|
My car took an odd approach to the cluster (you know, in case sticking the cluster in the middle of the dash, instead of in front of the steering wheel, wasn't odd enough)... The needles on the gauges are lit anytime the car is on. Bright as gently caress. But the backlighting stays off until the parking lights come on - and the needles dim significantly at the same time. I don't quite get why the needles are always lit - the cluster is perfectly readable without them lighting up during the day. Sure can't read the numbers at night without the lights on, at least* (* mine is optioned with automatic headlights, but most aren't)
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 11:16
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 17:48 |
|
|
I was the guy without headlights at night once. In my defense, that was the first day of driving a new rental Focus that had DRL and always-on backlight, but not auto headlights like the BMW I drove immediately before that. Or normal manual headlights like in my Miata, which I manage to turn or myself just fine. The main thing that got me was the backlit cluster, as that's how I quickly verify if the headlights are on, and the outside being bright enough for the headlights not to make a difference. Anyway, this got me pulled over by a cop at like 3 am driving round Cape Canaveral, whose only question was if it's a rental. Sorry guys.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 11:58
|
|
|
Does anyone live somewhere where you get ticketed for hogging the left lane? This place exists in my dreams and I can pass whenever I want, it's glorious  Here, there are roughly three lanes. The one where everyone tailgates, so panic stops are common (the left lane), the lane for Corollas going slower than the flow of traffic (the centre) and my empty kingdom (right lane).
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 15:49
|
|
|
Yep, not being as far to the right as you can safely be is a 140 euro fine if you're on an autoweg (100kph) or autosnelweg (130kph), 230 euro for all other roads. However those fines require a person to be caught in the act and pulled over by a cop, and since there's hardly ever a cop around when you need one...
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 17:10
|
|
|
My DRLs don't light up the road at all. I'm not sure I've had a car whose DRLs do. They run at a lower voltage and produce little to no useful output. Are there cars that have DRLs that light up the road? I figure people are just stupid and aren't really being fooled into thinking their lights are on.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 17:18
|
|
|
Washington State Patrol will ticket you for driving in the left lane as long as there is no other traffic and you are on an empty stretch of road and they are looking for an excuse to pull you over and write a ticket. All other times, most importantly, rush hour, you are expected to drive in the left lane doing 50 no matter what traffic around you is like. You are also legally required to merge onto the highway at no more than 35 MPH and if approaching 5 miles of your exit slow down to 40 MPH no matter what lane you are in. This is the Seattle/WA driving code.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 17:34
|
|
|
Dead Cow posted:This is the same cousin that yelled at me the first time I tried to drive it was with two feet. He was all "Where the gently caress did you learn to do that!" angry angry face. I said, I saw my dad do it! So we go over to my dad and my cousin tells my dad I was trying to drive with two feet (I learned it from watching you, DAD) and my dad starts laughing his rear end off. He explains the only reason he drove that way was only in that one particular car, because if you didn't keep gassing it then it would stall out.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 17:50
|
|
the things he would do to keep from having to fix his cars.
|
Spiffness posted:Washington State Patrol will ticket you for driving in the left lane as long as there is no other traffic and you are on an empty stretch of road and they are looking for an excuse to pull you over and write a ticket. All other times, most importantly, rush hour, you are expected to drive in the left lane doing 50 no matter what traffic around you is like. You are also legally required to merge onto the highway at no more than 35 MPH and if approaching 5 miles of your exit slow down to 40 MPH no matter what lane you are in. Don't forget that if someone flashes their lights at you while travelling in the left lane, you're required to stomp on your breaks and prevent the person behind you from passing. The rest of it is spot on, and I'm thrilled to know that I'm not loving crazy.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 18:18
|
|
|
a primate posted:Does anyone live somewhere where you get ticketed for hogging the left lane? This place exists in my dreams and I can pass whenever I want, it's glorious 
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 18:22
|
|
|
FogHelmut posted:My DRLs don't light up the road at all. I'm not sure I've had a car whose DRLs do. They run at a lower voltage and produce little to no useful output. Are there cars that have DRLs that light up the road? I figure people are just stupid and aren't really being fooled into thinking their lights are on. I've found that modern fords have drl lights at about 90% of normal brightness. It's kind of a joke to turn on the lights and see them get a tiny bit brighter.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 18:33
|
|
|
Speaking of headlight shenanigans/trends/nuisances, I'm noticing more and more commuter vehicles now with those ignorantly bright blue-tinted headlights. There's an ever-so-small part of me that wants to see them destroyed in a collision whenever I confuse them for police/emergency vehicles. 
