Have you ever needed the “parking lights only” setting on your car?
I know that using them is required for some situations in some countries, but I don’t know when and where exactly. Most situations, where I live, the parking lights are scrapped in favor of the flashing “hazard” setting (double parking, parking in fire lane…).
So, do YOU use them? Where and why?
I generally use them for the brief fraction of a second that it takes to move the switch from the “off” position to the “headlights” position. Other than that, not at all.
I learned to drive in a state where driving with parking lights on was illegal. Ergo, I still think of them as “evil” in some way. (Note that the state had to change its law to deal with car companies making cars that have lights on by default.)
They’re not good enough to help you see and if you want to make yourself more visible, turn on the real lights!
“Parking lights” Wha?
My car will let you just have the lights on one side on, for parking by the side of the road - but that doesn’t sound like what you mean here. It’d bit a bit stupid to drive around with only one side lit up anyway.
Ah, do you mean side lights only and no headlights? Well then sometimes during daylight when visiblity is only slightly duff. Always dipped headlights at night.
I think TheJungOnes means a setting on some North American cars where the yellow “corner lights” are on and the headlights come on dimmer than the full blown lights.
I use them. Can you guess when??
Uh, yeah, when I’m in a PARKING lot. That’s what parking lights are for.
Have you ever been trying to get out of a busy parking lot (after a movie or sporting event) and you can’t see because the guy across from you is blinding you with his lights? Or, if you’re in your car, and the guy parked headlong to you fills your car with the light of Christ while he warms up?
Wouldn’t it be helpful if there was some setting where the lights were on, but not blinding to those around you?
DakotaDog, from your post it sounds like people in Canada (at least after sporting events) do not use them either. Is this correct? Besides yourself, what percentage of people do you see using their parking lights in busy parking lots? Maybe Canada has more parking light users.
It used to be that parking lights were meant to give you some extra visiblity when you were parked along the curb or shoulder, and they indicated “I am parked here, unmoving.”
Nowdays, though, people usually use hazards for that purpose, which makes a good deal of sense, because they do make you more visible, but orignally, hazards were supposed to only be used when there was an emergency, and were a signal that you needed assistance.
More to the point, you can’t really use parking lights for the original purpose because people have taken to driving with just their parking lights on, which you should not do. Parking lights are supposed to mean that your vehicle is parked, and not moving. If visiblity is poor, turn on your headlights. There’s really no advantage to having just your parking lights on instead of headlights when you are driving! IMHO, having a parking lights setting just makes drivers more likely to use them inappropriately, so they should phase them out in new cars.
I heard a radio report about how more drivers were actually complying with the NY state law not to drive while talking on a cellphone by pulling over to take calls. They interviewed a State Trooper who said that this was indeed preferable to driving while talking on the phone, and that drivers should turn on the their right turn siginal instead of hazards to indicate that they had pulled over on purpose and did not need assistance. It would seem that parking lights really are obsolete.
In case you didn’t gather, I don’t use them, 'cause I don’t want anyone ramming my parked car because they don’t know what parking lights mean and assume I’m moving. 
I use them for the times around dawn and dusk when it’s not dark enough to turn on your lights but I need the “cockpit” lit. See also “slightly foggy”.
Parking: Parking lights.
Poor visibility: Headlights.
Pulled over, emergency: Hazards.
(I’ve never had to pull over, but if I were pulled over for a non-emergency reason, I’d have my headlights/tailights on in poor visibility, and the turn signal during the day.)
I once asked a friend of mine why he had his parking lights on as he drove up. I said, “If it’s dusk, you might as well just turn your headlights on since it’s only going to get darker. And, if it’s dawn, just wait until it’s light enough and turn them off”.
He said, “Because, it looks cool”.
I don’t know if there’s any reasoning behind this, but it seems that almost every other minivan I see at night ONLY has their parking lights on. I know it used to be a fad of Mustang drivers to do this in the 80s. Maybe the minivan drivers stole it from them? What with them being so cool and all…
[Rain Man]Course, they’re excellent drivers.[/Rain Man]
Never use them myself.
DakotaDog , the true “parking light” setting involves just the yellow corner lights, the headlight isn’t on at all.
My driver’s ed teacher taught me that there are only two situations in the world that call for parking-lights-only. The first was when you’re leaving the drive-in-movie early (or getting there late), and you need a little bit of light to see by but you don’t want to piss people off by splashing light onto the screen.
The second is when you’re at a drive-in restaurant and you need to signal the waitress.
-lv
My car’s headlights turn on automatically as soon as I release the parking brake (DRL during the day and full lights at night), so the “parking light” setting is only useful from the moment I get into the car until the moment I start driving. But the only times I’ve needed to light up my car when it’s stopped have been when the car was already running: pulling off the road to check the mail, stopping in a “no parking” zone to run to a soda machine, etc.
I use the parking lights when I get home really late. My parking space at my apartment complex is aimed directly at two bedroom windows of two different apartments. I figure if I can get parked without waking them, all the better.
Ditto.
I find that the occasional use of parking lights, coupled with a slight accelleration, can be an effective way to handle tailgaters.
Could somebody please explain this not - dark - enough - to - turn - your - headlights - on concept to me?
If you turn your headlights on in the daytime, does your car know? Does it sound an alarm? Does it automatically turn them off? Or is there some sort of danger associated with having your headlights on when it’s not dark out? If so, woe betide those fools whose cars have daytime running lights! Does your car lack an alternator, so that you have to charge your battery from the wall socket? Are you extremely stingy, and unwilling to use up any more bulb light than is absolutely necessary?
If visiblity is poor, turn on your headlights.
For one thing, they give you more visiblity. I live at the top of a hill. If I don’t see people coming at the botom of the hill, about 1/8 mile away, I simply don’t see them coming. Several times I’ve accidentally pulled out in front of people in the fog because they had parking lights on, but no headlights. No matter what the fog’s like, I can usually see cars down there with headlights on; but if it’s bad, I often can’t see the cars with just parking lights.
For another, you’re not supposed to drive with parking lights on; they are for parking, when your car is stationary. It’s illegal to drive with just parking lights and no headlights in (just to name a few of the states who regulations I found in a quick Google search) Arizona,
Tennessee, California, and Missouri.
PA is typically vague, in that they tell me to use headlights between sunrise and sunset or at any time I cannot clearly see a person or vehicle 1000’ ahead.
Since getting my license, I’ve used parking lights at dusk or dawn when I can still easily see a half mile, as a courtesy to other motorists, feeling that headlights are overkill at those times of day.
I very rarely use my parkers and now that I think about it, I haven’t used them for many years. There was only those odd occasions like leaving the drive-inn early, when parked in a spot where I wanted the car to be clearly seen or around dusk before there was any actual need to put on the headlights.
All of these have already been previously stated.
I used to work at a place with an armed gate. When approaching the gate during hours of darkness, I’d use my parking lights, so as to not blind and annoy the guards. Since I quit that job, I’ve not used my parking lights at all.