# Car Headlights who needs them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 16, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467 "2014-10-16T03:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/21 "2014-10-18T14:28:38Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > This one time on a ski trip up in the mountains I was driving home from the ski lodge and I got hlafway down the mountain before I remembered to turn my tire chains on. I’m confused. The last time I saw chains on a car’s tires they were things you put on and off in a rather long involved process, not something that gets turned on and off by a switch. Please enlighten me! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/22 "2014-10-18T15:39:59Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > I’m confused. The last time I saw chains on a car’s tires they were things you put on and off in a rather long involved process, not something that gets turned on and off by a switch. Please enlighten me! He’s kidding. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/23 "2014-10-18T21:51:14Z")
Whew. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/24 "2014-10-19T14:18:00Z")
I don’t have DRL in my vehicle, so I automatically turn on the headlights whenever I start the car. It’s become a habit now. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/25 "2014-10-19T14:22:11Z")
I’m usually too drunk to notice pesky little details like lights. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/26 "2014-10-19T16:36:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I just always turn on the headlights. It doesn’t matter if it’s daytime or nighttime, if the engine is on, the headlamps are on. This is me too. One of my older cars, I used to be able to leave the headlights to “on”. They would automatically turn off when I shut off the ignition, and come back on when I started the car. Most cars today have an “auto” setting on the stalk so that if it’s dark enough outside, your headlights come on automatically. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/27 "2014-10-19T16:51:46Z")
I keep mine set to the “auto on” option. Yay, technology. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/28 "2014-11-11T00:35:51Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > The one thing I don’t like about daytime running lights (Canada here) is that your headlights are on when you drive off at night and forget to actually turn on (all) your lights. Headlights on? Check. Tail lights? Nope! I wouldn’t have known what to think this evening if I hadn’t remembered your post. My car in OFF setting still has DRL and autoswitches to headlights, so your scenario wouldn’t have occurred to me when I saw this black car driving with only front lights. I and another car caught on and tried to flash lights at him, but he thought we meant brights, and his weren’t on. Miles later (in the dark interstate) he figured it out and turned the lights on. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/29 "2014-11-11T02:44:47Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > I once drove for like half a mile with my wipers on and it wasn’t even raining! This will definitely get you pulled over! ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/30 "2014-11-15T07:21:19Z")
My 2006 Mazda3 (which I still own but don’t drive it very often) was the first car I had where this was an issue. The gauges were ‘electroluminescent’ so they lit up bright day or night when the car was started. In all of my previous vehicles, the pitch dark dashboard was my reminder to turn on the lights! But in well-lit areas I would often forget to turn them on in the Mazda because all of my gauges were brightly lit and the street lights were bright enough so I could see the road! I don’t use the AUTO setting on my headlights because they don’t always come on when they should. For example, in Georgia, the law requires headlights on even in the lightest rain. They AUTO setting doesn’t turn them on in the rain, although it should be able to since the car also has rain-sensing wipers (which I also don’t use). My new car, a 2015 Volvo S60, is the first car that will automatically turn on the headlights in the dark even if they’re not set to AUTO! It also has a ‘tunnel’ feature so the lights turn on quickly when going thru tunnels or under long overpasses or other poorly lit areas. The Volvo can also detect Pedestrians, Cyclists, other Vehicles or any other object in my travel path and fully stop itself if I don’t do so. When I test drove the car, the salesman was going on and on about what a great safety feature it was. I think I scared him when I asked, “What if I want to hit a Pedestrian or a Cyclist?” I really scared the shit out of him when I decided to test the Full Auto-Brake function by driving directly toward a brick wall at 35mph…it worked, but he wasn’t thrilled that I did it without warning him! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/31 "2014-11-15T14:39:42Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > This one time on a ski trip up in the mountains I was driving home from the ski lodge and I got hlafway down the mountain before I remembered to turn my tire chains on. I know that you’re joking, but these do exist for larger trucks. [http://www.insta-chain.com/](http://www.insta-chain.com/) ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/32 "2014-11-15T16:07:10Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > Headlights off will get you pulled over and doing a field sobriety test. I was coming home from work one winter morning and had it happen to me. > Even explaining I was I night shift nurse and showing my ID still hanging around my neck. I had to walk the line. At that time, field breathilizers were not being used because it was found they weren’t being calibrated and 98% were inacurate. > I can tell you, I didn’t sleep well that day! The same thing happened to me on perhaps the most brightly lit stretch of road in the galaxy, and I wound up arrested and detained in jail for 48 hours despite having a clean driving record. I explained that I worked a block away, and the officer replied “oh, so you don’t want to lose your job”. I guess that can happen if you do this during new year’s eve weekend patrols. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/33 "2014-11-15T16:47:57Z")
My VW has daytime running lights, basically the headlights on low beam. When the engine is on, the low beams are on. I have occasionally started the car after dark and forgotten to turn on the headlights - I can see just fine by the light of the DRLs, but of course no taillights or parking lights… ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/34 "2014-11-15T18:47:23Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My VW has daytime running lights, basically the headlights on low beam. When the engine is on, the low beams are on. I have occasionally started the car after dark and forgotten to turn on the headlights - I can see just fine by the light of the DRLs, but of course no taillights or parking lights… DRLs with incandescents use the low-beam filament at reduced brightness. DRLs with other lighting types (HIDs) are usually white LEDs styled into the headlamp housing, since HIDs can’t run at reduced brightness. [example.](http://kts350.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/300c17.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Rockb19](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/65b543/32.png) [@Rockb19](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rockb19)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/35 "2014-11-15T22:12:25Z")
I worked as a probation officer for 15 years, doing only MISDO OWI cases. Not having your headlights on is The #1 reason people get pulled over on the suspicion of OWI The real point of headlights is Not so you can See where you’re going, it’s So other people can See your grey, black, dark Car in the night. Try leaving them on all the time, It makes you much more Noticeable and I believe it helps avoid accidents. Rockb19 ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/36 "2014-11-16T06:14:17Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I know that you’re joking, but these do exist for larger trucks. > > [http://www.insta-chain.com/](http://www.insta-chain.com/) How cool! So, “larger trucks”, eh? Not for Corollas, I’m guessing? ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/37 "2014-11-16T14:29:35Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > If you wanted to you could just leave the headlight switch on and never touch it again. That’s what I do with my Subaru. The last time my headlights were turned off was several months ago, when it was in the shop and one of the mechanics turned them off for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/38 "2014-11-16T21:03:07Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > DRLs with incandescents use the low-beam filament at reduced brightness. > > DRLs with other lighting types (HIDs) are usually white LEDs styled into the headlamp housing, since HIDs can’t run at reduced brightness. > > [example.](http://kts350.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/300c17.jpg) On both VWs i’ve had I cannot tell any difference between DRL and low beam. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/39 "2014-11-16T23:09:57Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > On both VWs i’ve had I cannot tell any difference between DRL and low beam. The difference isn’t that great, but it is there. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467/40 "2014-11-17T14:42:34Z")
Many years ago, about the time I started driving, I knew two people who were psychics of a sort. About that time I had a dream that I was approaching a T intersection from the middle street, at night, preparing to turn right onto the continuing street. A sign on that street directed me to turn my headlights off, since the roadway was brightly lighted. I told the psychics about this and they said I should not drive on such a street–go back onto the middle street. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/car-headlights-who-needs-them/701467.md?page=1)