Root Bear fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Jan 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 18:37
|
|
|
FogHelmut posted:My DRLs don't light up the road at all. I'm not sure I've had a car whose DRLs do. They run at a lower voltage and produce little to no useful output. Are there cars that have DRLs that light up the road? I figure people are just stupid and aren't really being fooled into thinking their lights are on. My GTI has HIDs that are lit 24/7 and there is no difference between output. But the gauges are gray on gray and hard to read outside of daytime sunlight, so I have my lights turned on at night, in the rain, at sunrise and sunset, and if it's overcast. a primate posted:Does anyone live somewhere where you get ticketed for hogging the left lane? This place exists in my dreams and I can pass whenever I want, it's glorious I've never seen anyone pulled over for it, but drivers tend to stay in the right lane here in Central IL, provided you aren't driving through a city and it isn't around a holiday when people who don't know wtf are around. It's pretty nice. North of I80 (towards Chicago), the right lane becomes the fast lane, the middle is for the minivan going five under, and the left lane is the really fast lane except for the one idiot getting passed on the right. I grew up driving in the burbs and it makes sense to me...
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 18:54
|
|
|
Root Bear posted:Speaking of headlight shenanigans/trends/nuisances, I'm noticing more and more commuter vehicles now with those ignorantly bright blue-tinted headlights. There's an ever-so-small part of me that wants to see them destroyed in a collision whenever I confuse them for police/emergency vehicles. I have a form colorblindness that when people use blue/purple hued lights it just rapes my eyes. I almost ran over a lovely civic the other night because of his blue tinted HIDZZZZ. I generally wear yellowed glasses for night driving, or 3000k headlights (which I've been ticketed for in the south).
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 19:01
|
|
|
InterceptorV8 posted:The Black Ghosts strike again! I nearly ran down three of my neighbors coming home from work one night at 23:00; they were walking right in the middle of the street on a blind curve, and the HOA president was one of them. A cop even showed up to my door asking about the whole thing which was kinda  . What I don't get, is that after I swerved between them (they loving scattered both directions, idiots), I stopped, got out, and ran over to make sure everyone was okay.For the next six months I was constantly yelled at to slow down, even though I never had nor ever will speed in my neighborhood(s). Just because my car happens to make some noise doesn't mean I'm going fast, dammit! Being my teenage self, though, I intentionally downshifted to first whenever I passed the HOA prez's house, just because I was angry at having the cops show up at my door and getting yelled at all the time.They even got the speed limit changed from 30 to 25. Beach Bum fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Jan 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 19:29
|
|
|
HOAs are literally a creation of the devil and anyone that willingly joins one is probably one step away from putting on some jackboots and an armband. edit: wow, I used the word "literally" and  in this post. I've been spending way to much time in GBS lately.
