Turn your headlights on!

[Bill]

I try to remember to turn mine on whenever I drive.
And we always have them on when we travel as a group...
Bill and Morag

[Silvo]

It goes for a few minutes and I think that is the beauty of this, instead of a quick 15 second thing you see on TV, this really rubs it in...

yeah, but 15 seconds in you can close the advert down.. 15 seconds on a tv commericial is almost over before you've decided to change the channel.

i love the feature of the toyota to leave my lights on and they turn off when i get out of the car. great stuff. i never turn them off.

[whitey1]

Lights on is all good and all, I do when out of town, but please don't use your fog lights unless its actually foggy. They are as bright as high beam and quite dazzling to oncoming traffic. In WA it is also illegal to use them when not necessary($100 fine I think). 

[SteveandViv]

I don't think it's a bad idea but.

I don't want my lights on when I am trying to out as much charge into my Batts while out camping or on a remote road. I want an override so I can idle the car while camping with out the light blazing. I want all states to test lights at Rego time so I don't have to put up with halfwitts that don't think to check their lights and height and blind people - even in the day. They must also have high beam alarms fitted and the same for their 3000 watt spotties.

like I said, it's a good idea but not thought out.

[Dave61]

I do a lot of driving on country roads and have noticed on many occasions that there are many colours of cars that are hard to see.
I read somewhere not so long ago that silver was the most popular colour.
Try picking out a silver grey car about a kilometre away coming towards you.
To pass a truck or even someone with a van or CT, you need to see a long way in front, and if you can see some headlights coming towards you, it's an easy decision to make to wait until that vehicle has passed.
Fatigue has got a lot to do with road accidents on country roads, and some headlights coming towards you has got more chance of catching your attention than a vehicle with no lights on.
If you run with your headlights on you have more chance of being seen, and hopefully the driver coming towards you has got his eye on you and not drifting into and out of la-la land.
Dave

[BigBlock1DT6]

I'm sure i have seen a few signs on POST along the roads around in outback NSW and out in the country areas of SA about having the headlights
on in daylight hours
I'm sure as i am typing this they were Mains Road Signs
or was i the only one to ever of seen them
i know i have a photo here somewhere of the sign around Glenbrook, NSW

In Poor visibility the laws in every State say they should be on
yet so many still drive without doing this, whether on their way home from work or going to work (dawn and Dusk)
and even in heavy rain, and storms

A heat wave on the horizon of any outback road can be classed as Poor visibility
hard to spot a car when the air just above the road is wriggling around

Sun in your eye's ?
if i was driving along any road knowing that the car or truck coming towards me at 100kmh that the sun is in their
eyes, i would be more than happy to turn my lights on to give them more of a safe indication from a distance that I'm coming
at towards them too (AWARENESS)

Here's a questioned how many people out there drive around with just the "Parking" lights on
Especially under Poor visibility Conditions
yep quite a few, thousands and thousands do it

I know that anyone can be hidden by the shadows forming behind them on the roads
and lights would help to see them sooner rather then when its to late

[Jonas]

I am from Denmark in the northern part of Europe ( living in Brisbane for now) and I think that for last 20 years all new cars have an automatic headlights-on system. If you had an old car that did not have the automatic system you would have to install it.
From memory it wasn't a big thing: cheap and easy to install.
Headlights on will certainly not prevent all accidents, but statistics show that it will diminish the number of accidents.
Sometimes it seems that Australia is running 20 years behind on basic issues that has been common for many years in Europe

