Daytime Running Lights

[hookupny]

X20... I respect your reply... but disabling your loved one's vehicle's safety is a blockheaded thing to do.
" Honey I love you, by the way, I disabled your daytime running lights so you now have a 70 percent greater chance for accident. " .. yeah, that's not stoopid... why not tell your wife you added lights so she would be safer?
When people do something stupid and put innocent people at harm...isn't that stupid? Don't think just of yourself, but other drivers around you.
I don't think you would be so agreeable if your loved one pulled out in front of a vehicle and was hurt and then you found out the idiot intentionally disabled the DRL's that might have prevented the accident... think about things before you do them, all I ask.
You open yourself for lawsuits and trouble by tampering with vehicle's safety equipment. Argue that point.

[cliffhanger]

well, your evidence is overwhelming, and now i can do nothing but agree with you... thank you for opening my eyes and making me realize just how horribly ive been driving. i havent disabled my drl's and now i definitely wont. ive also taken the preventative measures of adding three strobe lights, a bull horn, neon signs, and a jacuzzi with strippers in the back so that everyone will notice me while im driving around. oh yeah, now i also hug trees and spray paint people who wear fur. get a grip loser!

[Fuzzy]

Thank you everyone who agrees with me.

Cliffhanger you defintly got me to laugh!

Don't worry Hookupny I am going to the eye doctor this week too make sure that I can drive without the DRLs, I sure hope he says that my eyesight is good enough. For those of yous who might have another car that did not orginally come with DRL I would trash that car cause you are just an accident waiting to happen.

Hookupny, Most likely everything you have an answer for, has something in the answer that has to deal with "love ones" or "child" to make you look good. Then you think everyone will break down and agree with you. I bet your one of those people who like to use the "politically correct" answer.


Fuzzy

[Highlander]

...This is a fun informative site - not a trash talk people that have different opinions.... we all have a right to choose - I personally like something that makes me more visible to others and has been shown by studies to keep me (and - if I had family)safer... I'm not sure what the draw is to shut'em off? But I'll support your right to disconnect (and I won't call ya stupid) and hope you never regret it for your sake....
where can you buy one of those jacquizzi's in the back with the added visibility option.... ?

[Fuzzy]

Highlander,
I totally agree with you with this being a fun informative site. I think the thing that really got me going was when Hookupny called us "Idiots.". Otherwise I would of just laughed and went on to the next subject like I usually do.

Fuzzy

[cliffhanger]

yeah, the idiot thing got to me too... ive never had the urge to disable my drl's (until i read that ) and i probably never will, but i would hate to see someone discouraged from doing a write-up on an install they did b/c it made their car faster (and inherently more dangerous, b/c speed kills) and they didnt want to be called an idiot. as a matter of fact, the studies in question of whether drl's actually make your car safer were never even performed in this country. also, running the drl's will cost you an average of 3-5 dollars per year, which isnt a lot, but when multiplied by all the cars on the road is millions more gallons of crude oil consumption and pollution. so go ahead, disable your drl's if you wanna... oh yeah, the jacuzzi is a custom install

[Hawk296]

Highlander,
I totally agree with you with this being a fun informative site. I think the thing that really got me going was when Hookupny called us "Idiots.".

Fuzzy

agreed

[ebbie97]

Ofcourse everyone is allowed to do to their vehicle as they please, whether or not others agree with that.
Here is some food for thought: A lot of countries have now laws in place that mandate the use of lights during day light. I am from such a country (Holland) and I made it a habit to always have my lights on. It has been proven that drl's have lowered the number of accidents significantly. Check out this site: http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/DRLs/studies.htm for some national and international study results. It then makes sence to understand why car manufacturers put drl's in as OEM equipment.

You certainly have the right to disable your drl's, but you will be less visible during the day, under any condition, fog, sun, etc. It is your choice!
-EB

[cliffhanger]

fair enough, fair enough... then check out this website (these guys are a little out there for me, but they make some good points if you can sift through all the bs )
http://lightsout.org

[hookupny]

fair enough, fair enough... then check out this website (these guys are a little out there for me, but they make some good points if you can sift through all the bs )
http://lightsout.org

Well I was hoping this would just die out, but I can see where you guys are right...using the term "idiots" was wrong... idiots use cell phones while driving, idiots don't use turn signals nor wear seatbelts... now someone that INTENTIONALLY disables safety equiptment and puts themselves (and others) at a much higher risk of injury is not an idiot...that person is a F'n idiot, knothead, uneducated moron, mentally challenged fool. Thanks for pointing out my mistake.

(By the way, ole Cliffhanger ole buddy, you jumped on me for using the term idiots and on the other forum, you used the term idiots to describe drivers... hmmmm. Open mouth, insert foot. )

Anyway, the point I was trying to make is to not just think of yourselves, but to think like an educated adult before doing things to your vehicle...when you do stuff that puts others at needless risk and harm just to satisfy some juvenile urge to tamper with a car, you may end up facing consenquences along the way, not to mention after you sell your car and the new owners have an accident and find out their car was tampered with...but of course, none of you thought about that.
And one final thought, no one has yet to come up with a valid REASON for disabling DRLs...excuses, but no reasons..and why in the world would a "loving husband" ( and maybe father?) intentionally disable his wife's car to put her and his kids at a much higher risk of injury? Someone, anyone, explain that to me. If that isn't an idiot, what is?

