DRL`S Are they dangerous???

-Corkie-

I had a close call the other morning in fog when I nearly rear ended a new A4 as they had no tail lights on.

When I overtook the car later they had the front DRL`S on which made the car very visible from the front.

Has anybody else noticed this, should the tail lights not illuminate as well???

Opinions/criticism please??;)

MidlandsM

its a good point........or maybe you need a trip to specsavers!





jus kiddin'

coolbeans

DRLs definitely should run with rear lights. People are pretty dopey re lights in Ireland in particular. Judging by the number of people I see driving with side/foglight combos on in the dead of night it's not a stretch to imagine some genius thinking DRLs will do the job for all lighting needs with ensuing disastrous results.

mickdw

Ya the rears should come on too IMO. (Its easy enough to do too with vag com on modern audis btw). To be honest though, the driver of a car with DRLs must surely be aware that they should switch on some form of rear lighting when the conditions require it.

-Corkie-

mickdw wrote: »

Ya the rears should come on too IMO. (Its easy enough to do too with vag com on modern audis btw). To be honest though, the driver of a car with DRLs must surely be aware that they should switch on some form of rear lighting when the conditions require it.

I think a lot of them presume when they have lights on the front and if the dash is lit up..

Sorry about the grammer I am dying..:o

biko

Afaik DRL are all light, back and front.
Maybe the A4 had a wiring issue or something.

And yeah sometimes people drive around at night with only parking lights on.
Probably cheapskates thinking they'll save bulbs this way. Eejits in my opinion.

Padraig Mor

Had DRLs on my C5 and rear lights didn't come on with them.

-Corkie-

biko wrote: »

Afaik DRL are all light, back and front.
Maybe the A4 had a wiring issue or something.

Not on VAG cars anyway.

biko

I've only had DRLs on SAAB and Volvo. All lights lit up then.

-Corkie-

biko wrote: »

I've only had DRLs on SAAB and Volvo. All lights lit up then.

Thats the way the Audis should be too.

si_guru

Nope... DRL is front only.

But I agree (and I have DRLs) that drivers need to remember to use dipped lights in poor weather as normal.

lau1247

just a note that the drl can be turned off.. so not every audi would have them on.. but majority would

conneem-TT

-Corkie- wrote: »

I think a lot of them presume when they have lights on the front and if the dash is lit up..

Sorry about the grammer I am dying..:o

The dash doesn't light up with drl's though.

biko wrote: »

Afaik DRL are all light, back and front.
Maybe the A4 had a wiring issue or something.

And yeah sometimes people drive around at night with only parking lights on.
Probably cheapskates thinking they'll save bulbs this way. Eejits in my opinion.

Only Scandnavian car's used to illuminate the rear lights. You can turn on "Scandinavian" mode on VAG cars, as has been said above, and the rear lights then come on with the drl's.

2010 and on BMW's fitted with DRL's seem to illuminate the rears now too.

Twin-go

In my Alfa GT I just leave my lights switched on all the time. No need to switch them off as they turn off once the key is removed. The government should just make it compulsory to drive with dip headlights on at all times.

Matt Simis

Generally DRLs should not light up the rears. This is (aside from Scandi land it seems) generally so in daylight there is no confusion over brake lights.

If it was dark enough that you approached a car from the rear without seeing it then the other car should have had lights (low beam/dips) on anyhow. This isnt a "fault" of DRLs, they merely improve daytime visability. They are not for driving around at dusk with. Without DRLs that driver would have had no lights at all on, so DRLs were still an improvement.

No DRL, no matter how bright you think they look from the outside, illuminates the road in front in any sort of manner that would enable driving with them in the dark, incase that was the assumption.

Bumpstop

I find the whole idea of DRLs annoying, why do we need them, we didn't used to.

Have people just got more stupid that they need cars lit up during the day.


