GMS & Saturns DRLs

On GMs the headlights are on full time,on Saturns,it's the park
lights.Is this how it ended up?.In my opinion,if you have to see
lights on in daytime,you shouldn't be driving,plus the battery has
enough to do.

Uh, this is not sarcasm, so dont take it that way, this topic is a real pet
peeve of mine but -
The idea is not so YOU can see, the idea is OTHERS can see you. Simply put,
it is a proven fact that having some form of DRL's (any kind) helps to
prevent accidents by aiding other drivers to see you, (ex: oncoming drivers
and at intersections).

Here in FL it drives me nutz when it is downpouring rain and I see so many
people that have NO lights on at all. Can you say "camoflage"? Many ppl just
dont get the concept of having lights on for safety of themselves and for
others. Thats why DRL's are a good idea.

DRL's do not drain as much power as having al l external lights on,
therefore they really don't tax the alternator much. And besides, DRL's are
alot cheaper than having some old person mess up your nice shiny car because
they didn't see you.

marx404

"marx404" > wrote in message
...
> Uh, this is not sarcasm, so dont take it that way, this topic is a real
> pet
> peeve of mine but -
> The idea is not so YOU can see, the idea is OTHERS can see you. Simply
> put,
> it is a proven fact that having some form of DRL's (any kind) helps to
> prevent accidents by aiding other drivers to see you, (ex: oncoming
> drivers
> and at intersections).
>
> Here in FL it drives me nutz when it is downpouring rain and I see so many
> people that have NO lights on at all. Can you say "camoflage"? Many ppl
> just
> dont get the concept of having lights on for safety of themselves and for
> others. Thats why DRL's are a good idea.
>
> DRL's do not drain as much power as having al l external lights on,
> therefore they really don't tax the alternator much. And besides, DRL's
> are
> alot cheaper than having some old person mess up your nice shiny car
> because
> they didn't see you.
>
> marx404
>
>

I'm with you on that. Definitely improves your visibility to others. I think
the next move should be to make the directional signals visible more from
the sides. I often get someone abreast of me on my left, who I later find
has his right turn signal on, and is mad because I didn't yield. There are
some cars now that have a turn arrow embedded in the side mirrors. Looks
strange but is effective. Not as strange as the (British?) car that had a
illuminated stalk unfold from the mirror when the turn signal was on.

I'm sure that at some point strobe lights similar to the ones on airplanes,
but lower intensity, were proposed as marker lights. That would drive me
nuts in traffic. The emergency and slow moving vehicles now mostly have
strobes that flash three times fast, a pause and then 3 times again. The
syncopation is more likely to be noticed than a steady pattern.
Some cars and many trucks now have a system that pulses the brake lights
when your foot is steady on the pedal. This does make it much more
noticeable.
Oppie

"Oppie" > wrote in message
news:1121174235.ee36b47a131b2b1b33492f1164f54195@t eranews...
>
> "marx404" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Uh, this is not sarcasm, so dont take it that way, this topic is a real
>> pet
>> peeve of mine but -
>> <snip>
>> Here in FL it drives me nutz when it is downpouring rain and I see so
>> many
>> people that have NO lights on at all. Can you say "camoflage"? Many ppl
>> just
>> dont get the concept of having lights on for safety of themselves and for
>> others. Thats why DRL's are a good idea.
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> marx404

When it's actually darker, sure, but it's a minor peeve of *mine* that
FL (and NY and probably other) state law requires headlights when it's
raining even when it's just as bright and sunny as when there is no rain
(for example, at 9 AM or 4 PM, with the sun at a sufficient angle as to be
unaffected by clouds overhead)!

> <snip> I think the next move should be to make the directional signals
> visible more from the sides. I often get someone abreast of me on my left,
> who I later find has his right turn signal on, and is mad because I didn't
> yield.
> <snip>
> Oppie

Hey, at least other drivers where you are *use* their turn signals!
Here in Southeast Michigan, drivers typically act as if they don't even have
them!

On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 21:36:36 -0400, marx404 wrote:

> Uh, this is not sarcasm, so dont take it that way, this topic is a real pet
> peeve of mine but -
> The idea is not so YOU can see, the idea is OTHERS can see you. Simply put,
> it is a proven fact that having some form of DRL's (any kind) helps to
> prevent accidents by aiding other drivers to see you, (ex: oncoming drivers
> and at intersections).