Terrible Robot fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Jan 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 19:45
|
|
|
Also a nice illustration of how hosed the human race is. If we can't even manage a neighborhood what hope do we have at managing a country?  Anyone noticed that everyone on the road will randomly lose their poo poo at the same time and try to kill someone? I mean I drive the same routes pretty much every week, and most times traffic is fairly tame. There's always an occasional moron trying to cut lanes or rush a red light or whatever, but every once in a while there's a bunch of dumb mistakes all in a row. 30 minute drive this morning, maybe 15 miles total, and I saw four solid idiot moments. #1, dude tries to cram into a left turn lane and blocks two lanes in the oncoming traffic because no one made a hole for him. #2 some dimwit isn't paying attention that he's approaching a red left turn arrow (instead of a green circle) and blazes right through the intersection. #3, someone fucks up their left turn again and aims straight at the cross street's left turn lane, being forced to stop as another car was approaching the light. He actually had to swap into reverse to get enough room to recover. #4 was on a two lane road, doofus is going 10 MPH under the limit in a 45 and I'm stuck behind him. Then it drops down to a 30 MPH zone and all the sudden they decide now is the time to drop the hammer and blaze off into the distance, running a red light in the process.  Maybe a chemical factory leaked some stupidity drug into the water last night.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 19:59
|
|
|
Terrible Robot posted:I've been spending way to much time in GBS lately. Why would you do this? The posting in there is just as lovely as the comments on youtube or the experience of joining a HOA.
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 22:12
|
|
|
cursedshitbox posted:I have a form colorblindness that when people use blue/purple hued lights it just rapes my eyes. I almost ran over a lovely civic the other night because of his blue tinted HIDZZZZ. Driving with yellow lenses will certainly make you feel better at night, because your pupil stays small and therefore bright headlights seem more tolerable, but you can't actually see nearly as much on the actual road. The recovery times and vision inhibiting effect of the yellow lenses is the same and is not affected by any types of color blindness. The problems they cause are so prevalent that wearing them at night has been banned while driving in many places (like sunglasses), including the town that I work in as a refracting optician. Queen_Combat fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Jan 12, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2014 23:29
|
|
|
Geirskogul posted:I like you, I really do, but you're only hurting yourself and endangering others by wearing yellow glasses at night. Light flash recovery times (the time it takes the retina and the brain to recover from a bright flash and restore night vision) are more than quadrupled with yellow lenses. Pupil recovery times are, in some instances, more than octupled. Yeah, that's nice and all, but it sounds like it is actually painful for him otherwise. It's like driving as a deaf person: appropriate caution in an attentive driver goes a lot farther towards safe driving than most other drivers without the handicap (sorry CSB  ) will ever approach.For the record I am Red-Green colorblind and horizontal light bars still throw me for a loop sometimes. I have been known to occasionally stop at green lights.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 00:01
|
|
|
This son of a bitch right here: Dirty silver car, it's raining and 6:30 am, he's doing 20 above the speed limit with no lights on. gently caress you and die.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 00:14
|
|
|
Silver cars should have always-on amber yellow lights like semi trailers use, at least two rows on each side of the car.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 00:36
|
|
|
FogHelmut posted:My DRLs don't light up the road at all. I'm not sure I've had a car whose DRLs do. They run at a lower voltage and produce little to no useful output. Are there cars that have DRLs that light up the road? I figure people are just stupid and aren't really being fooled into thinking their lights are on. Some Suzukis with DRLs run low beams at full power, with a cluster that's always lit.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 01:12
|
|
|
xzzy posted:Maybe a chemical factory leaked some stupidity drug into the water last night. Do you live in West Virginia?
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 01:28
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:Some Suzukis with DRLs run low beams at full power, with a cluster that's always lit. I was with my dad last summer when he got pulled over in a rented Grand Vitara due to both tail lights being burnt out. Except that wasn't actually the reason. The real reason was the full-power DRLs and instrument cluster were lit, but because the headlight switch wasn't in the "headlight" position, the tail lights weren't light up. It's a really stupid design.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 02:18
|
|
|
I can't see any scenario where it'd be desirable to have the front lights on but not the tails lit up a it seems like it would have been trivial to just implement it that way. Are people really concerned about wearing out tail lamp bulbs or something?
