They should be on all the time. They help you be seen under certain
conditions even on sunny days.
Why not use the automatic lights? There are a lot of morons that don't
put the lights on when the should and the auto lights make it easy that
you won't forget. They work well.
I just wish they would come on when you turn the wipers on. Most states
require lights to be on when wipers are on. They should also be on a
half hour after sunrise and a half hour before sunset.
My cars have had aoutomatic lights for the past 20 years. Very rare I
have to override for any reason and never burned out a headlight.
I had a chance to test them yesterday, with my wife watching the front
of the car. In the "off" position (it actually says drl and off
together)....there are NO lights on inclding the drl lights. Car was
running and in gear by the way. In "auto" only the drl were on, which
makes sense because it was a sunny day. In every other position the
drl were on, but dimmer than in the auto position. So that's what is
actually going on. I am glad the drl can be turned off, I hate things
that are always on. And since I have "auto" I can use them that way if
I want....just an old guy still not used to "new" things. I have auto
wipers too, but that's my next issue to tackle ;-)
PS: The manual says the drl will be off when the headlights are on,
which is not the case unless my wife is wrong (she said they
dimmed)....but she has certainly been wrong before...so I'll have to
check that out myself.
I have to check, but the DRL may be going off but a "running light" is
still on with headlights.
You may be getting on in yers (I'll be 72 next month) but don't fear new
conveniences. The auto headlights do a nice job. I still see drivers,
yound and old, that don't put lights on when needed. Let the auto
feature do it for you and save a potential problem.
The auto wipers can be nice too. One day I was driving on a two lane
and it stopped raining. The wipers were still on and a truck in the
opposite direction kicked up a big splash of water that blinded me.
Before I could react, the sensor made the wiper start and cleared the
windshield.
Embrace the technology and let it work for you. My Genesis has all
sorts of goodies and I like and use every one of them. Makes long trips
easier.
My issue with the technology came from an accident I had due to anti
lock brakes on my 07 Elantra SE. It was a slow motion accident, so no
injuries or anything. Super icy, I mean pure ice day....accidents
everywhere. Could hardly get the car to go, let alone stop. I could
have turned the car and managed the brakes a bit, but when the anti
lock kicked in the car would not turn or slow or stop. It was a bad
day, so many accidents the cops couldn't even come. I might still have
had the accident but I know I could have done a little bit better
without the brakes taking over like that. By the same token, the
lights turning off automatically (I think all my Hyundais starting
with 03 had that feature)...has saved my car battery many times...so
YES technology can be good. I can see the advantage to the auto lights
and wipers in certain situation....and I'll get there. I'm just slow
to change.
If the ice is really slippery, no type of brake will work ABS is great
in some circumstances but ice is as nasty as it gets. I learned a long
time ago to stay home with ice. Cost me equivalent of a weeks pay to
get to work one morning.
I do agree, but years ago I learned a few techniques from a
professional driver that really work. Don't get me wrong....I can't
stop a car dead on ice, but I did learn a way to be able to turn at
least a little. If I could have steered at all I could have avoided my
collision.
Regular brakes lock up the wheel and turn them into skis. I don't see
how that would have helped you steer on ice. The ABS keeps the wheel
from locking and you can usually maintain some steering.
I have no idea how slippery the ice was so I'm not going to try to say
what could or could not work but I do know that ice is nasty. Twice I
was in situations where it rained on a freezing day. I remember sitting
at the top of a hill for a half hour until a sand truck came by. I
could see the result of those that chose to go ahead.
Yes, all ice is not created equal. The day of my problem was serious
ice. forget not being able to stop, I couldn't get the car to go....it
took me a full block to get to the stop sign in question....by the
time I reached it I was going probably 5 miles an hour. Never ever
been on ice like that....just a freak thing. Other driver was in the
same boat as me. No cops because they were all out on accidents,
probably some serious ones too. Cop came to my house 4 or 5 hours
later. You're correct that non locking brakes might not have helped,
but the anti lock brakes certainly didn't help. Oh well. I do think
the anti lock brakes feel different on my newer cars, maybe they
changed something in how they work.....hopefully I'll never need to
find out.
On Thursday, August 17, 2017 at 1:21:40 PM UTC-10, jtees4 wrote:
I got a question. If you didn't have enough traction to start moving, why would you want to be in motion? Under such conditions, wouldn't it be safer to not be moving? What was your plan on how things were going to work out? I don't get it.
I thoughet of that too, but twice i was already out and got caught in a
quick frezing rain. One morning I was going to pick up a co-worker and
we were going to the airport. It was dry when I left my house but a
mile away it started to rain and I was on ice. I managed to creep along
and two miles later I was back on dry ground. We missed out flight and
ended up at our destination 12 hours late.
Long story short were were delayed in Atlanta going down and the trip
back 3 days later I was 24 hours late getting home. Travel in January
is risky.
I was coming home from work and rurned onto the street in question.
Once on that street I had to get started or would end up with a car
not moving in the street....not really an option. I did get it going
(very slowly). When I reached the corner with the stop sign, it got
much worse there....as both me and the other driver found out. We were
both blindsided by just how bad that corner was. If I could do it over
I would probably stay home, unfortunately there are no second chances
in life.
You always hear about how people get into terrible accidents near
their home. This one accident while small happened very close. At my
old house before moving here....I almost had a really bad accident a
few feet from my home. And again, it would have been neither drivers
fault. I guess I should just stay away from my house and all will be
well ;-)
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