Topic

Monday morning and off i drove the 12 miles to work...........the fog was quite thick...........nearly has thick has the num nuts driving without any lights........one lady driver in a toyota only had 1 front foglight working...there was no other lights on it at all....by the time i reached my destination i had counted 6 other num nuts with faulty lights........i even spotted a cyclist wearing black with no lights......has i drove home tonight in the dark plus fog i thought how many of those drivers botherd to pop into a shop and buy some bulbs............or are they out there again waiting to kill someone

We seen a few today on the A55, some with no lights and some with fully functional fog lights BUT still doing 80 or 90mph right up the chuff of the car in front!!

Yet when there is no fog what do you see:-


Idiots driving around with front and rear fog lights ON!

You'd think that manufacturers, with all the technology available, would be able to fit some kind of sensor to switch fog lights on and off automatically like auto headlights do .

I have a suspicion that these are not fog lights but daytime running lights and the drivers are unaware that they are only front drls with no lights at the back.

I saw loads last week when driving in heavy rain with lots of spray coming off the road . I got fed up of flashing the drivers after the tenth one!

I always wonder why cars with DRL's have not automatically switched on their rear lights. As I don't have DRL's I question if the dashlight is on or switches on automatically because till quite far in dusk/twilight people tend to drive with their DRL's on in stead of switching on their headlights. Somebody know htis?

I don't know the answer to that one. It's a good point though.

I ve got a Mazda 6 which I can understand other drivers looking through there mirrors looking puzzled in slow traffic has every time you apply the handbrake the drls go off ...i know this is to signify the car isn't moving ....anyway has for no lights there should be a audible sound like no seat belt plugged in sound to make you turn the lights on

The driving dutchman wrote: wrote:

I always wonder why cars with DRL's have not automatically switched on their rear lights. As I don't have DRL's I question if the dashlight is on or switches on automatically because till quite far in dusk/twilight people tend to drive with their DRL's on in stead of switching on their headlights. Somebody know htis?

I think what happens varies a bit between makes & models. My Suzuki S-Cross has LED DRLs at the front which are also the front side lights so if I switch on the side lights I have full DRLs at the front and normal red tail lights. Mrs Blow-in's Suzuki Swift also has LED DRLs but has separate front & rear side lights so if she switches on the side lights the DRLs go off. With the S-Cross the instrument lights are on all the time the car is running. With the Swift they only come on with the side or head lights. Both cars have an auto light setting and this will switch on the head lights & rear tail lights automatically if it senses the light levels are low. In the case of the S-Cross the DRLs are then dimmed. In both cars there is a green light on the dash to let you know that the headlights are on. Both cars have rear fogs that can only come on with either the head lights or the front fogs & side lights. The fog lights on both cars are self cancelling if you switch off the ignition so you have to make a positive selection to switch them on each time you start the car (a part from when the auto stop-start is working).

So it's quite complex really and drivers really should understand their own cars (and before anyone asks the interior mirror dips automatically on the S-Cross - actually it tints when exposed to a lot of direct light) and switch on the appropriate lights for the visibility - but there is nothing new in this.

Richard

Complex indeed. When headlights turn on automatically they might not do this in fog because it's not a bit of dark then.. If interior lights are on all the time people are unaware that there may be a need for switching on the headlights. And the little green light that shows headlights are on is not really in my mind as well, if it's off it won't make you aware at all....

The driving dutchman wrote: wrote:

Complex indeed. When headlights turn on automatically they might not do this in fog because it's not a bit of dark then.. If interior lights are on all the time people are unaware that there may be a need for switching on the headlights. And the little green light that shows headlights are on is not really in my mind as well, if it's off it won't make you aware at all....

Yes, the fully automatic car has yet to arrive so you still need to drive the car. Having DRLs has not changed my attitude to driving in fog. First, I try to avoid it if I can, secondly if I can't I make sure I have the appropriate lights on and thirdly I slown down to ensure that I can stop within the distance visible. We've had some fog here today, not too thick, so I had a play with the available light options on the S-Cross and found that the auto on detected the lack of ambient light very well but if in doubt I can select manually whatever I want. Technology is not the issue here, it's drivers who think that they are immortal and expect to do their normal journey in their normal time what ever the condtions - fog, ice, snow & rain are no reasons to slow down because their target speed is always the speed limit or more. Years ago someone suggested the best car safety device would be a sharp spike in the centre of the steering wheel pointing at the driver's chest - I support this approach to natural selection!

Richard

PS years ago I heard a story about 2 German drivers found unconsious at the wheels of their cars on a minor road in thick fog. The story goes that it was so thick, they had both wound down their windows and stuck their heads out to follow the white line in the centre of the road and were knocked-out when their heads met each other! True??

no you should never stick your head out of the window..............but ive seen plenty of dogs doing it.