# What was up with the lights on this truck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 1, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277 "2025-12-01T01:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/61 "2025-12-03T14:16:01Z")
In the daytime i suspect they are a much smaller distraction than the antlers. I’m dubious. I kinda think that extra light on the road is generally good. Those aren’t going to be shining in my eyes and blinding me. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/62 "2025-12-03T14:19:26Z")
Maybe some of you should re-evaluate your driving skills. I’m more worried that there are ppl so easily and “dangerously” distracted by the sudden appearance of some underglow lights on a car than the lights themselves. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/63 "2025-12-03T14:20:57Z")
I’m thinking highway, late at night, “What the F is that?” Not thinking in town driving. > [@Dorjan](#): > > Maybe some of you should re-evaluate your driving skills. I’m 65 years old. I’ve been driving since I was 11 years old. I have never had an accident. My skills are fine thank you very much. Please don’t insult me. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/64 "2025-12-03T14:45:54Z")
I just don’t think my reaction would be “wtfit!" the second time i saw one. And i don’t think one " wtf!” per “feature" is that big a risk. If it were, no new car shapes would ever be allowed. When SUVs were new, they got a WTF! from me. Same with the cyber truck. Now, maybe the cybertruck should be banned because all those pointy edges are pedestrian-killers (it’s not street legal in the EU for that reason) but not just because it looks weird. And honestly, my night vision isn’t what it was (yes, just checked by an ophthalmologist) and i often find the pool of light from someone else’s headlights helpful. I expect I’d feel the same about these. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/65 "2025-12-03T14:52:08Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Same with the cyber truck. Now, maybe the cybertruck should be banned because all those pointy edges are pedestrian-killers (it’s not street legal in the EU for that reason) but not just because it looks weird. I’ll agree here. Same reason we now have recessed door handles. I don’t buy cars for their looks, but their practicality. Lights under them doesn’t help anyone. I guess it’s a moron alert of someone trying to show off, so that would help me. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/66 "2025-12-03T15:44:05Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Lights under them doesn’t help anyone. I can’t understand this. Underlighting makes a car easier to see, without the blinding impact that headlights have. It’s just another type of running light. Maybe they need to be standardized, but with LED lights being reliable and low-power, vehicles should be better illuminated. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/67 "2025-12-03T16:09:31Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > I can’t understand this. Underlighting makes a car easier to see, without the blinding impact that headlights have. It’s just bling. Nothing more. Same as the spinning hubcaps. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/68 "2025-12-03T16:20:39Z")
Do all you glow-haters complain about semi trucks festooned with 1000 lights? Funky-shaped LED headlights? Tiny, oddly-placed taillights? Red and whit reflectors on trucks? pro-trump bumper sticker? because all of those can be or are annoying and distracting. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/69 "2025-12-03T16:28:12Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Do all you glow-haters complain about semi trucks festooned with 1000 lights? Funky-shaped LED headlights? Tiny, oddly-placed taillights? Honestly: yes, yes, and yes. Now, get off my ~~lawn~~ highway! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/70 "2025-12-03T17:03:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Honestly: yes, yes, and yes. As long as you’re consistent! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/71 "2025-12-03T17:11:58Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It’s dangerous because anytime you are driving, or doing anything really, when you see something totally unexpected it diverts your attention from your task at hand, driving. I’d feel in this particular case, the added distraction of seeing something unusual (although apparently not as unusual as I originally thought) might be balanced out by the added visibility of the extra lights. I agree there’s a limit. I feel the billboard trucks other people have described are going too far. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/72 "2025-12-03T17:24:56Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As for the underglow, I remember it as far back as c. 1993 here in Chicago (purple was common) and its environs and then it just seemed to disappear, so I don’t know if the laws changed or what. Fact checking my own statement, I see that StreetGlow was established in 1991, and still exists today. They originally decked cars out with neon tubes, which is what I remember from those times. This appears to be the first company with retail under glow lights, but it seems they may have existed in some form previously in enthusiast communities, but I can’t find a hard reference. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/73 "2025-12-03T17:31:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I agree there’s a limit. I feel the billboard trucks other people have described are going too far. Yes. There are limits. I agree that a truck with big huge ass tires that has never seen a gravel road is a problem. Pick up trucks are not. They are useful, just like my 4Runner is. Just like my Chevy C10 was and the Ram 1500. I had to have them to plow snow. I wore both of them out. Do these people need these distraction on their cars. No. Not at all. Odd moving light at night? Bad idea. Same with the spinning hubcaps that make the car moving, when it isn’t. That a real bad idea. There are laws about not having white light showing from the back of a vehicle. Say a broken tail light lens. This is just as bad if not worse. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2025, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/74 "2025-12-03T17:33:26Z")
Thanks for that cite. So underglow kits are now 34 years old. They have gone in and out and back into fashion a couple-three times since then. And lots of Dopers are just now in this thread discovering them. Sounds about right. See also the current thread about gooning goons and the goonification they’re doing. **ETA** : Oops. I started replying to @pulykamell two above me when that was the last post. Ref @enipla just below me: no, not replying to you. I never saw your post at all until I came back to the thread a few minutes later. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/75 "2025-12-03T17:35:26Z")
Is that a response to me @LSLGuy ? ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/76 "2025-12-03T18:27:58Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Seriously? They are a LOT bigger of a distraction than Reindeer antlers. how ‘bout truck nutz? ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/77 "2025-12-03T18:34:14Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > It’s just bling. Nothing more. Same as the spinning hubcaps. no it is not … … helps me come home healthy at night … (pic of electric scooters vastly improving their visibility) [https://i.postimg.cc/zvnjRB3Q/image.png](https://i.postimg.cc/zvnjRB3Q/image.png) everything that makes it less likely to be “overseen” is my friend … ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/78 "2025-12-03T18:40:58Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > … helps me come home healthy at night … (pic of electric scooters vastly improving their visibility) You drive those on the highway? Having visibility is great (IronMan serpa here). But cars don’t need that glow beneath them. It’s just bling, and distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/79 "2025-12-03T18:50:43Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > You drive those on the highway? do you get distracted by the lights only on the highway - or also in neighbourhood streets? - If its just the first (but not the second), pls explain why - if its on both, your question is irrelevant ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277/80 "2025-12-03T18:59:55Z")
I rarely see the stupid lights under cars. But they would surely be distracting. Both highway and city streets. Do not do unexpected things while driving. Those lights are unexpected. I don’t know why this is hard to understand. Don’t do unexpected things while driving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-up-with-the-lights-on-this-truck/1025277.md?page=5)