Automatic lights

Author
Discussion

SydneyBridge

Original Poster:

9,406 posts

165 months

Saturday 19th October
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Nearly completely dark, car in front with no rear lights on, at some traffic lights I knocked on his window and said do you know you have no rear lights on. He said, its ok they are automatic and come on when it gets dark. I said they clearly dont work, it is dark you need to use a switch.... he ignored me and carried on driving
His front drivers lights were on but nothing at the rear
How can people like this get in a car snd manage to drive and rely on 'automatic' lights...

Narcisus

8,239 posts

287 months

Saturday 19th October
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SydneyBridge said:
Nearly completely dark, car in front with no rear lights on, at some traffic lights I knocked on his window and said do you know you have no rear lights on. He said, its ok they are automatic and come on when it gets dark. I said they clearly dont work, it is dark you need to use a switch.... he ignored me and carried on driving
His front drivers lights were on but nothing at the rear
How can people like this get in a car snd manage to drive and rely on 'automatic' lights...
You actually got out of your car at traffic lights and knocked on his window ?

SydneyBridge

Original Poster:

9,406 posts

165 months

Saturday 19th October
quotequote all
Only to nicely tell him he had no rear lights on, in case he didn't know

119

9,461 posts

43 months

Saturday 19th October
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Must be at least a month since a thread on this?

TwigtheWonderkid

44,647 posts

157 months

Saturday 19th October
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SydneyBridge said:
How can people like this get in a car snd manage to drive and rely on 'automatic' lights...
I do, because mine work fine. They come on as soon as it gets remotely dull.

Dogwatch

6,273 posts

229 months

Saturday 19th October
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Had similar some years ago. Followed some woman for miles in the gathering gloom with oncoming car flashing being completely ignored. Finally all came to a halt in a traffic queue so tapped on her window. Dash was lit up like Blackpool so she had no idea.

mac96

4,408 posts

150 months

Saturday 19th October
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TwigtheWonderkid said:
SydneyBridge said:
How can people like this get in a car snd manage to drive and rely on 'automatic' lights...
I do, because mine work fine. They come on as soon as it gets remotely dull.
The guy OP met probably had his lights off, so the auto function had no chance!

119

9,461 posts

43 months

Saturday 19th October
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Some manufacturers have removed the ‘off’ setting so you can’t turn them off completely.

robbyd

613 posts

182 months

Saturday 19th October
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Drives me nuts on the m25...

No rears; drls on the front...

robbyd

613 posts

182 months

Saturday 19th October
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Drives me nuts on the m25...

No rears; drls on the front...

livinginasia

863 posts

117 months

Saturday 19th October
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I would add of course, the number of people relying on auto headlights have no idea that they need to turn them on in fog or rain……

TheDrownedApe

1,202 posts

63 months

Saturday 19th October
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Happened to me once on the motorway.

I had turned on my indicators and accidentally turned the auto lights off. Having DRLs, to me, from the drivers seat, it seemed OK. Only the 3rd flash from behind made me check. It was too easy to accidentally turn the stalk dial to off.

Weirdly when I was 17 and recently passed my test I popped into the local town to pick up my parents. I parked, turned off, waited, picked them up then drove off; under street lights. Copper pulled me and said I had no lights on. I had done nothing wrong as there were streetlights but when drove to an area of no streetlights I needed to turn them on.


Never knew I didn't need to use them in an area with streetlights

Cyberprog

2,232 posts

190 months

Saturday 19th October
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livinginasia said:
I would add of course, the number of people relying on auto headlights have no idea that they need to turn them on in fog or rain……
Yes, annoyingly I can have my lights on auto and wipers on auto - yet the ECU doesn't think to say "hrm, it's raining, lets be pro-active and throw the lights on". In my mind the two should be linked! This is on a KIA btw, YMMV with other manufacturers.

BossHogg

6,187 posts

185 months

Sunday 20th October
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It annoys me when colleagues put the lights on automatic in the patrol cars, not on my watch, headlights on or off when I choose.

119

9,461 posts

43 months

Sunday 20th October
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Cyberprog said:
Yes, annoyingly I can have my lights on auto and wipers on auto - yet the ECU doesn't think to say "hrm, it's raining, lets be pro-active and throw the lights on". In my mind the two should be linked! This is on a KIA btw, YMMV with other manufacturers.
VW and some others do switch the lights on after the auto wipers have started.

GasEngineer

1,164 posts

69 months

Sunday 20th October
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TwigtheWonderkid said:
SydneyBridge said:
How can people like this get in a car snd manage to drive and rely on 'automatic' lights...
I do, because mine work fine. They come on as soon as it gets remotely dull.
Same here. The lights come on way before I would have normally switched them on.

TwigtheWonderkid

44,647 posts

157 months

Sunday 20th October
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If everyone had and used auto lights, there would be far fewer cars driving around with no lights on. 99% of those without lights on have their lights turned off.

AudiMan9000

761 posts

55 months

Sunday 20th October
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They have different sensitivity settings. But in pitch black even with the lowest sensitivity setting they should have came on. Danger is they could be switched off altogether on the stalk and it would take a duly observant driver to notice the lights weren’t on when they ought to be.

surveyor

18,138 posts

191 months

Sunday 20th October
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119 said:
VW and some others do switch the lights on after the auto wipers have started.
I’ve never driven one which does not do this.


I have fallen foul of the autolight hole, and it’s always when the bloody workshop have turned the autolights off..

Yellow Lizud

2,496 posts

171 months

Sunday 20th October
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surveyor said:
I have fallen foul of the autolight hole, and it’s always when the bloody workshop have turned the autolights off..
Exactly this.
For 1 day a year (the day after the MOT!) I always drive around with no lights, until I get flashed a couple of times.
The other 364 days of the year I never touch the light switch.