• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

ABSOLUTELY...THE MOST DANGEROUS safety feature ever added for US vehicles

Forums New posts
Mr2mch said:
Even though the Camry has automatic lights....I still turn the switch manually. Keeps me connected to the cars functions
Click to expand...
Assuming it is an automatic, do you also still use the push buttons and/or "manual" section of the gear shifter to stay more connected? If so, mad props to you. I let my truck turn the headlights on at night, also cycle from hi to low beams, turn them on and off when the wipers turn on and off, and I let my transmission do the shifting for me. Then I can focus more on the idiots around me and less on the mundane functions of the vehicle.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
Assuming it is an automatic, do you also still use the push buttons and/or "manual" section of the gear shifter to stay more connected? If so, mad props to you. I let my truck turn the headlights on at night, also cycle from hi to low beams, turn them on and off when the wipers turn on and off, and I let my transmission do the shifting for me. Then I can focus more on the idiots around me and less on the mundane functions of the vehicle.
Click to expand...
So...you're saying you're an extremely lazy lay-about when it comes to driving?;-)
 
TNC said:
So...you're saying you're an extremely lazy lay-about when it comes to driving?;-)
Click to expand...
I am!

So, funny story.... a few months ago I was lucky enough to participate in one of those things where you get to drive a super car around a road course for 4 laps. During the pre-drive instruction folks asked about using the paddle shifters instead of the DCT (or other versions) of the automatic transmissions. Our instructor who was a former pro racer said point blank that if he took the same car around the same track, he would be faster if he left the shifting to the car and focused on actually driving it. He promised that we would have our hands more than full just with acceleration, braking, and trying to keep the thing on the track. He wasn't wrong..... So transition that to normal driving, I choose to let my vehicle handle the simple things like turning on the headlights.

Now, back to semi on topic, I think daytime running lights are a joke and wish that no cars had them. Here is my take, if everyone is special, than really no one is special. If you are the only one that is running your headlights, then you will stick out like a sore thumb. If literally everyone else is doing the same thing, it just because noise. I will say that I've seen my fair share of cars running around in the dark with only the daytime running lights on, and their pilots are oh so oblivious.

IMG_8071.jpg
 
Ooooh!...I bet that was fun, DFW.

Yeah, so many of the automatic features on modern cars are a blessing and convenience. The only ones I usually like to kill with an onboard tuner are the door and seatbelt "dingers". I'm not going to drive without my seatbelt, and I always look down at the instrument panel out of habit before dropping into drive. A "door ajar" illuminated light is plenty.
 
I jus turned on the Camrys DRL feature since its been a few years that I got it.
NO TAIL LIGHTS
DRLs are back to the off position

SHAME ON TOYOTA

My door dinger is off too. But it still comes on & flashes if door is ajar while moving.
 
How come when we use an advanced or automatic feature of a car / motorcycle / camera, we like it because it frees our brain up to concentrate on other aspects of the task at hand. But when other people use the same feature, they're lazy / stupid / incompetent.

Inquiring minds want to know. :ponder: And I suspect someone is about to tell them. :duck:
 
Mr2mch said:
I jus want folks to tell the idiots at the car mfgs to include tail lights in the DRL feature. Make sure yall pass this info along to others to spread the word.
Click to expand...

Of all the things I’ve seen people try to rally support for this has to be the strangest.
 
TNC said:
Ooooh!...I bet that was fun, DFW.
Click to expand...
Oh you have no idea! It was so much darn fun, and I really can’t wait to do it again. There were a few times where the instructor guy in the passenger seat wanted me to start braking to get into the corner but I just wasn’t ready yet. I knew that car could go a little deeper into the turn. 😀
 
I'm not a fan of DRL because, as someone already said, if everyone is special,, nobody is. However I don't see the concern about taillights.

Most cars have auto headlights so if dark enough to need tail lights, the DRL goes off and the headlights, dash lights and tail lights come on.

If fog isn't thick enough to make it dark enough for the auto headlights to come on, then the tail lights probably aren't needed.

Now...my pet peave is people driving with their flashers on in rain or fog. Just a sea of flashing lights distracting everyone and.making it impossible to actually use a signal to let someone know you need to change lanes.
 