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:02
|
|
|
Yeah, I had an Aerio that I got pulled over 3 or 4 times in for that. You leave the gas station or some other bright place at night and and you forget. The only indication that the lights weren't on was that the radio and hvac lights were off. I actually wired a DRL cut off switch at one point after I got nabbed for it. I rode and drove the past few days and people did some dumb stuff but I can't remember what they were exactly because I don't hold on to it. People do dumb poo poo all the time on the road and if you come to expect it then it doesn't stand out to you anymore 
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:03
|
|
|
nsaP posted:Yeah, I had an Aerio that I got pulled over 3 or 4 times in for that. You leave the gas station or some other bright place at night and and you forget. The only indication that the lights weren't on was that the radio and hvac lights were off. I actually wired a DRL cut off switch at one point after I got nabbed for it. I have to admit I'm guilty of this too, I was picking up dinner a little over a week ago (when it was -10 outside) and left my engine running while I ran inside. I turned my usually automatic headlights off while I was away as the city I was in has a no idling unattended vehicles ordnance (figuring headlights would be a dead giveaway.) I got back in and didn't really notice anything was amiss - I drive a Chevrolet Captiva, which is a rebadged last-gen Saturn Vue which has automatic headlights and an always lit cluster - as the area is well-lit until a passing cruiser flashed his side spotlight at me. It really is easy to do when you're in the habit of not having to turn your lights on.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:20
|
|
|
Say I'm on an empty 3-lane highway doing a brisk 63 in a 60, in the right lane. Coming up is a car in the middle lane going 58. Do I have to switch 2 lanes to go around, and 2 more to get back to the right lane, or do I stay in full-on keep right except to pass mode? This is in WA
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:27
|
|
|
superdylan posted:Say I'm on an empty 3-lane highway...do I have to switch 2 lanes to go around, and 2 more to get back to the right lane, or do I stay in full-on keep right except to pass mode? If I was in that situation I would probably just pass on the right, the odds of getting pulled over and cited on a deserted highway are pretty slim. If I was in such a situation I would probably just cruise in the middle lane though...
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:36
|
|
|
Check for cops, if none are seen, continue, else, decide what he's going to be madder about. I long ago developed a habit of turning the lights on before I even start the engine to avoid this kind of issue with DRLs.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 03:37
|
|
|
superdylan posted:Say I'm on an empty 3-lane highway doing a brisk 63 in a 60, in the right lane. Coming up is a car in the middle lane going 58. Do I have to switch 2 lanes to go around, and 2 more to get back to the right lane, or do I stay in full-on keep right except to pass mode? This is in WA If I'm going substantially faster than other cars I prefer to have a lane between me and the other car. Otherwise lane position isn't as important, especially in a place like WA where everyone is mindlessly doddering along at 50.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 04:38
|
|
|
superdylan posted:Say I'm on an empty 3-lane highway doing a brisk 63 in a 60, in the right lane. Coming up is a car in the middle lane going 58. Do I have to switch 2 lanes to go around, and 2 more to get back to the right lane, or do I stay in full-on keep right except to pass mode? This is in WA Not sure how it is in WA but in CA passing is fine in any lane. Most of the time if there is traffic the cruising lane is the leftmost while the rightmost is the one that you can use to actually pass people. In my short time living in WA I don't think I ever saw anyone doing more than 60mph so passing wasn't anything I thought residents of that state were even capable of. I did consider jumping off of a bridge while stuck in traffic on the 5 in Seattle at 11am on a Sunday afternoon. Being on a bike in the rain, in traffic that has no business being there along with being unable to lane split is pretty loving terrible.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 05:03
|
|
|
