Anyone annoyed by the new "Smart" lights?

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
we don't want the idjuts to think too much about what they are doing. just like rain sensing wipers, self cancelling indicators, light sensing headlights, etc etc.


While I don't want to lose control of when I use my brights, my rain sensing wipers work better than intermittent wipers - they don't require the constant babysitting as the rain changes - and actually require more thought as well, since you have to remember to turn them off anytime there might be ice on the window on the next start. Or you could just replace wiper blades way more often!

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: rationull
In my experience this problem is worse with newer cars with backlit instrument panels. In my last car I'd always remember to turn on the headlights because the gauges would be harder to see when it started getting dark. When I got my Civic, I would forget to them them on until it got darker, because the gauges are always lit. Oh well, I got used to it.


I have an auto setting on my lights and I like it, if for nothing else than that I'll never accidentally leave my lights on. But if I didn't, the daytime back-lighting is so bright that I could never leave the headlights off when it's dark. I keep my instruments dark at night. I even disassembled the dash to cover the brights indicator light with 95% tint so it wouldn't annoy me.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: cjhepburn
The automatic high beams are useful for the approaching car, not your car. I've been blinded numerous times by people that forgot that the brights are on. By the time that they realize that the brights are on (by me flashing), I'm already by them.


I give them a few seconds to turn off their brights, and then go back to brights until they turn theirs off. Oncoming brights are uncomfortable, but at least if I have mine on too I can still keep an eye out for wildlife in the distance.

 

[Colt45ws]

What really sucks is the people running around with high beams in town. Then what do you do if your on a 4 lane road. Blind the person in the other lane as well?

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
What really sucks is the people running around with high beams in town. Then what do you do if your on a 4 lane road. Blind the person in the other lane as well?


The reason they're running around with their high beams on is (1) their low beams are burned out and (2) they're too stupid and/or lazy to replace them.

 

[BuickGN]

Originally Posted By: rationull
Originally Posted By: BuickGN

I am so thankful that I'm barely old enough to have started out on a normal car with no electronics and I own one with a minimal amount of electronics.


Me too. OTOH, I love not having a carburetor anymore. Cars that start and run well regardless of season are much more convenient


I agree 100%. Enough electronics to make it run good (fuel injection and engine management)but not so much that it makes the car too complicated.

I don't want to go too far off topic but I partially blame electronics for driver skill going to nearly 0. I think everyone should be taught to drive in a car with no traction control, ABS, or stability control. It's great for most people like my girlfriend but if she were to get into a slide she would have no clue what to do. A while back she borrowed my TL and when she got home she asked what it means when it makes a "juddering" noise. As I slowly pulled information out of her she finally admitted that she was changing CDs and nearly rear ended the car in front of her. She had no idea what ABS was or that the noise and vibration was normal.

 

[labman]

Originally Posted By: Bamaro
What can I say, people love gimmicks no matter how useless.


+1

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Onmo'Eegusee
What really sucks is the people running around with high beams in town. Then what do you do if your on a 4 lane road. Blind the person in the other lane as well?


I don't see people with brights on around town too often. I give them a quick flash if I do, as I'd assume they didn't realize it. I don't think anyone intentionally drives around the city with brights on; they'd be a cop magnet.

The four lane highways here have enough of a median to make driving with brights legal even with oncoming traffic (provided there's no one in front of you, of course), so I let the other person decide if they want to use the brights and I only dim if they do. Brights aren't very distracting with a good median.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: BuickGN
I don't want to go too far off topic but I partially blame electronics for driver skill going to nearly 0. I think everyone should be taught to drive in a car with no traction control, ABS, or stability control.


But even then, they won't learn how to handle a vehicle at the limits unless they're driving aggressively enough to push those limits.

Maybe a few days of serious driver training should be a requirement. Or would that just encourage drivers to be more aggressive? I know I would have enjoyed such a course when I was in high school! But here, we get to practice driving a car at the limits at low speeds for five months of the year anyway.

 

[rcy]

Originally Posted By: rpn453
Originally Posted By: cjhepburn
The automatic high beams are useful for the approaching car, not your car. I've been blinded numerous times by people that forgot that the brights are on. By the time that they realize that the brights are on (by me flashing), I'm already by them.