Whats next SRLs Sofa running lights so that you dont trip over your Burberry sofa whilst running towards your bleating Iphone!:p

vectra

On my car i have
A) Lights turned off - DRL's front only
Lights on Auto = DRL's in bright and Dims/Heads + Rears in dull/dark
C) Park position = DRL's front and Rear lights
D) Lights on = We know what this does

yogimotorsport

When all VAG cars go under the pre delivery inspection the DRL's are turned on via the convienance system there is a option for the rear lights to come on aswell so its up to the mechanic to select the option

Our man in Havana

yogimotorsport wrote: »

When all VAG cars go under the pre delivery inspection the DRL's are turned on via the convienance system there is a option for the rear lights to come on aswell so its up to the mechanic to select the option

Sweeping generalisation there.

Del2005

yogimotorsport wrote: »

When all VAG cars go under the pre delivery inspection the DRL's are turned on via the convienance system there is a option for the rear lights to come on aswell so its up to the mechanic to select the option

It's always the operators responsibility.

CiniO

biko wrote: »

Afaik DRL are all light, back and front.
Maybe the A4 had a wiring issue or something.

No. The main purpose of DRL is to have light only in front in daytime in good visibility.
No need for tail lights then at all.

And yeah sometimes people drive around at night with only parking lights on.
Probably cheapskates thinking they'll save bulbs this way. Eejits in my opinion.

Eejits or not. Mostly they do it legally.
You can't expect people to behave wisely, if Irish Law permits them to drive like that.
First we should change the Law.

CiniO

-Corkie- wrote: »

I had a close call the other morning in fog when I nearly rear ended a new A4 as they had no tail lights on.

When I overtook the car later they had the front DRL`S on which made the car very visible from the front.

Has anybody else noticed this, should the tail lights not illuminate as well???

Opinions/criticism please??;)

It's not DRL's fault.
It's drivers fault who didn't turn on dipped headlights or fog light in the fog.

jimmyw

biko wrote: »

Afaik DRL are all light, back and front.
Maybe the A4 had a wiring issue or something.

And yeah sometimes people drive around at night with only parking lights on.
Probably cheapskates thinking they'll save bulbs this way. Eejits in my opinion.

Yeah, and my real pet hate is imposiles who drive on a rainy or dull day with just their parking lights on:mad:

Del2005

CiniO wrote: »

No. The main purpose of DRL is to have light only in front in daytime in good visibility.
No need for tail lights then at all.




Eejits or not. Mostly they do it legally.
You can't expect people to behave wisely, if Irish Law permits them to drive like that.
First we should change the Law.

It's already against the law to drive on parking lights, it's just never enforced.

Mr Benevolent

I just leave my sidelights on in the day and full (dipped) in rain/evening/at night.

Voodoomelon

I have front DRLs on all the time.
I also turn on the parking lights all the time to illuminate the rear.

Never drive the car without lights on both the front and the back.

bazz26

DRLs are designed to allow other road users ahead of you to see the car easier in good visibility. They are not however designed to be used in poor visibility especially fog.

The Audi driver should have had his/her dipped lights and fog lights on in such poor visibility. Of course this type of muppetry is common practice in this country but that is a topic for another day and forum.

CiniO

Del2005 wrote: »

It's already against the law to drive on parking lights, it's just never enforced.

It isn't against the law..
On lit areas you can drive with your side lights on even in the middle of the night. No need for dipped headlights.

CiniO

Confab wrote: »

I just leave my sidelights on in the day and full (dipped) in rain/evening/at night.

What's the purpose of sidelights during daytime?

Obviously during good weather they can't really be seen.

jsd1004

bazz26 wrote: »

DRLs are designed to allow other road users ahead of you to see the car easier in good visibility. They are not however designed to be used in poor visibility especially fog.

The Audi driver should have had his/her dipped lights and fog lights on in such poor visibility. Of course this type of muppetry is common practice in this country but that is a topic for another day and forum.

