Is it confirmation bias of some sort or has this gotten exponentially worse over the years? I come to an intersection, it’s 6:45 PM in midwinter and the sky is overcast and rain is falling; I’ve got my headlights on and windshield wipers running, signal right turn, about to pull out when I sense that some portion of the grey mass that I thought was asphalt is actually in motion. Idiot in a dark SUV driving around in the dark with no freaking headlights.
Some percent of the offenders are driving vehicles that automatically turn on driving lights with or without the full headlights switched on. Doesn’t do jack shit for enabling their taillights. Taillights exist for a reason. It’s good to know that that lane is occupied before I get that close to you. Besides, this doesn’t explain them all. I’m seeing plenty of pitch black stealth vehicles interspersed with the highway traffic these days. And since they’re hard to see, I assume there are a lot more of them that I don’t see, if you see what I mean.
Don’t they notice that their driver console lights aren’t on? That they can’t see the speedometer and stuff like that?
And while I’m at it, does no one know what the fuck a headlight dimmer is? Don’t come up behind me with your ten zillion candlepower searchlights blasting my mirrors! Don’t come down the suburban street blinding me and driving down the middle of the road like that either. I was taught that you use bright lights when the road in front of you is unoccupied and dim them when there are other vehicles up there in front of you. And the damn things are a lot brighter than they were back when I was learning to drive.
Some people forget to turn on their headlights. (I even did it once, and I’m practically perfect) I agree it’s a problem, but I haven’t noticed it getting worse. A gentle flash of your high-beams will often correct the situation.
I do join your hate for the drivers that down dim their high-beams when there is traffic around. Again, though, probably just inattention.
It’s a problem but it happens. Just natural human fallibility. Hell, I usually turn on my lights even in the day just to keep it a habit (just like turn signalling even when nobody is around). But even I realized I forgot halfway to the store a week ago. Extremely rare, but I was stressed and distracted when I got in the car and must have spaced.
Newer cars have an auto setting that turns on lights automatically in any even marginally low-light situation, which is great. But unfortunately most people aren’t going to have shiny new cars with safety features like that.
Around here, driving with no headlights is sometimes called “stealth mode” or “the wannabe ninja” and is an EXCELLENT means of enabling a lengthy roadside conversation with a couple of Dallas’ finest.
Driving with your high beams on, meanwhile, draws my personal wrath & ire upon you. I will curse you and all you hold dear, including a request for the fleas of a thousand camels to re-home themselves in your crotch.
That said, if you are noticing an increase, there may be a reason, in that so many cars have automatic headlights anymore.
I don’t really pay attention to my lights, as they come on and go off by themselves. But, from time to time, for some reason, they get turned off (e.g. when I get an oil change at the dealership). I don’t realize that they have not turned on by themselves until it starts getting pretty dark, and they still haven’t kicked in. It’s just not something that I think about anymore.
Also, my dash lights don’t really change when I turn the lights on or off, so that’s not a clue. I should notice the lack of a little green icon on the bottom left of my dash, but, once again, something I’m not really looking for.
As far as high beams, I don’t know what is up with that. It does seem to be becoming more prevalent. Forgetting your lights is forgivable, leaving your highs on with approaching traffic is being a dick.
Typed up a post before reading the whole thread, and I see that k9bfriender said exactly what I had typed out, so I’ll just say “Me too”.
I’ll add that I live in an area with good lighting and lots of traffic, so my sight isn’t affected by my lights being out. I do know it makes it tougher for others to see me, especially pedestrians. But I go in for service twice a year (hopefully) so it’s not something that happens often.
Sometimes you just forget, especially if you begin your drive in a lighted environment. I once started out a drive at night from a well-lit garage and didn’t turn the headlights on. If someone hadn’t notified me, just before I was exiting the garage, that the lights weren’t on, I wouldn’t have known.
I have automatic headlights so I never turn mine on. They come on and go off on their own. It’s possible at times I may shut that off for whatever reason. If that happens I usually forget to turn them back on.
I’ve seen this dangerous bullshit a few times. Some of these drivers may just be forgetful, others might be impaired. You’ll be pleased to know that one time when I saw this, another car appeared in the dark behind the asshole, although the second car did have its headlights on, and moments later also turned on red and blue strobes on its roof. So the asshole had some 'splaining to do, and if he was arrested for being impaired, so much the better.
Now that virtually all new cars have super glaring blue-white LED headlights with the power of a thousand suns, even low beams are dangerously glaring. Those damn things should be illegal!
It’s because there streets are lit too well. Often I can barely tell if my headlights are on or not. I really think we’d be safer if the streets were a little darker at night, except near pedestrian crossings.
I used to work at a restaurant in the middle of a big shopping plaza, across the street from another big shopping plaza.
When I would leave at night, it would be so bright that I couldn’t see my headlights on the road.
One of my co-workers actually did get pulled over for driving without headlights while leaving, I was never so lucky.
But yeah, just because you can see doesn’t mean that you can be seen. Headlights in those situations are more for the others on the road (including pedestrians) than for you.
I’ve done this probably as much as a dozen times in my driving life (which, in my defence is multi-decade). I’m sorry. I guess I’m just being a dim bulb.
It’s always just the first five minutes or so, and then I have the need to actually look at the dashboard to check my speed or whatever, but I’m sure I’ve passed any number of people before that point thinking “WHAT A TOTAL MAROON!!! HOW HARD IS IT TO JUST REMEMBER TO TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON??!!??” Too hard, apparently.
I forget to turn them off at the end way more often
I think that those blaming the auto-on headlights have the right of it. Just last week after driving the car out of an attended airport parking lot onto a well-lit highway, it took me a bit to realize the car park guy had turned mine off.
Those cars that have the auto-on headlights? Also more likely these days to have electronic instrument clusters.
