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holmgangCore t1_j4yzkz1 wrote

I’m firmly in the camp of: Lights On All the Time

Lights On during the day has apparently been shown to reduce car accidents. That’s enough for me.

And, having a non-computer car, always having the lights on means that I am in the habit of always turning the lights off when I park & get out, so I never accidentally leave my lights on.

“Computer cars” should just have the lights on all the time, day or night, IMHO. I’ve heard this is true in Canada. It’s insane to me that it’s not also true in the US.

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Nothing_WithATwist t1_j4z4fx8 wrote

Preach! Even if it only helped safety a TINY BIT, it would be worth it. And in reality they help visibility and therefore safety quite a bit. Headlight bulbs last years even when used daily, and they cost ~$10 to replace. It’s an absolute no brainer.

Edit: I’d like to add TURN SIGNALS. They are not optional. How am I supposed to know if you’re merging or just drifting between lanes?? Because I see both every single day.

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ice-titan t1_j51xbsc wrote

Agreed on everything you said. On the merging part, in addition to not signaling, I also hate it when people pull out onto a busy street to merge in when they are using a TURN lane. People need to understand the difference between a turn lane and a merge lane, and if they cannot turn onto a street cleanly in one go, then wait for enough traffic to clear before attempting to turn.

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PiningForTheFnords t1_j57cj58 wrote

Cars need to come with very bright daytime running lights with replaceable LEDs.

I agree with you on the lights being on all the time, but not so much for $10 for headlight bulbs.

I wish they were $10 - modern HID bulbs and ballasts can run in the hundreds of dollars, and if an LED burns out in a headlight cluster you’re probably looking at thousands for a replacement. On top of that, some modern vehicles require extensive labor to even get to some of those parts.

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dokelyok t1_j5fanqg wrote

Yeah, I was going to say, I just spent 50 bucks on a LED bulb that I had only had for a little over a year before it went out. Luckily my car is older and I was able to replace the bulb myself both times so I saved on labor.

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_former_self t1_j4z5a4l wrote

That and there are a lot of trees on my commute which can make it darker on the roadway.

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Doughop t1_j50enue wrote

My old Toyota is lights always on with no way to turn it off. My motorcycles, including ones from the 90s are lights always on.

I was surprised to learn than newer cars aren't lights always on and I don't understand why.

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Dogrug t1_j51dj9f wrote

I noticed the other day that my computer car does that. I have my lights set to auto so I never have to think about it, and when I turn my wipers on my lights come on during the day. Thought that was pretty cool.

That being said I’ve driven in some crappy weather around here and when it’s raining and the spray is coming off the road, it doesn’t matter if your car is hot pink, you are invisible to the cars around you if you don’t have your lights on.

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MischiefXO t1_j51wk7a wrote

My dad was a truck driver for 30+ years and reinforced into my brain to ALWAYS have my lights on when driving because it's easier to see you with them on than without. Trucks, semi's, big rigs, all have a hard time seeing and have big blind spots. Help those around you see you there. I make sure to always have them on.

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dokelyok t1_j5f9yiq wrote

Yep, I too am in the same camp of lights on always. I still can't believe how many idiots I see on my commute without lights on when it's dark, raining and foggy. It stresses me out so much because my commute involves a lot of newly constructed roundabouts (highway 9) and sometimes it's basically impossible to see a dark car with no lights in that type of weather and I always panic thinking I'm going to some day not see one until it's too late. I take those roundabouts so incredibly slow though and triple check I'm clear so hopefully it'll never happen but it still is frustrating that it could be so much safer if other drivers just had their damn lights on!

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duuuh t1_j53tx3u wrote

I used to do this, but my current car won't do it automatically. It's got some "detect light level and turn them on setting" which I leave it on. But I'm not prepared to have to remember to turn them off when I get out of the car.

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dokelyok t1_j5fb1lf wrote

Does your cars lights not automatically go off when you lock your car? That sucks if it doesn't. My car is older and not fancy at all but locking it turn my lights off which I really appreciate because I always have them on so I know I would forget to turn them off constantly.

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duuuh t1_j5lbw4j wrote

They only do that if I use the 'auto detect light level' setting. I'd rather have them on when the car is running and off when it's not, but it won't do that.

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