You're right that DRLs are not indented to illuminate the road for
you, the driver, during daylight hours, but for others; it ostensibly
helps them see you better.

> Here in FL it drives me nutz when it is downpouring rain and I see so many
> people that have NO lights on at all. Can you say "camoflage"? Many ppl just
> dont get the concept of having lights on for safety of themselves and for
> others. Thats why DRL's are a good idea.

I would argue that if you can see them when they have their lights off
while it is raining that you don't have much of a complaint. I am
noticing more and more vehicles that do not have DRLs, and I seem to
recall that the law requiring full-time DRLs were repealed at least in
NYS. Can anyone confirm that? If not, can anyone explain why so many
late-model vehicles don't have DRLs?

> DRL's do not drain as much power as having al l external lights on,
> therefore they really don't tax the alternator much. And besides, DRL's
> are alot cheaper than having some old person mess up your nice shiny car
> because they didn't see you.

When it rains, I usually turn on my headlights if visibility drops
appreciably. But I like having the choice, which is why I disabled the
automatic DRL nonsense in my car. While running DRLs may not impact your
electrical system all that much it most certainly *will* impact the life
of your bulbs. I drive mostly during daylight hours. Headlights are
unnecessary.

And if some old person hits me, my insurance will cover it. Hopefully,
their insurance will drop them and they'll be forced to ride as passengers
if they are unable to see well enough to drive.

Brian said: " And if some old person hits me, my insurance will cover it.
Hopefully,
their insurance will drop them and they'll be forced to ride as passengers
if they are unable to see well enough to drive."

Here it can pour rain on one side of the street and be sunny on the other in
an instant, silver, grey and light color cars "dissapear" in the rain. Aslo,
even though the sun is out, espacially here, when it is only partly rainy in
the bright sunshine, it can render your car invisible to other drivers.

It aint just "old ppl", it could be anyone who doesn't see you. And once you
get in an accident, your fault or not, your insurance rates go up, period.
Weigh it out, Accidents suck, repairing your car sucks, dealing with traffic
cops suck, insurance claims suck. Injuring yourself and others suck. Do
DRL's outweigh all of that? you betcha. ;-)

marx404

DRLs are not a good Idea see www.lightsout.org They do waste gas. There
is now way the don't and it is a strain on the alternator.

I have them turned off on my saturn.


Paul

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 09:18:40 -0400, marx404 wrote:

> Brian said: " And if some old person hits me, my insurance will cover it.
> Hopefully,
> their insurance will drop them and they'll be forced to ride as passengers
> if they are unable to see well enough to drive."
>
> Here it can pour rain on one side of the street and be sunny on the other in
> an instant, silver, grey and light color cars "dissapear" in the rain. Aslo,
> even though the sun is out, espacially here, when it is only partly rainy in
> the bright sunshine, it can render your car invisible to other drivers.

And if turning your lights on helps increase visibility, then do so! I
have no problem with people using their lights during what might normally
be daylight hours. I have a problem with "on" being the default.

> It aint just "old ppl", it could be anyone who doesn't see you.

You used the expression.

> And once
> you get in an accident, your fault or not, your insurance rates go up,
> period. Weigh it out, Accidents suck, repairing your car sucks, dealing
> with traffic cops suck, insurance claims suck. Injuring yourself and
> others suck. Do DRL's outweigh all of that? you betcha. ;-)

You're welcome to your opinion.

> marx404

Is that an abbreviated way of saying "Communism Not Found"?

Brian

The URL you posted is about Audi DRLs, not DRLs in general.

Of course they "waste" gas, so does your cigarette lighter, AC, and
everything else. The miniscule amount of gas used in DRLs is more then
offset by the increase in safety. In Canada we've had them for at least 15
years and it's a non-issue.

However, I'm sure this issue is like seatbelts. We had a horse's ass
professor of philosophy in our city who claimed seatbelts make you LESS
safe, in spite of having no credentials in engineering, statistics, or
medicine. At least he said that until the courts told him he knew nothing
about it and fined him for not wearing a seatbelt. (Sorry, I rant. That SOB
still burns me up!)



"Paul" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> DRLs are not a good Idea see www.lightsout.org They do waste gas. There
> is now way the don't and it is a strain on the alternator.
>
> I have them turned off on my saturn.
>
>
> Paul
>

My bad, the site is about more than Audi vehicles. Sorry.

"Box134" > wrote in message
...
> The URL you posted is about Audi DRLs, not DRLs in general.
>