And since we are talking about road safety:
What is going on with the safety distance between cars in this lovely country???
10 meters between cars when doing 100 km/h (or 80 for that matter) is not safe AT ALL.
And when you are trying to keep a safe distance to the car in front of you other motorist will think: Ahhh, here is an open spot on the congested road I'll fit in here....
But I also think there is a problem with the way you can get a  license here.
You can pick up all the bad habits of your parents / family/ friends whereas I think it would be much safer if everyone would have to take lessons with a driving instructor.
When I took my license 14 years ago you had to have a minimum of 14 hours with a driving instructor. Now I think it's 28 hours.
So, YES, it is VERY EXPENSIVE to get a drivers license in DK, but I do believe it is much safer to be on the road in DK than here.
And since I am complaining I  might as well continue  
When the media reports an accident, in most cases they blame the road or possibly the weather. WHAT ABOUT THE DRIVER??? What about driving to the condition and keeping a safe brake distance to the car in front of you.
I remember a year or 2 ago when they were building the tunnel under the brisbane river: 3 am in the morning, a truckdriver was in the inner lane, and forgot his turn off to the work site, so when he realised he braked very hard to get into the worksite.
Despite having an empty highway a passengercar chose to be a few meters behind the truck and obviously he never had time to react when the truck driver hit the brake pedal hard... Can't remember if he died, but it would have been an accident easily avoided...
I think I am on a roll here: TRUCK ROLL OVERS... WTF
Never heard of such things before coming to Australia.
At home they are only allowed to do 80 km on the highways close to urban areas. In peak traffic hours they are only allowed to be in the inner lane so they wont block the traffic.
Another safety issue: We all spend many $$$ modifying our 4wd's to make them better offroad and great for camping. Yet I see some that wont spend money on a cargo barrier despite it might very well one day safe the lives of the family

So anyway. If things are to improve I think you need government regulations: ie. headlight on all the time. I am not sure about the tailgating issue as it seems 99.9 % of Brisbane populations is doing it and I think it would be a hard habit to change around.

And just to finish off on a positive note: I love living in Australia and you have a wonderful country with fantastic nature and great people.

Cheers,
Jonas

[Redback]

I am from Denmark in the northern part of Europe ( living in Brisbane for now) and I think that for last 20 years all new cars have an automatic headlights-on system. If you had an old car that did not have the automatic system you would have to install it.
From memory it wasn't a big thing: cheap and easy to install.
Headlights on will certainly not prevent all accidents, but statistics show that it will diminish the number of accidents.
Sometimes it seems that Australia is running 20 years behind on basic issues that has been common for many years in Europe

And since we are talking about road safety:
What is going on with the safety distance between cars in this lovely country???
10 meters between cars when doing 100 km/h (or 80 for that matter) is not safe AT ALL.
And when you are trying to keep a safe distance to the car in front of you other motorist will think: Ahhh, here is an open spot on the congested road I'll fit in here....
But I also think there is a problem with the way you can get a  license here.
You can pick up all the bad habits of your parents / family/ friends whereas I think it would be much safer if everyone would have to take lessons with a driving instructor.
When I took my license 14 years ago you had to have a minimum of 14 hours with a driving instructor. Now I think it's 28 hours.
So, YES, it is VERY EXPENSIVE to get a drivers license in DK, but I do believe it is much safer to be on the road in DK than here.
And since I am complaining I  might as well continue  
When the media reports an accident, in most cases they blame the road or possibly the weather. WHAT ABOUT THE DRIVER??? What about driving to the condition and keeping a safe brake distance to the car in front of you.
I remember a year or 2 ago when they were building the tunnel under the brisbane river: 3 am in the morning, a truckdriver was in the inner lane, and forgot his turn off to the work site, so when he realised he braked very hard to get into the worksite.
Despite having an empty highway a passengercar chose to be a few meters behind the truck and obviously he never had time to react when the truck driver hit the brake pedal hard... Can't remember if he died, but it would have been an accident easily avoided...
I think I am on a roll here: TRUCK ROLL OVERS... WTF
Never heard of such things before coming to Australia.
At home they are only allowed to do 80 km on the highways close to urban areas. In peak traffic hours they are only allowed to be in the inner lane so they wont block the traffic.
Another safety issue: We all spend many $$$ modifying our 4wd's to make them better offroad and great for camping. Yet I see some that wont spend money on a cargo barrier despite it might very well one day safe the lives of the family

So anyway. If things are to improve I think you need government regulations: ie. headlight on all the time. I am not sure about the tailgating issue as it seems 99.9 % of Brisbane populations is doing it and I think it would be a hard habit to change around.