If we're opening it up to pet peeves, I'll add my frustration (the flasher people reminded me of this one) for people who, when caught in their cars in downpours, stop under freeway bridges and shelter from the rain. I get it if it's 5" hail. Otherwise, it's nothing more than an unnecessary menace to other traffic. Plus, it takes that space away from motorcyclists who have a legitimate reason to hunker under a bridge. I can remember days on Loop 12 in Dallas when as many as 7 or 8 cars might be squeezed under a single bridge - apparently just protecting their wax jobs, because I was doing quite nicely, plugging along in my CR-V.
 
Pet peeves?

Poorly adjusted, exceedingly bright LED headlights (and auxiliary lights).

And, I agree with Rod, if headlights are on, taillights should be on too.
 
I only posted this because Im seeing waaaay too many cars n trucks in foggy conditions with no taillights...only DRLs

I dont necessarily agree with the public needing DRLs....jus that they should be engineered properly. Is that so strange
 
SpiritAtBay said:
Pet peeves?

Poorly adjusted, exceedingly bright LED headlights (and auxiliary lights).

And, I agree with Rod, if headlights are on, taillights should be on too.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I have been driving regular cars (sedan or hatch) vs an suv or truck to work for a few years. The lifted 3/4 ton truck with factory death-ray headlights and some add-on chinese garbage led bars are the worst. It's like the factory doesn't think anyone should be driving a normal car anymore so they don't need to worry about blinding them.
 
And if we can be honest, we all probably have our own foibles brought on by modern tech. Even though I'm a lifelong map addict, I've totally embraced GPSs. The fact is it's not safe looking at a map next to your seat in a car, and it's somewhere between insanely dangerous and totally impossible to even glance at one on a bike while moving. With a GPS, it's safe & simple to follow the little purple line.

That's the upside. The downside is I've let myself become to dependent on the info provided on the screen. I'm so accustomed to looking at the speed limit on the screen that I often forget to watch for signs posted along the road. Speed limits in a Garmin GPS are usually correct; however, not always, and one of these days I'm gonna earn myself a ticket these days.
 
And to think, I used to worry about getting pulled over because I had blue dots in the tail lights of my 56' Chevy pick up. I do still love blue dots and have had one in my Harley tail light for 34 years. Boy I'm a rebel huh ? [emoji23]

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
We can blame the car all we want, ultimately its the driver's responsibility to operate it in a safe manner. With more and more safety nannies and automation added to vehicles, the human drivers will invariably become more and more detached from that responsibility.

Rammed the car in front... oh, the darn emergency braking system failed to react.

Side swiped the car next to ya... ah huh, the lane keep assist mal functioned.

Fell asleep at the wheel Griswald style... $#@! Driver attention alert level sensor didn't warn me, fer crying out loud.

Yeah... :roll:
 
MidlifeCrisis said:
We can blame the car all we want, ultimately its the driver's responsibility to operate it in a safe manner. With more and more safety nannies and automation added to vehicles, the human drivers will invariably become more and more detached from that responsibility.

Rammed the car in front... oh, the darn emergency braking system failed to react.

Side swiped the car next to ya... ah huh, the lane keep assist mal functioned.

Fell asleep at the wheel Griswald style... $#@! Driver attention alert level sensor didn't warn me, fer crying out loud.

Yeah... :roll:
Click to expand...
Agree it's the drivers responsibility...always. However, Techno-nannies creates ignorance and laziness. Then relying on that becomes people's new normal instead of having learned the Skill of driving. Then the minute a back up camera fails someone won't even know how to park their car.

Vehicle headlights are so bright now that when the turn signal comes on, the headlight ( closest to the direction of the turn - another stupidity ) has to cut off so you can see the turn signal.
Making taillights come on with dash lights is a no-brainer.
What really gets me is that it's more than one manufacturer.
How many people have posted just in this thread about how stupid it is for taillights not to be on with dash lights ?
Yet hundreds / thousands of people in charge of designing, building, and approving of the safety of new vehicles can't see it ?? Makes ya wonder...



Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
A few things seem to be clear:

- Drivers and automobile buyers want vehicles with driver's aids
- Drivers and automobile buyers don't want to have to learn to drive effectively and practice doing it
- Drivers do not want to be responsible for decisions regarding driving safety
- Government sees this as an opportunity to save people from themselves
- The number of us who do not fit this mold are shrinking

This is bad news for motorcyclists in particular because motorcycles are a poor platform for implementing driver aids in lieu of operator attention and skill. Since government is involved in this movement, once a particular thing like back up cameras or lane assist or automatic parking is mandated and cannot be effectively implemented on motorcycles, it stacks up, and eventually the stack will become too large and they will simply deem motorcycles as unsafe for today's roads. The other major reason this is dangerous for motorcyclists is because these driver aid type systems are a very poor substitute for proper driving by an intelligent human in terms of protecting the safety of motorcyclists from non-motorcyclists.

Truthfully I think this is largely being regarded as a macro problem with a systemic solution. If more and more cars have these kinds of driver aids, then provided they can be made to be systematically compatible to achieve the goal, design choices like the one we are talking about will be seen to have minimal negative impact. The driver is the one incompatible with this system. I mean, fully autonomous vehicles wouldn't require headlights or taillights at all in any conditions. Those lights are there for the operator, but we are basically designing the operator out of the system as a whole.

As an engineer, I might suggest that if DRL are intended to reduce head on collisions then their use sans taillights is perfectly appropriate, even in the fog. Failure by the operator to turn on the whole headlight system in the dark or in fog will primarily have the effect of increasing the chances of a rear-end collision when vehicles are moving in the same direction and neither vehicle is braking, but consider the speed difference in this case is small in most cases, so while annoying to drivers, the real risk is pretty small. Weighing against this risk, let's say the auto industry did what we suggest here and make DRL turn on the entire lighting system, which would reasonably result in early failure of taillight bulbs. Drivers will notice immediately that their headlight bulb is out but can drive for months with taillight bulbs out without knowing it, so a negative side effect of DRL+taillights might actually be to make taillights be off no matter what in too many cases. Or in other words, if drivers can't even be trusted to turn on their lights, how in the world can we reasonably expect them to do maintenance on their cars?

Anyway, my personal preference as a certified old guy is that drivers should learn to drive and be held accountable when they fail to do so. People are way better at doing this than machines are. But the cold reality is that my opinion is very uncommon these days so I can't wait until fully autonomous cars are available to remove these crummy drivers from the equation entirely. If you're going to be texting while driving, I'd rather you be texting while the car drives itself. The self driving car may make a mistake from time to time but it's still less likely to run over me than an inattentive driver who completely doesn't care about safe driving.
 
" - Government sees this as an opportunity to save people from themselves "

For those that believe our government has our best interest in mind, remember....
They call dash lights coming on without taillights a " safety feature "







Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
Sonny S. said:
" - Government sees this as an opportunity to save people from themselves "

For those that believe our government has our best interest in mind, remember....
They call dash lights coming on without taillights a " safety feature "
Click to expand...

Actually, they call the headlights coming on without the user having to think about it a "safety feature". It's debatable whether this improves safety, but it's pretty disingenuous to suggest they really left out turning on the taillights. That was never the intent, and clearly there is a big downside to doing that anyway.

I'm not for government mandating any of this stuff. But at least give them some credit here. They weren't trying to solve a problem of "making all the lights turn on all the time".
 
mr72 said:
Actually, they call the headlights coming on without the user having to think about it a "safety feature". It's debatable whether this improves safety, but it's pretty disingenuous to suggest they really left out turning on the taillights. That was never the intent, and clearly there is a big downside to doing that anyway.

I'm not for government mandating any of this stuff. But at least give them some credit here. They weren't trying to solve a problem of "making all the lights turn on all the time".
Click to expand...
Zero credit given to the government on this one. This was a very simple task. If you want the lights on then make the lights come on. Not half the lights.
But do explain the downside to the taillights coming on with dash lights or forward facing lights.

Sent from my E6910 using Tapatalk
 
Which vehicles have the dash lights on without the tail lights? All the vehicles that I am familiar with that have DRL don't have the dash lights on unless the headlights and taillights are on. Just this last week I noticed several vehicles without DRL just driving with no lights in the fog and drizzle also at dusk. The problem is a loose nut behind the wheel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top