LED TAIL LIGHTS - DAYTIME RUN?

[Paulcardona]

Thanks man, it seems crazy to me that you can´t have "drl" in the back too.

Sponsored

 

[AFD]

Thanks man, it seems crazy to me that you can´t have "drl" in the back too.

100% agree. No idea why the auto industry (and/or laws) settled on DRL for the fronts only. Now a large majority of drivers have no idea which lights (if any) are on when it's sprinkling, snowing, foggy, dusk/dawn, etc.

Was kinda excited to finally be getting a vehicle with 'auto' headlights, but now I won't even use the stupid f'ing thing because the rears won't be lit in iffy conditions where you just need a little extra visibility but not necessarily full forward lighting.

 

[Paulcardona]

I know! My dream situation will be having the Halo on the front and those "drl" of the pictures on the back all time on daytime

 

[yokramer]

100% agree. No idea why the auto industry (and/or laws) settled on DRL for the fronts only. Now a large majority of drivers have no idea which lights (if any) are on when it's sprinkling, snowing, foggy, dusk/dawn, etc.

Was kinda excited to finally be getting a vehicle with 'auto' headlights, but now I won't even use the stupid f'ing thing because the rears won't be lit in iffy conditions where you just need a little extra visibility but not necessarily full forward lighting.

Canada is actually taking a step in the right direction with this. Since the rash of people just not turning on their headlights at night anymore with illuminated dashes they have introduced legislation that all cars need auto on lights in the dark and dashes cannot be illuminated unless the headlamps are on. So basically forcing automakers to either sell everything with auto on features or just have the DRLs be headlamps and tail lamps.

Hopefully this just becomes a thing that is standard across the industry.


https://tc.canada.ca/en/road-transp...r-seats/using-your-vehicle-lights-see-be-seen

As of September 2021 the Canadian Vehicle Lighting Regulation will require that all new vehicles sold in Canada have one of the following:

• tail lights that come on automatically with daytime running lights
• headlights, tail lights, and side marker lights that turn on automatically in the dark
• a dashboard that stays dark to alert the driver to turn on the lights

This standard will apply to all new vehicles (cars, trucks, SUVs, 3-wheeled vehicles, motorcycles and heavy trucks).

 

[Headbarcode]

The original purpose of DRLs was to make vehicles stand out and easier to see in side view mirrors. Stats back then were showing that people were generally not turning on their forward lighting until they themselves needed the light. The problem found was during the hours right before that, when the daylight was just dim enough to make vehicles blend into the background of the mirror image, resulting in an increase of cut off and side swipe accidents. Add to that other circumstances, like the rising/setting sun glare, people not turning on lights during the rain, and any other driving situations where ones vision is being compromised.

Permanently on rear lighting is inevitable. As time goes by, the attentiveness of drivers has devolved beyond not paying enough mind to side and rearview mirrors. Nowadays, that same lack of attention is being paid to what's directly ahead through the windshield. This can easily be proved by watching crash compilations on YouTube. Too much pride and not enough attention, resulting in a lot of easily avoidable headaches.

Excuse my babbling. I tend to focus on root causes vs chasing the wake of the problem.

 

[Paulcardona]

I understand there´s no regular way to do it, not even with the tazer or JScan, but is has to be a way where you can "enforce" the tail light to be on all the time, don´t you think?

I mean mechanical, cables, something....

 

[TimmH]

The original purpose of DRLs was to make vehicles stand out and easier to see in side view mirrors. Stats back then were showing that people were generally not turning on their forward lighting until they themselves needed the light. The problem found was during the hours right before that, when the daylight was just dim enough to make vehicles blend into the background of the mirror image, resulting in an increase of cut off and side swipe accidents. Add to that other circumstances, like the rising/setting sun glare, people not turning on lights during the rain, and any other driving situations where ones vision is being compromised.

Permanently on rear lighting is inevitable. As time goes by, the attentiveness of drivers has devolved beyond not paying enough mind to side and rearview mirrors. Nowadays, that same lack of attention is being paid to what's directly ahead through the windshield. This can easily be proved by watching crash compilations on YouTube. Too much pride and not enough attention, resulting in a lot of easily avoidable headaches.

Excuse my babbling. I tend to focus on root causes vs chasing the wake of the problem.

Agreed, but they made the mistake of having using projecting light for DRLS, if they had stuck with just the markers and not headlamps and such, then people wouldn't be "fooled" into thinking their lights are on. I probably see 3-4 every day on my way to work, people driving with no taillights but just enough headlight light to think they have lights on, it's particularly more common in areas where ambient lighting in the area is good so headlights aren't the primary light source for driving.