And just to finish off on a positive note: I love living in Australia and you have a wonderful country with fantastic nature and great people.

Cheers,
Jonas

My experience with Europe is pretty much the same, I felt much safer riding around, cars move over to let you go by if your going faster, for the most part they keep right on motorways.

As for trucks, there are a lot of cowboys out there, that try to intimidate other road users

[Bird]

... and if you can see some headlights coming towards you, it's an easy decision to make to wait until that vehicle has passed.

Just on that, why dont people put their lights on in bad weather anymore??? Nobody seems to. Bucketing down rain in the middle of the day, things are getting dark with cloud, its just as hard to see as midnight, but still they are too dumb to realise...

Is driver education that bad these days?

[whitey1]

Just on that, why dont people put their lights on in bad weather anymore??? Nobody seems to. Bucketing down rain in the middle of the day, things are getting dark with cloud, its just as hard to see as midnight, but still they are too dumb to realise...

Is driver education that bad these days?

I think common sense is just not so common anymore!

[Benduro]

I never turn the lights off in my Cruiser. I appreciate that they just turn of when I take the key out and open the door, no bloody chimes. This only catches me out when someone else drives it, and turns the lights off. I don't think to turn them on again.

 

My old Subaru Forester and perhaps even the L Series were the same from memory... Just always left them on.
Seems such a simple fix for a big problem.

[Diksta]

after working on mine sites it has become habit for e to turn mine on, and as with big Jules the cruiser satys on all the time. and i get frustrated when on the road especially in situations already said eg fog dusk, etc when people do't have there lights on, i get a bit rude and flash them with my high beam in the hope they will wake up to the situation.

just because you can see where you are going doesn't mean people can see you.

cheers

Diksta

[Roaring Chicken]

Jonas makes a good point.  If it is mandated that all new cars have hard wired headlights on then this should be made retrospective and apply to all vehicles.  I was opposed to the law in 92 as it was enacted because only a small group of the motorcycling community were forced to have their lights on while the vast majority had a choice so the rationale for mandating really didn't make sense and was one reason why motorcycling lobby groups were successful in having the law repealed in 96.  Some motorcycle manufacturers just continued on with the hardwired headlights for bikes being sent to Australia.

Having said all that, there are studies that show permanent low beam on may not increase safety however, daytime running lights (DRL) which are a contrasting colour light similar to an indicator or fog light colour does increase visibility and reduce multi vehicle crashes.

Cheers
Shane

[Pete the Pirate]

Just on that, why dont people put their lights on in bad weather anymore??? Nobody seems to. Bucketing down rain in the middle of the day, things are getting dark with cloud, its just as hard to see as midnight, but still they are too dumb to realise...

Is driver education that bad these days?

I have a theory on that Lost.........I reckon people are too worried about getting an excessive electricity bill or alternatively wearing out their battery prematurely 

[LJs GU]

or alternatively wearing out their battery prematurely 

Maybe they need a DC-DC charger...



hehehe




LJ   

[Malcur]

I am not a fan of having lights always on. My main beef is that it is much harder for a driver to tell he has his lights on high-beam, and yet high-beam is just as difficult for the on-coming driver during the day as at night-time. I always turn on my lights in low-visibility conditions, but don't believe there is any benefit in having them on otherwise.

Mal

[austastar]

Hi,
  I think that the advent of the LED lights will render the daylight use of headlamps redundant.  LED running lamps will draw less current, and have a better beam shape and spread being designed to be seen - not to see by.
I noticed some cars seem to have a LED ring light around the headlamp.
 Any body know if that is a daylight running lamp?
cheers

[theflyingbadger]

after working on mine sites it has become habit for e to turn mine on, and as with big Jules the cruiser satys on all the time.

are the mine ones not all hard-wired on these days? I did the 2 day occupational 4wd course this week (mainly Rio and BHP staff) and it was implied that all light vehicles would be wired so the lights were always on..

