Driving down a dual carriageway this morning around 10am, it was foggy but light. Now, the Highway Code would have me believe that owing to reduced visibility, my lights should be on (which they were manually,but off automatically). It was interesting to see that many 'older' cars coming toward me had indeed their lights on but 'newer' cars did not. It is apparent then that we should not depend on the 'auto' light selection on the light stalk and select the lighting manually. So, not much use for this 'auto' light system but a dangerous setting if like my wife, you just leave it there hoping everything is sorted for you! Gone back to manual settings especially for foggy/misty winter months.
Auto lights, bad invention?
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
Gotta agree with you on this. It never ceases to amaze me how many people dont bother to put lights on when its reduced visibility.
And dont get me started on a particular bugbear of mine, people who drive with front fogs on when its not foggy! Grrr.....
And dont get me started on a particular bugbear of mine, people who drive with front fogs on when its not foggy! Grrr.....
AUTO light setting
So, AUTO LIGHT SETTING ON - GOOD DAYLIGHT -THICK FOG -BUT NO LIGHTS!
The point I am trying to get over here is the useless effect of an auto light setting if left permanently on in the car, which my wife does. So, before driving off, if it's foggy/misty, then deselect the Auto Light Switch and set lights manually. Otherwise, enjoy a foggy ride unaware that you have no lights on
Has a badly needed combined daylight/fog sensor been invented yet? Seems something a manufactured should be looking in to.
AyJay, I think you are missing my point here. If you set your lights to come on automatically then they should come on when needed (ie) REDUCED VISIBILITY. This setting is no use for that, the sensors will only kick in when there is not enough LIGHT showing through the sky and switch the lights on.
So, AUTO LIGHT SETTING ON - GOOD DAYLIGHT -THICK FOG -BUT NO LIGHTS!
The point I am trying to get over here is the useless effect of an auto light setting if left permanently on in the car, which my wife does. So, before driving off, if it's foggy/misty, then deselect the Auto Light Switch and set lights manually. Otherwise, enjoy a foggy ride unaware that you have no lights on
Has a badly needed combined daylight/fog sensor been invented yet? Seems something a manufactured should be looking in to.
Joined
·
130 Posts
I found the auto lights on my previous Chev Cruze to be a totally useless feature. At least on the new Ceed 2 We now have DRL still not available on the Cruze. However many of the DRL lights including the New Ceed are too large & too bright. Volvo got it right way back in 1976 when I had day notice lights on my 264 GLI however fuel consumption was bad 16 mpg only problem those days were that people kept on pointing at the car saying you have left your lights on.
Oh My God, im actually agreeing with Disbeliever!!!!!!!
Some DRLs are very bright and at dusk when its a 50/50 for switching to full lights bright DRLs can be very distracting. I guess they need to be brighter so they are visible during the day. I think aftermarket DRLs can be the worst in this respect.
Wurzel,i did see you point. The trouble is people are getting lazy and if you cant be bothered to switch your lights on and your car will do i for you then people will use that feature. Its dumbing down for the masses. Letting a mechanical device take away your desicion making and common sense.
I agree with what you say about the auto light feature not working in reduced visibility but where does common sense come in to it and actually making the choice to switch your lights on yourself if you think that your car will make the choice for you!
Although my car doesnt have the auto feature for the lights, i dont think i would use it if it were fitted, im perfectly capable of deciding when lights should be switched on or off.
I bet youve had some interesting "discussions" with your wife about the auto lights feature on your car!
Some DRLs are very bright and at dusk when its a 50/50 for switching to full lights bright DRLs can be very distracting. I guess they need to be brighter so they are visible during the day. I think aftermarket DRLs can be the worst in this respect.
Wurzel,i did see you point. The trouble is people are getting lazy and if you cant be bothered to switch your lights on and your car will do i for you then people will use that feature. Its dumbing down for the masses. Letting a mechanical device take away your desicion making and common sense.
I agree with what you say about the auto light feature not working in reduced visibility but where does common sense come in to it and actually making the choice to switch your lights on yourself if you think that your car will make the choice for you!
Although my car doesnt have the auto feature for the lights, i dont think i would use it if it were fitted, im perfectly capable of deciding when lights should be switched on or off.