I to think eventually DRLs will include taillights. Probably should just make lights be on anytime the vehicle taken out of park, or traveling over 5 MPH for more than 30 seconds. Similar to how my Jeeps headlights come on if the wipers are on for more than 30 seconds.

 

[AFD]

I understand there´s no regular way to do it, not even with the tazer or JScan, but is has to be a way where you can "enforce" the tail light to be on all the time, don´t you think?

I mean mechanical, cables, something....

Not sure exactly how you could accomplish it, but there's surely some way that you can rewire things so that the Jeep thinks that "off" is parking lights and parking lights is off (maybe swapping the 1st and 2nd detent positions on the light knob), then just leaving it on "auto" would always have the rear lights on. Seems like it might cause other problems, though (turn headlights off warning, headlights on w/wipers, other drivers).

Seems more of a behavioral issue that would better be solved by a software change, than completely rewiring the headlight controls.

 

[Headbarcode]

Agreed, but they made the mistake of having using projecting light for DRLS, if they had stuck with just the markers and not headlamps and such, then people wouldn't be "fooled" into thinking their lights are on. I probably see 3-4 every day on my way to work, people driving with no taillights but just enough headlight light to think they have lights on, it's particularly more common in areas where ambient lighting in the area is good so headlights aren't the primary light source for driving.

I to think eventually DRLs will include taillights. Probably should just make lights be on anytime the vehicle taken out of park, or traveling over 5 MPH for more than 30 seconds. Similar to how my Jeeps headlights come on if the wipers are on for more than 30 seconds.

Yeah, back when the drl mentality started, they used the headlamps. I don't think I ever made it through a full ride at night without coming across a few vehicles with no running lights on. The only way to ever shut them off while the vehicle was running, was to engage the emergency brake.

Nowadays, most vehicles have dedicated DRLs seperate from the headlights, fogs, and running lights. Only times I see someone at night with just headlamps and no running lights, is those older vehicles still in use.

I'm thinking that it's just a matter of time before the running lights get absorbed into the DRLs. Everything besides the head and fog lamps will illuminate as long as the ignition is in the run and start positions. The headlamp switch will become just that: Off/Headlamps/Auto with the central fog button.

I prefer driving around during the daylight hours with everything but the headlamps lit. My bumper mounted aux offroad lights have amber backlights, which I wired to the drl circuit to further increase conspicuity...

 

[Heimkehr]

The driver who is concerned about visibility should simply turn his headlights on, full stop. The subject doesn't doesn't need to be made so complex as to pine for Tazer functionality, piecemeal additions to DRL illumination, light sensors or Federal legislation.

For the past 15 years or so, every vehicle I've owned or have driven has included a tell-tale exterior lighting indicator on the dashboard. Our Wranglers have one. Those who say they don't know if their lights are on aren't paying attention.

 

[AFD]

The driver who is concerned about visibility should simply turn his headlights on, full stop. The subject doesn't doesn't need to be made so complex as to pine for Tazer functionality, piecemeal additions to DRL illumination, light sensors or Federal legislation.

For the past 15 years or so, every vehicle I've owned or have driven has included a tell-tale exterior lighting indicator on the dashboard. Our Wranglers have one. Those who say they don't know if their lights are on aren't paying attention.

The light sensor is already there for many of our Jeeps, even without the advanced safety group.

Not really pertinent to our auto headlights, but that symbol will also illuminate if only the parking lights are on, but the headlights are off. And you're completely disregarding the fact that most drivers are oblivious dumbasses that pose a safety hazard to others when they believe their rear park lights are on simply because they see their front headlights are on. The currently required DRL regulations are simply implemented in an unsafe manner for the majority of drivers by not also requiring rear park lights to be lit.

For a vehicle that already has several user-adjustable settings for the headlights (headlight off delay time, headlights with approach, headlights on with wipers, disable DRL and whatever extra advanced safety settings), I don't think it's outlandish or unreasonable to want one additional setting that would allow us to actually enjoy an already existing convenience feature in a safe manner by allowing the driver to have the auto headlights change from 'headlights on' > 'headlights off' to 'headlights on' > 'parking lights on' (and all off for both when killing the ignition).

Because of this basic oversight, I now have a nifty light sensor and an "auto" position on my headlight dial that I simply will not use because of this limitation.

Sponsored