekend and as you probably know they got hammered with the rain. What I cant believe is the people who drive with OUT headlights, the visibility was so bad you could not make out the vehicles until they were on you. I know there is a law that you need to have your lights on when the wipers are on. When is this going to be a mandatory option in cars and trucks. Seems easy to me, turn your wipers on and the headlights come on automatically. Some people think that DRL's are sufficient but on the cars that I checked only the front is lighted not the rear

Any comments??

[Festus2]

In 1990, our Canadian government passed a law that required all new and any imported vehicles to have DRL in both cars and trucks - rain or shine. The main headlamps during the day function on a low voltage and what you see is a dimmed version of the night-time headlights.

There is no way to turn this function off -- the DRL's are always on during the day - and no one seems to complain or be concerned about the increased energy required to have them on all the time.

I'm not aware of any studies that have been carried out to prove or disprove their effectiveness in reducing accidents.

On our car & truck, the DRL's only function at the front - no lights at the rear unless you turn the main headlights on. You have to manually take it off AUTO to do this.

[BulletOwner1]

I was driving my new 2012 pickup in the rain the other day and noticed that the trailer marker lights kept going on and off. Figured out the every time I turned the wipers on my lights would come on. Seems like a good idea. Whether or not there should be a LAW??????????????????????????

With regards to DRLs I'm not in favor of them for one reason. Motorcyclists loose any advantage from running with their lights on. A glance in the rear view mirror and with all the DRLs on you don't know if there is a biker back there or not. Used to be some manufacturers used the parking (amber) lights as a DLR. Made more sense

[hankpage]

Why do cars have to do everything automatically?????? The more the cars do the lazier people get. I think the first thing was self canceling turn signals .... a good thing yes but people don't use the signals anyway. It should be second nature to turn on lights with the wipers but folks just don't care .... if you can't see them that's your problem. I think if you do a survey people with DRLs are more likely to drive later into dusk without lights because "They can see." There are many other examples but I will need my soap box to list them all. Festus2, DRLs can be turned off and so can the annoying BEEP when locking doors with a remote by a code or computer flash.

Now tell me it is not obvious that things like this are ONE of my pet peeves.

[crash]

Virginia has the Law ,If wipers are on headlights need to be on and they will write tickets for that.We always drive with our lights on in bad weather.

[TandE]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Why do cars have to do everything automatically?????? The more the cars do the lazier people get. I think the first thing was self canceling turn signals .... a good thing yes but people don't use the signals anyway. It should be second nature to turn on lights with the wipers but folks just don't care .... if you can't see them that's your problem. I think if you do a survey people with DRLs are more likely to drive later into dusk without lights because "They can see." There are many other examples but I will need my soap box to list them all. Festus2, DRLs can be turned off and so can the annoying BEEP when locking doors with a remote by a code or computer flash.

Now tell me it is not obvious that things like this are ONE of my pet peeves.

I agree with this. It is not hard to do anything in a car while driving. The car does not need to do it for you. The dw has a subaru and it has drl on it. The thing that sucks is the dash lights for the cluster are always on no matter what because of how it is designed you wouldn't be able to see it day or night. So if you are driving and it gets dark and headlights are not on you would think they are because of the drl's and the cluster is lit up but of course the tail lights are not. I've caught her a couple times doing that because the only indication that they are on is a tiny light symbol on the cluster that lights up when they are on.

[TandE]

Originally Posted by Festus2

In 1990, our Canadian government passed a law that required all new and any imported vehicles to have DRL in both cars and trucks - rain or shine. The main headlamps during the day function on a low voltage and what you see is a dimmed version of the night-time headlights.

There is no way to turn this function off -- the DRL's are always on during the day - and no one seems to complain or be concerned about the increased energy required to have them on all the time.

I'm not aware of any studies that have been carried out to prove or disprove their effectiveness in reducing accidents.

On our car & truck, the DRL's only function at the front - no lights at the rear unless you turn the main headlights on. You have to manually take it off AUTO to do this.

If your car/truck has an auto position for the lights it will automatically turn on the lights front and rear when it gets darker outside.

[crash]

Me and DW keep ours on auto so we dont have to worry about it

[SAABDOCTOR]

Hankpage I am with you! the less automatic stuff the better. read far more reliable. when i called to insure my truck i was aked if it had traction control, I said yes, they ran the vin and said no you don't. i asked what is my right foot for? . and wait till the electronic steering gear for the park it'self goes bad ykes that is expensive. ok i'll get off thebefore i get myself in troubble!

[GMcKenzie]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Why do cars have to do everything automatically??????

So, not buying one of these then?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...ticle13321122/

[SAABDOCTOR]

You writing the check? :d