I bet youve had some interesting "discussions" with your wife about the auto lights feature on your car!
Driving to work once on the motorway an Audi kept flashing me, after a few miles I started to wonder if the car was falling apart or something worse. A few miles later it finally sank in, everytime he went under a bridge his lights came on, the auto setting must have been very sensitive.
Yes, my lights on my ceed come on when I am doing a school drop off. It happens under an overhang of trees on both sides for a distance of maybe 40yards. Then the lights will stay on quite a while until sensor circuit kicks in to switch them off again.
Yes,I agree you get lazy with new gadgets and maybe put too much dependence on them.
Maybe, like you I am moving slightly to be more of a Believer in Disbeliever...time will tell
I'm old enough to remember when Volvo started producing cars (1970's) where the side lights were on all the time the engine was running, no matter how bright the day was. In a sort of perverse way it was great fun at the time flashing the driver to tell them that their lights were on.:devil::lol:
Did you flash at Saabs too RTF I know some bugger kept doing it to me. Thats when I started doing the finger.
johnfranklyn
DRLs are a completely daft idea because the dazzle prevents proper identification of vehicle speed & position. It would be far better if car manufacturers just stopped painting cars in camouflage colours.
Joined
·
130 Posts
I would not agree that DRLs are a daft idea except that there is no legislation as to size brightness & position. The only camouflage colour I know of is Black, what are the others ? I also had Volvos from 1976 when they were first with day notice lights, after 3 264 GLI's auto only 16 mpg I switched to Saab 900's auto 21.9 mpg also had 3 of them excellent roadholding but big problem was the off set pedals that caused a bad leg ache, same problem occured with the 3 BMW 318s also bad electrical faults , very overated I would not buy another BMW. a very arrogant Firm, I suppose someone will now call me a racist. The last BMW I imported from Holland to full UK spec. it was £3500 cheaper and I paid from memory £5/600 to increase the warranty to 3 years.
Yes, DRLs are daft because they distract drivers from seeing other important things they have to attend to. A brightly lit vehicle is much harder to judge for range and speed. There is usually little need to see another vehicle more than about 3 seconds away.
A quick survey suggests at least 3/4 of cars are painted in some shade of grey (or "silver" if grey is too low rent a description) - the same colour as the road and fog.
Looking at the Ceed 4 brochure, it shows 7 "choices"; 3 of which are grey.
Black is actually quite a good colour in many conditions.
I'm with various above (including Disbeliever) in that auto lights are indeed a danger if utterly relied upon. The number of people I've signalled to put their lights on since Monday is horrendous, and most of them have been silver/grey cars, a good half of them were blokes too. DRL's are a great idea if implemented correctly, but some are overly dazzling for sure.
Oddly enough, I think Citroen have got it about right - I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole, but at least they can design good DRL's
Oddly enough, I think Citroen have got it about right - I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole, but at least they can design good DRL's
Disbeliever, this is a post about DRLs but yet again you choose to hijack a thread and go on about MPG and various moans about other problems youve had with other cars that are in no way connected with this thread. So.... this is a polite request to keep things on topic please because its getting very tiring.
No only Volvos, usually driven by very bad women drivers who needed all that steel and lights to protect them.
You didn't see many Saabs on the roads in those days. Most of them were stuck in snow drifts trying to get out of Sweden.
Hi disbeliever, Your price of your BMW imported from Holland sounds a very good move.
Is that sort of bargain still on now, I wonder? Did you manage to get a right hand drive on the deal as well?
Don't like to carp but I was tought Black and White are not colours.
Is that sort of bargain still on now, I wonder? Did you manage to get a right hand drive on the deal as well?
Don't like to carp but I was tought Black and White are not colours.
Joined
·
130 Posts
Not true it was the Volvos that were stuck in the snow being rear wheel drive, Saabs being front wheel drive are far better in the snow as are all front wheel drive cars, you should know this.No only Volvos, usually driven by very bad women drivers who needed all that steel and lights to protect them.
You didn't see many Saabs on the roads in those days. Most of them were stuck in snow drifts trying to get out of Sweden.
1 - 20 of 33 Posts
Join the discussion
