I can attest to the European parking light deal. There are signs that will require you to turn on parking lights. Being that I have a US Spec car, I can’t really park in these areas. If I leave my parking lights on all night, my battery will die…European cars, like pilot said, are built to have parking lights on for extended periods.
I’ve come close to opening a pit thread on this…
PArking lights are for slow moving situations (ie: pasrking lot) where full lights are not necessary, and more annoyingly BLIND OTHER PEOPLE IN THE LOT!
They are for driving into and out of drive-in movies, so as not to disturb the other people watching the movie, yet give just enough light to see where you are going.
One of my cars has “city lights,” which are a standard feature in most European domestic market vehicles. It’s a small, low wattage bulb that illumates the headlight reflector, but because it’s dimmer and far off center, it doesn’t cast a beam.
With them, your headlights appear lit up, but don’t cast light for driving. They’re very visible to oncomong drivers, but they have no chance of blinding anyone. They’re excellent for driving in daytime rain, when you want to have visibility, but don’t need to make a beam that you couldn’t really see anyway.
This link takes you to the UK Highway Code. You can see on Rules 222 and 223 that there are regulations regarding at night and the use of parking lights. :-
Parking lights are for legal parking only.
Emergency flashers are for illegal parking, like double and red zone parking. Must be, because I see people do it all the time. Of course the guy’ll turn them off as he tows your car away.
Peace,
mangeorge
Yeah, it’s hard to reach freeway speeds in the pesky things. 
For those who drive w/ parking lights on, don’t do it in Ca. You’ll get a ticket. Those in & near NYC do seem to drive w/parking lights at dusk, then turn on headlights at night. Of course, NYC might be the only place that right turns on red are still illegal. (unless a sign says otherwise)
I’m currently searching one of my databases for the origin of the uses of “parking lights,” at least as they were used in the US.
I just found a 1920 article from Wisconsin that says there was a new law that said you needed such lights when parking, but not if you parked on a street where the visiblity was 500 feet. (One assumes that meant in a lighted, downtown? area)
The law said you must have at least one such light, on the left of the car in the front, and the tail lights must both be lit.
I’m still working on it.
I just found a cite from 1920 that indicated a Chicago citizen was fined $7.60 by a judge for parking without leaving his lights on.
Wow!
Ah, they’re 1920’s Style…
Never mind.
Hope the laws have been updated, my VW light switch has all lights on or just the daytime running lights on, there is no “parking light” position.
I use parking lights at night when I am waiting for a train at a RR crossing. I don’t want to blind the driver in front of me in the side veiw mirrors. Or if I am first in line, I don’t want to give a headlight strobe effect to the car on the other side of the tracks.
before the use of “streetlights” and for that matter even before streets it was a safety hazard to leave a vehicle parked on a road or path without lights. The vehicles posed a problem not only for other vehicles but also for pedestrians and horse drawn carriages. In the middle of the night on a dark unlit street a vehicle can easily appear to be nothing but a dark shadow.
Interesting (maybe not) info about those left/right euro parking lights.
In current USAn BMWs if the ignition is off, putting the turn signal lever in the left or right position will illuminate the left or right parking lights. I’ve never understood what this feature was for.
I think my 99 Audi was like this too.
Wow! Now THAT was a long time ago.
Most cars here in Germany have three different settings for parking light. There is “Standlicht” which illuminates low wattage bulbs in the front and rear on both sides. And there is the socalled “Parklicht” which you switch on by setting the indicator lever to the left or right. Now only the bulbs on that side are lit (only if you switch your other lights complety off).
You have to use “Parklicht” when you park in an area with no streetlight on (some streetlights are switched off late at night to save energy/money). “Standlicht” is allways switched on when you have your normal headlight running. When you switch your engine off, normal headlight are also (automaticly) switched off and only Standlicht stays switched on. Very useful when your’re waiting at a railroad crossing, where you are supposed to shut your engine. Another reason for this might be redundancy in case of a broken light bulb of the headlight.
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,”
Not so in my '02. I just went out and tried it.
Damn!
I gotta go with samclem here.
In the US anyway, the term ‘Parking Lights’ is an outdated leftover from the early days of automobiles. Like the crazy laws you always hear about- drivers having to fire flares at every intersection or disassemble their vehicle if a horse is too scared to pass by it.
Leaving your parking lights on all night is simply not a viable option with regular, US-style lights. Your battery absolutely, positively WILL be dead in the morning, everytime, guaranteed!
In reference to all those who feel turning on your parking lights so other cars can see you better is a good idea, don’t you think then that turning on your headlights too would be an even better idea?! 
Here in NY we have to turn our headlights on anytime our wipers are on and if its daytime I always use my high beams. Its the best way to increase your car’s visibility, it doesn’t have any effect on the other driver (during the day) and the blue indicator light on the dash reminds me that they’re on.