I give them a few seconds to turn off their brights, and then go back to brights until they turn theirs off. Oncoming brights are uncomfortable, but at least if I have mine on too I can still keep an eye out for wildlife in the distance.


Great...so now there are two drivers racing toward each other, both now blinded and/or lacking any semblance of night vision. An eye for an eye, I guess.

Maybe if they had one of those newfangled devices that automatically dim their headlights when another car approaches......

 

[rshunter]

Originally Posted By: labman
What I hate is the idea of the adaptive cruse control. No dummy, don't keep slowing down and speeding up.

What's wrong with adaptive cruise control? It's the dummies in front who can't hold a constant pace that are the problem, ACC is the solution.

 

[double vanos]

The one that maddens me about all this stuff is that it is expen$$$$ive. In other words, I get to buy a car higher priced than I want it, equipped with stuff I don't want, and that will eventually fail because of it's complexity. There are many new features on cars that are viable convieniences and then there are ridiculous features that make no sense at all ( BMWs iDrive comes to mind).

 

[labman]

+1

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: rcy
Great...so now there are two drivers racing toward each other, both now blinded and/or lacking any semblance of night vision. An eye for an eye, I guess.

Maybe if they had one of those newfangled devices that automatically dim their headlights when another car approaches......

If he has his brights on, I can see far better with my brights on too! How exactly am I going to force him to turn them off? It is, however, extremely rare that they don't dim their lights after I put my brights back on.

Besides, it's more of an annoyance than an impairment to have oncoming brights. Or does that change when you get older or if you have glasses? I know bright lights have a greater effect on my vision if I'm wearing my clear lenses at night while cycling.

I didn't even know auto-dimming brights existed until this thread. If everyone had them, I could see the benefit. But I just don't ever want to be stuck looking at brights while only my low beams are on.

I really don't mind any automatic functions on an automobile as long as I can choose whether to use them.

On a related note, has anyone read "Road Trip"? There's a funny little "brights" story in there.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Popinski
They turn the brights on. When it senses a car within 2,000 feet, it'll turn the brights off. Sometimes it does this closer and it gets annoying. I was driving in front of what I think was a 300C or a Lincoln and the brights kept on going on and off. Very annoying. I don't get what's so bad about conventional standard lighting.


My 1989 Town Car does this........ And the range is adjustable.

 

[eljefino]

I guess a relay fizzes out on the new crown vics making headlights inop, and it's part of some $600 module... Also knew a lady with an early 90s taurus that had a circuit breaker go out on her headlight switch... scary, and an apparant trend!

Pretty sure my sister's 89 nissan sentra had redundant contacts in the switch, one for each side light (you could slowly turn the switch and one would come on first) and fuses for each side. No relays, no circuit breakers, no single failure point.

Undid the auto headlights on a coworker's 03 vibe when it would flash the lights going under a bridge! Who would want that on the interstate when an 18 wheeler is passing, they might get the wrong idea and pull in! Turns out they revised the programming for 04...

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
My 1989 Town Car does this........ And the range is adjustable.


So it's probably less the fault of the technology than the user. I'd respond to automatic brights that are behind me the same way I respond to manual brights: by letting them pass and turning my brights on at the same distance. Usually if they caught up to me from behind then they're going faster than me and the whole event doesn't last long anyway. Little things like this actually help to keep me awake when driving at night.

95% tint on the back windows renders any lights from behind far less annoying.

 

[AcuraTech]

All this "smart" stuff - they can keep it. They keep automating more and more of the car with ghee whiz features so people can pay even less attention to driving. Because you know that most people would rather do makeup, play with their phones, or watch movies while driving rather than turn the lights on.

As far as companies trying to suck people in to more dealer service with the increasing complexity of electronic systems - I (as a dealership mech) could care less. You pretty much have to be an electrical engineer to understand the systems on today's cars. 500 page electrical sections in service manuals are now common.

Is it because manufacturers think they can bilk more money from customers? No. It's because customers demand all of this junk. Bluetooth, auto dual climate control, navi systems, auto this, auto that, etc.

 

[OVERKILL]

Thing is, as I mentioned, this ISN'T new. This was an optional feature on the Lincoln Town Car since the mid 80's.

 

[LS2JSTS]

I guess you guys wont like it much when the government ties our cars together via wireless links?

Cmon, just sit back and enjoy the ride...no worries, no cares...it'll be utopia, honest.