I just found out that you can tell a car is in reverse because the white taillights light up. At no point in 30 years on this planet did I ever know this.
April Fools day was two months ago.
Mullinator is from Georgia… if the driving license requirements there are like the ones in Florida, I can believe the OP.
As a Californian who recently received his license, same here.
Wow. I really thought that it was common knowledge. I figured everyone noticed that the white lights were on when looking out the back window while parallel parking. Hell, AFAIK, everyone around here even calls them “reverse lights”.
Learn something new every day…
OK, so now you know this, don’t freak out when you see a car driving along the highway with his backup lights on. I don’t know how this happens, but it doesn’t mean the car is in reverse. As evidenced by a lack of transmission pieces flying off of said vehicles.
I grew up calling them “backup lights” so I always knew what they were. I guess it’s one of those things that I assumed everyone just knew. Interesting…
How can you see if your own backup lights are on?
(I’ve always known what they are, too, but I can’t tell when my own are on.)
There’s a guest in IMHO looking for you.
Just kidding, he’s gone. Anyways, did you ever back up at night and notice you could see behind you fairly wel? That’s the reverse lights illuminating things for you. serves two puposes. Warns others, lights your way.
Let’s see… I didn’t know until just a couple of months ago, that sliding your notes when singing (picture a western) is caled “slurring.” And I come from a family that includes several professional musicians. I looked pretty silly in that argument.
What you’re probably seeing is a taillight with a smashed outer casing. The actual lightbulb isn’t red, just the reflector that goes over it.
Is this a whoosh? Cuz if’n it ain’t, you need to swap usernames with NoClueBoy
A friend of mine in college said that her dad thought that “Exit Only” signs meant that you couldn’t get back on the highway from that exit, (rather than that the lane is exit only, it doesn’t continue on the highway). When he found out, he got really excited about the different paths he could now take in the city.
So, similar to Mullinator’s ‘ding’ moment.
I was at lunch last year with a big group from work, probably 12-15 of us, and this somehow came up. About half the people at the table thought the same thing. I was shocked.
Don’t you look behind you when parallel parking? :eek: You should see the lights on in the reflection of the pole, car, or building behind you. Even if that’s not the case, when looking behind you to make sure that it’s OK to back up, don’t you notice that it gets noticably brighter back there once you shift into reverse?
Maybe it’s different in other states, but to the best of my knowledge, working reverse lights are required to pass inspection.
You can see them clearly when you back up at night.
You’ve never been walking through a parking lot and noticed a car backing with the backup lights illuminated?
Did you (or your parents) pay for your driving instruction or was it free somehow?
[QUOTE=Casey1505]
Don’t you look behind you when parallel parking? :eek: You should see the lights on in the reflection of the pole, car, or building behind you. Even if that’s not the case, when looking behind you to make sure that it’s OK to back up, don’t you notice that it gets noticably brighter back there once you shift into reverse?
QUOTE]
Not everyone has parallel parked.
Looking out the window and seeing how some of the people on my block have parked, I kind of believe you. 
But while parallel parking may not be as common as, say, making a right turnm on red, it’s got to be taught in Driver’s Ed. Frankly, if you can’t parallel park your car (even if you never need to), you either need to take a bus or get a smaller car.
Like others have said, though, the lights are seen while walking through a parking lot, seeing other cars back up, seeing the reflection of your own car backing up, etc.
It’s just baffling that our esteemed OP hasn’t noticed this in 30 years.
<Public Service Annoucement>
The stalk that sticks out from the left hand side of the steering wheel controls your turn indicator lights. These would be the amber colored glass located at all four corners of the vehicle. By pressing down on the stalk, the left hand amber lights will flash indicating you wish to turn in that direction. By pressing upwards the right hand side indicators will flash thus indicating a wish to turn right.
<end PSA>
Nevermind me, just seems that a good portion of the driving population is likewise unaware of this feature.
Now if someone would be so kind as to inform me why Canadian highways (or at least Hwy 1) have “?” symbols on them I’ll be a happy man.
Or maybe it was a “!”