I've investigated far too many accidents and have had to hear far too many "I just didn't see the other car" excuses and I sincerely hope NONE of you ever have to live through that nightmare. Do the right thing people, act like an adult and protect your family.

[cliffhanger]

apparently you did not visit the website i posted, it would behoove you to read it and see the err of your ways...

when i posted and used the term idiots, i was using the term loosely to refer to bad drivers, and was accusing no one. you accused everyone on this thread of being an idiot. you need to realize that the context you used the word in is completely different from the way that i used it. stupid.

you've investigated accidents my a$$. who do(did) you work for? if you had any sense in your head and if you had ever investigated accidents you would realize who to lay the blame on, it is those who drive terribly, who have no sense of the 'rules of the road', those who don't have the mental capacity to comprehend the things happening around them. if the person "didn't see the other car", then they need to pay more attention, and get off the road if the conditions are too harsh to navigate in. get real.

in case you didnt notice, an interesting point that i brought up is that it cost the average driver (in gas) about 3-5$ a year to run drl's. that may not seem like a lot, but if you multiply that by all of the cars running drl's, you may just as well be paying bin laden to drop bombs.

stop posting on this site until you have something helpful to add. seriously.

[ebbie97]

I sure hope this post is not turning into a big shouting match, which, I believe, could never have been the intent of this forum!

[Highlander]

Well said "Ebbie" and - hopefully - ENOUGH SAID !!

[X20]

this is the best post ever!!!! did i hear "numnuts" being used?? thats crazy, or was it "knothead" whatever. Who would of thought so much passion and anger would emerge over drl's? I agree that this hookupny is a bit extreme!! Your getting all terrorist on our ass!! Let us do as we wish and get your thumb out of our asses. If someone wants electro shock their balls, you gotta just let them do it. why get mad? it not your life!! be satisfied that you have drl's, and when a truck hits your ass from the side, start a campain for the gov't to make it mandatory for all cars to have bright lights on the side and rear, like a freakin ufo. Then, according to your "theory" there will be no more accidents in the world.

[Kev M]

Well I was hoping this would just die out

<snipped a whole lotta cocky inflamatory stuff that doesn't help his argument>

Well, cocky and inflamatory posts are no way to let something die out. They emotionally charge a debate tempting people to carry it on further.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make is to not just think of yourselves, but to think like an educated adult before doing things to your vehicle...when you do stuff that puts others at needless risk and harm just to satisfy some juvenile urge to tamper with a car, you may end up facing consenquences along the way, not to mention after you sell your car and the new owners have an accident and find out their car was tampered with

Would you kindly reference your proof that disabling DRLs will "put others at needless risk and harm"

Thanks to an overly litigious society some manufacturers have embraced the concept of DRLS. But I personally suspect that it is largely based on input from lawyers on one side and the marketing department on the other.

Sure, Canada felt strongly enough to enact legislation requiring their usage. Then again, the latitude and prevailing ambient weather for that country leads to quite different lighting conditions on the roadways and studies done there are not considered valid for our highways.

Heck the US has varried enough ambient conditions that EVEN IF DRLs proved to be an advantage in Minnesota or Wyoming, the same might not hold true for Arizona or even Pennsylvania.

I consider myself a well-educated adult capable of rational thought. MY major problem with DRLs is that they pander to the lowest common denominator. They assume me to stupid to think of putting lights on during conditions where increased visability may yield additional safety.

But I'm first and foremost a motorcyclist, who has ridden more than 200k miles in the past 2 decades and managed to dodge the unthinking cagers of this country.

The key to survival on the road is to assume you are invisible (even if you try to make sure that you are not).

I'll take active safety more overconfidence in a passive safety system anyday.

So in disabling the DRLs on our new Baja, I'll do so as a thinking adult. I'll either attach bullets to the wire so they can be reactivated OR perhaps just wire in a switch. And IF I should ever sell it, I'll make sure the system is active again and the new owner is educated about it.

And one final thought, no one has yet to come up with a valid REASON for disabling DRLs...excuses, but no reasons

My BIGGEST reason is that I tend to use my headlights as a form of communication on the road.

When I approach a situation where I need to let another driver that I am yielding the right of way, I quickly flash my headlights from OFF to BRIGHT and back again once or twice.

When I want to warn approaching traffic on a highway of danger (accident, speed trap ??? ) I do the same thing, except I slow the cycle to a repeated and deliberate flash.

When I approach an intersection or a traffic situation where I it appears another motorist may pull out or do something stupid I combine the horn with my brights. The visual and audible signal having, I think, a much greater affect than either alone.

And all 3 of these circumstances have a much greater visual impact (especially in bright daylight situations) when the difference in light output is more dramatic. I.E. if the lights come ON from an OFF position.

Now on my motorcycles I DO RUN with a headlight on during the day, but I usually also install a headlight switch which allows me to SHUT OFF THE HEADLIGHT for use in such situations. Though, in the third scenario I would never have time to shut it off, and simply go from regular to bright and live with the compromise.

I've investigated far too many accidents and have had to hear far too many "I just didn't see the other car" excuses and I sincerely hope NONE of you ever have to live through that nightmare. Do the right thing people, act like an adult and protect your family.

As I said, the ABSOLUTE best way to be safe on the road is to ASSUME no-one sees you and take defensive actions accordingly.

There is nothing WRONG with DRLs per se, however I prefer that they are not on my 4-wheeled vehicles.

Kev