Who uses side lights?

Gwynston

(Thought I'd keep this separate from the other lights thread which seems to have been taken over by fog light rants...)

What's the point of side lights - does anyone actually use them?
In my opinion, there is no situation to use only side lights where actually using dipped headlights wouldn't be preferable and make you more visible.

I see an awful lot of people driving around either at dusk, or other murky or misty conditions who actually think using their side lights is useful.

Any of you out there? Tell me, why not just turn that switch one more notch? What do you think you're achieving by just using side lights?

Henry Ford III

If side lights were not necessary (they are used more to be seen than see obviously) believe me they would not be fitted.

I use auto lights

mike65

I only use dipped. sidelights are pretty pointless IMO.

The campaign for DRL starts here!

Mike.

Cionád

Dipped when im driving at all times. Dont use those candle lights at all. ive seen some people drive with nothing but these in pitch dark :eek:

OT: Worst of all is those people that have their right headlight out, so use their left light on full beam to compensate. Guaranteed accident on backroads!!

Gwynston

Henry Ford III wrote: »

If side lights were not necessary (they are used more to be seen than see obviously) believe me they would not be fitted.

So why are they necessary? IIRC, weren't there some obscure laws somewhere on the continent that in built-up areas you were supposed to use side lights only? That was years ago though.
IMO they are near useless as an aid to being seen.

mike65 wrote:

The campaign for DRL starts here!

Well, lets not start that debate!
I'm genuinely interested to hear from people who use side lights for some purpose.

peasant

I don't have separate side lights on my car, just a dim 10W bulb in the actual headlight.

Conveniently enough, when I leave the lights switched on and take the key out of the ignition, the proper headlamps go off and only the little light stays on.

This is handy to light up your car when you're parked in a dark little corner somehwere, better to be seen.

Hence VW calls them "parking lights"

On some trim levels you could actually switch them on on one side only (with your indicator) ...handy for parking in unlit roads, just illuminate the edge of the car.

crosstownk

I view them as parking lights - not side lights. If I'm parked somewhere and I feel that the car needs to 'be seen' I'll leave on the relevant parking lights. But when I'm driving it's either dips or beams as necessary.

Padraig Mor

I think they're actually parking lights IIRC. To be used when parking in unlit areas at night (perhaps when causing an obstruction?). Presumably they're pretty dim so as to avoid using much battery.

C_Breeze

Padraig Mor wrote: »

I think they're actually parking lights IIRC. To be used when parking in unlit areas at night (perhaps when causing an obstruction?). Presumably they're pretty dim so as to avoid using much battery.

So i thought aswell

ballooba

The Gardai seem to use side lights around town. They want to see who's on the pavements.

mike65

True parking lights can be selected individually. How many cars have that facility these days?

Mike.

crosstownk

mike65 wrote: »

True parking lights can be selected individually. How many cars have that facility these days?

Mike.

I think most German brands still have it. I know VW & MB do. AFAIK, Ford have it too.

Mr Magnolia

Only if I'm parked.

Dipped headlights for me, all day, every day, summer or winter. I was informed at an advanced driving school that you were ~35% less likely to be involved in a crash if you drove with your lights on.

Lex Luthor

I use the side or parking lights in the summer time even during the day.

Dipped beams in the winter team also during the day.

BrianD3

Who uses side lights?
-Misguided, tight morons who think they're "saving the battery" by leaving their dipped lights off while driving in poor visibility/dark
-Idiots who can't get their thick heads around how to operate the controls in their car. "Ah sure i'll just press a few buttons and see what happens"
-Idiots who can't get their heads around the idea that lights are for seeing AND being seen
-Muppets with two blown dipped headlight bulbs but too tight/stupid to replace them so they drive along on a combination of sidelights, mainbeams and front fogs

Gwynston

crosstownk wrote: »

I think most German brands still have it. I know VW & MB do. AFAIK, Ford have it too.

Yes, both our Ford Focus and C-Max have the option to switch them on as parking lights. But the separate 'side lights on' position is still there in between 'off' and 'dipped on' too. Why?

Gwynston

Lex Luthor wrote: »

I use the side or parking lights in the summer time even during the day.

Dipped beams in the winter team also during the day.

Why?
If you use them during the day both summer and winter, why choose to specifically only use side lights in the summer?

blackbox

Lex, what's the point in using the side lights when driving - The car can be seen before the 5/10 watt bulbs except in pitch darkness.

If you care about safety use dipped beams all the time unless full beams are appropriate, especially if your car is green/ black/ grey/ silver /dark blue - in fact any colour except white or bright yellow; side lights should only be used for parking;

I like people to use dipped beams even in sunshine - it can be a great help when there is deep shadow under trees etc.

MarkR

As far as I can see they are only for parking. Hence my puzzlement when people are using them hurtling through blinding rain while overtaking at 120 km/h.

My guess is that they heard the lady on the radio from the AA advising to drive with their dipped lights on. Confusing dipped and the parking lights.

Gwynston

But they're not just parking lights!
Like I said, Fords have two separate positions to switch to either parking lights or side lights (even though both effectively do the same thing).

Marcus.Aurelius

blackbox wrote: »

Lex, what's the point in using the side lights when driving - The car can be seen before the 5/10 watt bulbs except in pitch darkness.