I got pulled over for forgetting to turn my headlights on. There's not a lot of food options late at night where I grew up. One of the later options is a restaurant named China Ruby in Maynard MA that's open until 1 AM every night. I was back home (well over 21) some weekend and ended up driving there with a carfull of people at about 12:30. We all ordered takeout, but then two of the guys quickly ran over to a bar to see if they could find any friends and drink a quick beer. So 15 minutes later I drive 1000 feet over from the restaurant to the bar and park directly across the street from it. Lights and engine off. 2 minutes later two guys leave the bar and get in my car. I start the engine, see that my lights are on, check for traffic, pull out, and then remember that I have DLR and turn on my taillights. Of course the cop parked a few spaces back put his lights on. No big deal; I'm good at dealing with police usually. I pulled my 'narrate everything I do' routine. "Sure thing officer. My license is in my wallet in my pants. Let me just undo my seatbelt... pull my wallet out... ok, here's my license. Registration is in the glovebox, I'm just going to reach over there..." and he let me go with a verbal warning without much fuss. After that I looked up how to disable the DRL in my Jetta. Turns out I just had to pull a relay out.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 05:13
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:My car took an odd approach to the cluster (you know, in case sticking the cluster in the middle of the dash, instead of in front of the steering wheel, wasn't odd enough)... I remember the Lexus Optitron gauges. Beautiful to look at, but drat if you knew whether the lights were on or not unless you looked at the rest of the backlighting or double checked the light stalk to make sure. Next best solution: just leaving the automatic headlight feature on. 90s Solo Cup fucked around with this message at 05:36 on Jan 13, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 05:33
|
|
|
superdylan posted:Say I'm on an empty 3-lane highway doing a brisk 63 in a 60, in the right lane. Coming up is a car in the middle lane going 58. Do I have to switch 2 lanes to go around, and 2 more to get back to the right lane, or do I stay in full-on keep right except to pass mode? This is in WA In Washington, passing on the right is explicitly legal when you are driving on a multi-lane road (assuming you are using a lane and not the shoulder to do so) or are going around a car making a left turn.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 05:48
|
|
|
I was coming out of a store tonight and saw a cop turn on the lights behind a newer VW Beetle. For some reason the Beetle driver decided it would be a good idea to pull into the turn lane between the two directions of traffic, and stop there. I'm sure the cop was thrilled with that.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 07:18
|
|
|
I feel for cops who have to stop someone is some ridiculous place like that. Then I remember when I had "subject accelerated away from me" in other words added to a ticket after I pulled off of a main road onto a side street and, well.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 07:43
|
|
|
CannonFodder posted:I've done the 'keep goosing the throttle so it doesn't stall' with a big rig, because the oil pressure would fall dramatically when braking. I was heel-toeing it the whole 1000 miles home so I could get it to a real shop and not the company shop that gave me the blasted thing. If you have a two cycle car, this is also kind of required, too.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 07:53
|
|
|
I've been pulled over in weird spots and asked the cop when they came to the window if they'd prefer if I moved. They've never said yes, even when we were obviously obstructing traffic. Then again, none of them ended up giving me a ticket, either.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 08:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 16, 2024 17:48 |
|
|
If the blues go on and there isn't a good spot to pull over I put the hazards on and slow down, then find a good spot. Then interior lights on, in park or neutral, engine off, foot off the brake pedal so they know I'm not a flight hazard, window down, hands at the top of the wheel, and I ask before moving them. Also on the subject of this thread, my morning commute is going to take at least 3 hours today because a moron caused a multiple vehicle accident including a semi truck at the i90/i290 exit! Guessing some joker tried to make the exit at the last minute and lost a car/truck battle. There was a lifeflight involved according to a friend. I hope they loving die. There should be a policy that whoever causes an accident this bad loses however many years of their life that they wasted for others sitting in their traffic jam. gently caress! Stop crashing into people you retards! If you can't pilot your stupid car at the speeds you travel at without playing pinball with it, you have no business having a license. Get the gently caress off the god drat road.  11 miles (and counting) of 3 lane parking lot because one retard was too stupid to control a vehicle at 65 on a road a skilled driver can easily do 120 on.
|
|
#
?
Jan 13, 2014 14:05
|
|