Small rant on ignorant drivers and auto manufacturers.

[53' Stude]

None of that is surprising. It’s the young people that want all of it. Except me who is a mechanic and keeps my wallet full when it all breaks and doesn’t like it on his personal vehicles. Automatic headlights aren’t bad. Two of our cars have that. I see people that need those a lot because they don’t have their lights on. I know people who don’t even look at the dash anymore they are too busy either looking straight ahead or looking at their phone. That’s not going to stop anytime soon either. Heck most people couldn’t open a hood anymore. It’s not going to stop it’s only going to advance more. The lady who hit me was on her phone and then got out all angry saying i hit her clearly she wasn’t paying attention and she got charged for it. My driving instructor said he used to tell new drivers to watch out for drunk drivers he says now watch out for people on their phone. I see tons of people on their phone all the time and that’s not something that’s going away either. Clearly the lady working at Verizon when I got my phone was wrong saying flip phones will make a come back . I don’t see that ever happening.

Things I hate as I start work 4am Monday to Friday. It’s dark when I’m on way to work; I hate vehicles with ultra bright headlights that give you a x ray or blind you. Saw a young guy in a 04? cavalier with brake lights on while driving, when he hit brakes; no tail lights at all. And 1 headlight operational

People that are on highway and don’t signal when merging into a lane also piss me off royally

 

[rekit]

Still waiting for something like an increasing volume blinker (or a shock)....I bought two vibrating massage motors, imbedded them in my motorcycle seat and wired them to my turn signals on my Valkyrie as the indicators are not very noticeable.

 

[rekit]

Speaking of merging-I had to ask if the laws have changed? It seems most drivers expect me to move over to let them in.

 

[supton]

Speaking of merging-I had to ask if the laws have changed? It seems most drivers expect me to move over to let them in.

They got away with it once, then twice, then after that they think that is how it is done.

 

[mightymousetech]

That has existed for a long time - automatic headlights.

Your problem isn't with the technology, or lack thereof, but rather that automatic headlights are still an optional feature on cars and not mandated as safety equipment like backup cameras. Then again, with all of these things becoming standard, it's no mystery why car prices have gone up as much as they have over the years.

Automatic only headlights are coming soon. The problem with auto headlights right now is you must actually set it to auto first.

We used to turn the headlights to the off position here at work whenever we were working on the car to preserve the battery. Then we started getting several people coming in EVERY DAY complaining their headlights no longer worked. I am not kidding. They honestly had no idea how to turn them on, or where the switch even was.

 

[Skippy722]

Speaking of merging-I had to ask if the laws have changed? It seems most drivers expect me to move over to let them in.

If you’re already on the highway you have the right of way. If traffic permits, I’ll get over a lane to let people on, otherwise they can fall in line behind me.

 

[Shel_B]

I get what the OP is saying. I had a similar conversation back in 2008 when I took my motorcycle endorsement class where the instructors were talking about slipper clutches, traction control and ABS on motorcycles were gonna make a new generation of "coddled" riders. That's exactly how I see all this technology being put into vehicles, with exception of adaptive cruise control. What's wrong with turning your head to check your blind spot? What's wrong with LOOKING BEHIND YOU when backing up? I understand there are situations where that isn't possible, but a backup camera is the most I want, which I have and NOTHING else. I don't need AEB, blind spot monitoring, none of that crap. Why? Because I PAY ATTENTION WHILE DRIVING! To me, driving carries legal responsibilities.

While I generally agree with you, there are situations where some or many of these features play an important role. I have some mobility problems resulting from a motorcycle accident many years ago, and I'd love to have a blind spot camera. My car doesn't have one, but I was able to get some little, adjustable mirrors that attach to the side-mount mirrors that emulate, to a degree, some of the blind spot technology.

Amazon.com: AmFor Blind Spot Mirror, HD Glass Convex Lens Frameless Adjustable Blind Spot Mirror for All Universal Vehicles Car Stick-on Design (2 PCS) (Rectangle): Automotive

Amazon.com: AmFor Blind Spot Mirror, HD Glass Convex Lens Frameless Adjustable Blind Spot Mirror for All Universal Vehicles Car Stick-on Design (2 PCS) (Rectangle): Automotive

smile.amazon.com

I wish I had backup sensors with cross traffic detection as I often park head-in to the curb and more and more there are big SUVs, crossovers, and pickup trucks blocking my view when trying to back out of the parking space.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Speaking of merging-I had to ask if the laws have changed? It seems most drivers expect me to move over to let them in.