If you care about safety use dipped beams all the time unless full beams are appropriate, especially if your car is green/ black/ grey/ silver /dark blue - in fact any colour except white or bright yellow; side lights should only be used for parking;

I like people to use dipped beams even in sunshine - it can be a great help when there is deep shadow under trees etc.

It helps in light rain, where dipped headlamps are unnecessary, also the rear of the car is as bright whether you're on dipped h/l or side lights.

I mostly drive with dipped headlamps, turned down to the ground during the day to avoid blinding people. But if I'm in heavier traffic, I turn to the side-lights, just so the rear of the car is still lit up.

It all helps.

tc20

As peasant and crosstownk have said, i'll use the side or parking lights if im parked somewhere thats not well lit. Other than that, i always drive with dipped heads on, day or night

deman

Is it actually law yet, that you must drive with your dips on at ALL times? It is here in Finland, the sun could be splitting the rocks in the middle of the summer and we still drive with our dips on. The first cars you meet will normally remind you if you don't have them switched on.

Gran Hermano

I've always driven with DRL, blame it on my time in Sweden before I drove
here. I too recall that Eircom conducted a trial where they introduced DRL
some years back across their fleet. During the trial they found accidents
dropped by approx 30% and they decided to introduce DRL use as a policy.

I'd a scary experience some years back on the narrow back road from Johnnie
Foxes to Rathfarnham where I had a speeding garda car coming towards me
with their front right headlights out of action - from a distance it looked
like it was a motorbike.

Sidelights on their own are never useful in my opinion.

craichoe

BrianD3 wrote: »

Who uses side lights?
-Misguided, tight morons who think they're "saving the battery" by leaving their dipped lights off while driving in poor visibility/dark
-Idiots who can't get their thick heads around how to operate the controls in their car. "Ah sure i'll just press a few buttons and see what happens"
-Idiots who can't get their heads around the idea that lights are for seeing AND being seen
-Muppets with two blown dipped headlight bulbs but too tight/stupid to replace them so they drive along on a combination of sidelights, mainbeams and front fogs

Their called Daytime Running Lights. They were introduced on Vehicles as a requirement in a number of countries. So during normal daytime use, you have your running lights on. Quite a few manufacturers advertised these back in the late 90's as an addon. Now their on pretty much all cars.

Daytime running lights are for other road users, not for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp

So I guess the muppets had an read of the manual.

International regulators, primarily in Europe, are struggling to balance the potential safety benefit offered by DRL with the increased fuel consumption due to their use. Because the power to run the DRLs must be produced by the engine, which in turn requires burning additional fuel, high-power DRL systems increase CO2 emissions sufficiently to affect a country's compliance with the Kyoto protocol on greenhouse gas emissions

Gwynston

maoleary wrote: »

It helps in light rain, where dipped headlamps are unnecessary

Can't agree with you there.
If we accept that DRL are a good idea - i.e. that you're more visible with lights on in the day than without, then surely you have to agree that dipped head lights are brighter than side lights, therefore will make you more visible.

Where do you get the idea that dipped headlights are unnecessary in light rain? If we agree that DRL are still a good idea on a bright day, surely they'd be even better in the rain?

dogmatix

I have side lights on all the time - it helps make the car a little bit more noticeable to pedestrians. As soon as the light starts to fade the main dipped lights are turned on.

Gwynston

BrianD3 wrote: »

-Muppets with two blown dipped headlight bulbs but too tight/stupid to replace them so they drive along on a combination of sidelights, mainbeams and front fogs

craichoe wrote: »

Their called Daytime Running Lights. They were introduced on Vehicles as a requirement in a number of countries. So during normal daytime use, you have your running lights on. Quite a few manufacturers advertised these back in the late 90's as an addon. Now their on pretty much all cars.

Daytime running lights are for other road users, not for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp

So I guess the muppets had an read of the manual.

No, DRLs are something else craichoe. In Scandinavia, where cars must must use lights in the daytime, regular cars are just modified so that their dipped main beams come on automatically when you start the engine.

Many domestic cars in the US do have DRLs, but these are separate units which look a bit like fog lights but aren't as bright. (BTW, with these DRLs on, red lights at the back aren't necessarily on at the same time).

Most people driving round with front fog lights here are using just that. They're not de facto DRLs like in the US. (Except maybe Volvos and Saabs?)

Lex Luthor

dogmatix wrote: »

I have side lights on all the time - it helps make the car a little bit more noticeable to pedestrians. As soon as the light starts to fade the main dipped lights are turned on.

same as what I do....

Lex Luthor

some people shouldn't even bother using their dipped lights as they should start by cleaning the muck off the lights first....:mad:

craichoe

Gwynston wrote: »

No, DRLs are something else craichoe. In Scandinavia, where cars must must use lights in the daytime, regular cars are just modified so that their dipped main beams come on automatically when you start the engine.

Many domestic cars in the US do have DRLs, but these are separate units which look a bit like fog lights but aren't as bright. (BTW, with these DRLs on, red lights at the back aren't necessarily on at the same time).

Most people driving round with front fog lights here are using just that. They're not de facto DRLs like in the US. (Except maybe Volvos and Saabs?)

No .. its the same thing, just full voltage vs reduced voltage. Its an environmental argument. Increased fuel usage vs safety. Having a legal requirement to have an automatic switch is not the same thing as being legally required to have them turned on.