# Why did they move the location of the headlight dimmer switch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563 "2015-01-11T19:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [January 20, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/83 "2017-01-20T21:37:15Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > So it’s a term that old people use, no wonder I haven’t heard it before (I’m 40 by the way). I’m 58. So older than you, but not ancient. (Yet.) But the transition from floor-mounted to steering column-mounted headlight switches happened shortly after I learned to drive and probably about the time you were old enough to remember anything about riding around with your parents. I think about that time the marketing departments took the opportunity to update their terminology. So it’s a “highbeam switch” or similar from about 1975-1980 on. Do teens (or 8 yos) today “dial” their phone or “hang up” at the end of a call? Do you? I do, even though I haven’t owned a landline since about 2001, nor a rotary dial phone since I was 9. Language is fun. Far from static or standardized. But still fun. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/84 "2017-01-20T21:39:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Did you read the thread? The switch got its name in the Olden Dayes when running high beams was normal and you turned your headlights down on the rare occasion you encountered another car. > > Sheesh, kids these days. I never !! 🙂 That’s how I use it driving in Saskatchewan - having them on high is normal because we don’t get a lot of traffic in the country. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/85 "2017-01-20T22:06:37Z")
Nor sunshine. At least not this time of year. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/86 "2017-01-20T22:16:46Z")
Actually, January and February are usually pretty sunny. November and December are the snowy months, then the deep freeze sets in with low temps and high barometer readings. ---
**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:** [January 20, 2017, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/87 "2017-01-20T22:30:52Z")
And also with ~5 hours from sunrise to sunset. Crisp and blue while it lasts; it just doesn’t last long enough to cover driving both to and from work. For many folks it covers neither. Or so it seemed when I lived mid-north by US standards but very far south by Canadian standards. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/88 "2017-01-21T02:10:50Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > The “dimmer switch” on the stalk is also used to flash the headlights when theyvare turned off. Europeans, and perhaps Japanese, are used to flashing headlights rather than sounding the horn. Easier to do with the stalk instead of a pull switch on the dash. I understand that, but not every American car was able to ‘flash’ the headlights just because the dimmer was moved to the stalk. I have a '96 Monte Carlo, and it was a pretty expensive model, and the dimmer is on the stalk, however, it only works to turn the bright lights on (and off). It has no function if the lights are turned off. This was not the first car that I owned with the dimmer on the stalk and none of the other cars were able to flash the headlights with the lights off, either. I have driven various cars since 1956 and never had any problem finding the dimmer switch on the floor board. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/89 "2017-01-21T02:34:33Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Did you read the thread? The switch got its name in the Olden Dayes when running high beams was normal and you turned your headlights down on the rare occasion you encountered another car. > > Sheesh, kids these days. I never !! 🙂 Running on high beams (or brights if you prefer) is still the norm on the highway at night. To the point that if you **don’t** have your high beams when approaching another car the other driver is likely to flash their brights at you thinking you didn’t dim your lights. At certain times of the year having your high beams on can mean the difference between having time to stop before you hit the deer that just appeared in the middle road and not having time. I suspect most of the people who just can’t imagine driving with your high beams on have never driven long distances on dark nights. ---
**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:** [January 21, 2017, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/90 "2017-01-21T02:40:39Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > … > I suspect most of the people who just can’t imagine driving with your high beams on have never driven long distances on dark nights. Agree. Although the issue isn’t long distances but rather traffic density. You can drive 1000 miles up I-95 entirely at night and never be farther than 100 feet from at least one other car. You can drive across US-50 in NV in mid afternoon on a nice day and see one car every 20 minutes, if that often. People whose only experience is like one of those can’t imagine the other even exists. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/91 "2017-01-21T02:53:34Z")
I live in a somewhat densely-populated part of the Pacific Northwest. I only use high beams driving at night in remote areas. When I lived in rural Kansas, high beams were my default every time it was dark. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/92 "2017-01-21T11:12:53Z")
The first I heard of dimmer switches (as they were known to us back then) were some place other than on the floor was when a friend bought a Toyota in about '77. I also remember someone having a horn on a stalk. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/93 "2017-01-21T11:18:47Z")
Born 1970, US. Never, ever heard it called a “dimmer switch.” It’s always the “high beams,” which you rarely get to use. Even on rural roads, you rarely go more than a few minutes without encountering another car either in front of you or behind you. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/94 "2017-01-21T11:25:47Z")
ETA: So, another data point confirming LSLGuy’s estimate of 1975-1980 for the change in terminology. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/95 "2017-01-21T16:27:34Z")
I’ve called it a dimmer switch my entire life. That’s what I was taught in my 1970’s drivers Ed. class and every person I knew called it a dimmer switch. We learn the strangest things on this board. Some people call it a high beam switch? Uh, OK But it’ll always be a dimmer switch in my car. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563/96 "2017-01-21T20:29:10Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > Renault Dauphine, not only the horn on the end of the stalk on the right side , but you twisted it to select city or country horn. I owned one of those things. It is consistently on the Worst Cars Ever lists. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-move-the-location-of-the-headlight-dimmer-switch/709563.md?page=4)