Light use should be based on common sense. Eg turn off rear foglight if you are in the city in traffic even in fog. Also use your rear fog light in very heavy rain and spray on the motorway. Does not work that way unfortunately. Too often you see muppets driving around with parking lights and fog lamps on at night just because they think it makes them look cool when they are on in the daytime.

Mc Love

My rear lights dont come on when my DRL's are on, but I am one of those that turn on my sidelights/dim's when the conditions are bad

vectra

CiniO wrote: »

What's the purpose of sidelights during daytime?

Obviously during good weather they can't really be seen.

Hence the introduction of DRL's

CiniO

vectra wrote: »

Hence the introduction of DRL's

Oh yeah. DRL's make sense.
But sidelights at daytime seems to be completely pointless for me.
In good weather, when you come closer to any other car, you can always see the car first, and then you see it's sidelight if they are on.

The purpose of using lights at daytime is to make cars visible earlier while approaching them.

With sidelights, this aim is not acquired, so no point in doing it at all.

GTE

I suppose they could be with the ignorance of drivers who dont know how their lighting system works. I would prefer to see people told before its just brushed under the carpet and rears come on to as law though I suppose its a small thing to give out about in reality.

Too far to say they are dangerous.

conzy

Dipped lights should be used 24/7 tbh... Would stop numpties not using lights on the motorway in torrential rain because "its not night time"

I always have them on, very hard to see silver cars this time of year

jimmyw

conzymaher wrote: »

Dipped lights should be used 24/7 tbh... Would stop numpties not using lights on the motorway in torrential rain because "its not night time"

I always have them on, very hard to see silver cars this time of year

Well thats no harm, dont like silver cars:(

It BeeMee

vectra wrote: »

On my car i have
A) Lights turned off - DRL's front only
Lights on Auto = DRL's in bright and Dims/Heads + Rears in dull/dark
C) Park position = DRL's front and Rear lights
D) Lights on = We know what this does

That's probably the problem here: automatic lighting systems won't recognise foggy conditions.

I'd say the Audi in the OP has automatic lights and the driver is too used to the "set and forget" nature of it to realise the system isn't clever enough to react to foggy conditions and needs manual intervention.

MugMugs

CiniO wrote: »

Oh yeah. DRL's make sense.
But sidelights at daytime seems to be completely pointless for me.
In good weather, when you come closer to any other car, you can always see the car first, and then you see it's sidelight if they are on.

The purpose of using lights at daytime is to make cars visible earlier while approaching them.

With sidelights, this aim is not acquired, so no point in doing it at all.

What's the issue with using Sidelights during the day out of interest ?

Matt Simis

MugMugs wrote: »

What's the issue with using Sidelights during the day out of interest ?

They do nothing! A 5w bulb is virtually invisible, day or night. Utterly pointless.
They should be removed from cars IMO.

Nissan doctor

Matt Simis wrote: »

They do nothing! A 5w bulb is virtually invisible, day or night. Utterly pointless.
They should be removed from cars IMO.

I had a US market/registered b5 passat in the garage a couple of years ago and it didn't have any sidelights/parking lights, just auto and headlights on.

I just drive with my lights on all the time, turning them on when I start the car is as much a habbit as putting on a seatbelt.

MugMugs

Matt Simis wrote: »

They do nothing! A 5w bulb is virtually invisible, day or night. Utterly pointless.
They should be removed from cars IMO.

I've never had an issue identifying a vehicle using their sidelights during daylight.

I would have thought that using Sidelights during daylight is better than not using any lights at all. More chance of being seen than not being seen at all.

Also, this Tail Light / Brake light argument perplexes me a bit.

I know there is talk about the fact that the tail lights on the B5 Passat make it hard to see the indicators etc but TBH I've never confused or had the displeasure to not distinguish a tail light from a brake light in a "modern" vehicle.

JJJJNR

Matt Simis wrote: »

They do nothing! A 5w bulb is virtually invisible, day or night. Utterly pointless.
They should be removed from cars IMO.