I always employ the zipper effect. I'll let one car in (in front of me) as long as they light a fire under their ass and go. If they creep, then no dice. And the next car up goes in behind me.

 

[dlundblad]

People do not look at the dash. They stopped teaching that in drivers Ed 30 years ago

I took drivers ed in the mid 2000’s and this as well as driving a manual was taught.

 

[Zee09]

A very old lady came up to me in the store about 3 months ago. Maybe in her 90's.
She complained of no headlights like the OP. did.
Said her daughter warned her never to flick them her lights because gangs drive around like that and if you flick them the lights they are mandated to kill you.

The poor lady was scared to death and warned me. Who knows??
Her daughter was from a bad area.
Nothing I ever heard of.
I should be dead many times...lol

 

[vavavroom]

No sensor will ever tighten the loose nut behind the wheel.

 

[opus1]

Still waiting for something like an increasing volume blinker (or a shock)....I bought two vibrating massage motors, imbedded them in my motorcycle seat and wired them to my turn signals on my Valkyrie as the indicators are not very noticeable.

My '99 Malibu had a feature where if the signal was on for too long, the warning chime would start to sound. I found this out in heavy traffic one day when I was trying to get over and it scared the [self-censored] out of me because I thought that something serious was going wrong.

 

[Wolf359]

Speaking of merging-I had to ask if the laws have changed? It seems most drivers expect me to move over to let them in.

That's what the horn is for. When they get too close I just lean on it.

A very old lady came up to me in the store about 3 months ago. Maybe in her 90's.
She complained of no headlights like the OP. did.
Said her daughter warned her never to flick them her lights because gangs drive around like that and if you flick them the lights they are mandated to kill you.

That's a really old urban legend.

Flashing Headlights Gang Initiation

Warning about gang members driving around with their headlights off, then killing anyone who flashes them.

www.snopes.com

 

[Zee09]

That's what the horn is for. When they get too close I just lean on it.


That's a really old urban legend.

Flashing Headlights Gang Initiation

Warning about gang members driving around with their headlights off, then killing anyone who flashes them.

www.snopes.com

So was the woman.....lol

 

[dlundblad]

The fog light thing is agonizing. Seems like a lot of older semis around here are also going to some LED headlight and fog light thing that is never adjusted right either.

Another thing that annoys me is motorcyclists who either intentionally drive with their high beams on, install ultra bright driving lights or do all the above and add a “strobe” feature to additional headlights.

We get it. You want people to see you.. but you’d think they’d not want to blind an oncoming car either

 

[supton]

Another thing that annoys me is motorcyclists who either intentionally drive with their high beams

I’ve seen that for a long time but TBH now they have been drowned out by the vehicles with LED headlights and driving lights on. They always look like they have their brights on, day or night.

Finally drove my wife’s car and those headlights seem we to me. Sharp cutoff but not a lot of difference on high beam? Would have to drive again.

 

[Bud]

So was the woman.....lol

That's what the horn is for. When they get too close I just lean on it.


That's a really old urban legend.

Flashing Headlights Gang Initiation

Warning about gang members driving around with their headlights off, then killing anyone who flashes them.

www.snopes.com

Leaning on the horn here in Texas may get you shot. Dangerous activity.

 

[supton]

Leaning on the horn here in Texas may get you shot. Dangerous activity.

Good thing Wolf is in Mass, around these parts you just get the NY salute and everyone moves on.

 

[Quattro Pete]

My car has auto headlights but hardly never works when it’s raining because it’s not dark enough outside for the sensor to activate it. I have to manually turn on the headlight switch.

On many cars, auto headlights are linked to the wipers - if you start using your wipers, headlights automatically come on, even during daylight.

 

[Stonemason Jason]

I see police officers driving without their headlights on all the time, I'd follow them & say something about it, but I think we all know how that would turn out