I find them essential in summer, when your driving in wooded areas for example, when the sun is shining its very difficult to see people not using them, my pet hate is when people drive during the day with no lights what-so-ever on.

Nissan doctor

JJJJNR wrote: »

I find them essential in summer, when your driving in wooded areas for example, when the sun is shining its very difficult to see people not using them, my pet hate is when people drive during the day with no lights what-so-ever on.

Are people mistaking sidelights/parking lights for dipped headlights?

In the situation described above you would not see any difference with or without sidelights on but with dipped headlights on you certainly would.

As said above, a 5 watt bulb will give little or no extra visibility to oncoming cars in bright sunny or poor driving conditions.

JJJJNR

I find a difference with sidelights switched on esp in the situation above.

sean1141

drls are not dangerous, people who wont/dont switch on lights are!

sean1141

JJJJNR wrote: »

I find a difference with sidelights switched on esp in the situation above.

sidelights are usless 95% of the time imo. maybe on a road shaded with trees they are better than nothing espicaly if you have a dark coloured car but if you went to the rounds of switching them on its easy to turn the switch another click and have a lot brighter lights on

pcardin

sean1141 wrote: »

sidelights are usless 95% of the time imo. maybe on a road shaded with trees they are better than nothing espicaly if you have a dark coloured car but if you went to the rounds of switching them on its easy to turn the switch another click and have a lot brighter lights on

but what about the type of sidelights that are required in US? The ones in the corners of the front and rear bumper, like volvo s/v40 has. I think they do the job way better than regular european 5w bulb.

sean1141

pcardin wrote: »

but what about the type of sidelights that are required in US? The ones in the corners of the front and rear bumper, like volvo s/v40 has. I think they do the job way better than regular european 5w bulb.

would they not be more visiable from the side do like on this U.S mk4 golf
http://www.google.ie/imgres?q=mk4+golf+us&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rlz=1T4ACAW_en___IE377&biw=1058&bih=479&tbm=isch&tbnid=NmhIlLMgScCFHM:&imgrefurl=http://www.lotpro.com/blog/2009/03/31/when-is-a-rabbit-not-a-rabbit/&docid=fXMSU4qKTf-pVM&w=396&h=249&ei=T8CJTrCIDMei-gaWpIAt&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=177&page=1&tbnh=131&tbnw=184&start=0&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=101&ty=34

Matt Simis

MugMugs wrote: »

I've never had an issue identifying a vehicle using their sidelights during daylight.

I would have thought that using Sidelights during daylight is better than not using any lights at all. More chance of being seen than not being seen at all.

Yes, better than nothing but still totally $hit right?

JJJJNR wrote: »

I find a difference with sidelights switched on esp in the situation above.

Again, compared to no lights yes, but compared to either DRLs or Dips, they are crap. Besides this, Parking Lights are not designed for driving around on at all, their output is too low.

Parking Light (single marker, "side" type)
Watt 4.9
Candela - 3
Lumens - 37.7

"3" candela is so low it doesnt even make it into this graph:

As an example, “Normal daytime conditions”
(Lb = 2919 ft – L) imply |eff ≈ 200 candela to be necessary for a viewing distance of 330 feet . Background illuminance can, at times, reach three to four times this value. Further, the intensity required if one seeks to alert as well as inform can increase this value

5w Parking light driving about on is an absolute joke.

Mycroft H

You really need to go to specsavers if you confuse side lights with brake lights.

Dips on all the time for me

CiniO

MugMugs wrote: »

What's the issue with using Sidelights during the day out of interest ?

I don't see an issue with using them, but as well I don't see any point in using them.

Only bad thing about them, is that driver who turns them on might think he is better visible, while in reality he isn't.

Hence that in many EU countries using sidelights while driving is prohibited.

They are designed to be used on cars parked in dark spots during the night.
F.e if you park on empty road during the night, you better leave them on, so other drivers car see your car is there.