I remember back when i was a small pom, that volvos always had their lights on with the ignition - but the oz ones don't seem to?

As for leaving the lights on, somewhat irritatingly the ones in my Patrol stay on when i take the key out - my santa fe used to switch the lights off when you took the key out. If you explicitly wanted to leave them on without the key then you could switch them off then on again with the key out. much more sensible.

[shanegtr]

I dont bother running lights when running around town, but out on the highway I always have them on. I notice the difference in how much earlier I can see an approching car with headlights on compared to one without. And when you have 3 and 4 trailer road trains to overtake the ealier I can see an oncoming car the better for me. I dont think its something that needs to be regulated however, but the smart ones use DRL's 

Sometimes it seems that Australia is running 20 years behind on basic issues that has been common for many years in Europe

Tell me about it, child restraint is a prime example We cant even use isofix (not that I have a car suitable for it) legally here. But if it was made legal Im sure my wife would be out buying a new car just for it.

[tropicbird54]

Thanks to Pipeliner for that first post.  A great read that really made you think about the benefits of always having your lights on.
We have always used our lights when visibilty hasn't been too flash - heavily overcast, rainy, dusk, etc. but not all the time when conditions are normal.
Have to admit how much easier it is to see an oncoming vehicle with lights on than one without.
Time to rethink how we drive me thinks.
Thanks
Safe travelling everyone.   

[chunk]

I agree with driving with lights on along country roads and at times of poor visibility but I would hate to see vehicles with there light on all the time, I think that would defeat the purpose as in no longer being a visual warning but becoming the norm. Also all that extra light will fade the curtains in Queensland.

[Yoda42]

I agree wholeheartedly as an ex bike rider I can't believe that cars don't have hard wired headlights its been an ADR law for motor bikes since 1990 first thing I did when we bought our 05 NAVARA was go down to super cheap and spend $30 on a auto headlight module now lights are on when ignition is on perfect , should be ADR law for cars too, can't come soon enough let's save some lives and turn on your headligjts,  :police:trust me ( an NT fire fighter ) its no fun scrapping people up off the road or having to cut a family out of a crushed can that use to be a car!

[cewilson]

4trust me ( an NT fire fighter ) its no fun scrapping people up off the road or having to cut a family out of a crushed can that use to be a car!

No it's not - I've spent 15 years doing it.....



And I run lights pretty much all of the time as well, as does the wife.  If unfortunately I'm ever involved in an accident - they'd never want to use the excuse they didn't see me.  A white Defender (or white Prado for the wife) with headlights on 'should' be easily seen.






As for driver training etc - I think the training is alright.  But no-one is accountable now days until we end up going out under lights and sirens hoping that it won't cause more nightmares.  I've seen police drive straight past vehicles with no headlights on in heavy fog - but they'll pin some poor bugger doing 3km/h over the speed limit.



Sorry I'm ranting - it's a very passionate subject of mine as I see the results personally when things go wrong.  And surprisingly they're all not caused by speeding - actually most of them aren't.

[BigJules]

I am amazed at the number of people who don't think having the lights on all the time would be easier, not to mention safer, than having to switch them on when they deem visibility is reduced.

I have been considering thus attitude since my first post in this thread a couple of months ago, as I drive. There is no doubt in my mind that vehicles with their lights on are more visible than those whose lights are off; even in peak hour traffic.

I stated before that I never turn mine off, not even when hoping for a good charge between camps.

I  reminded of the Simpsons episode where Homer designs a car, giving every one a bauble on the aerial "so you can find it in the carpark". OK, so the car was lost in the myriad of like cars, but the point here is that every vehicle was visible, not just one.

[camdyson]

I think there's some confusion between being seen and being different. You won't be noticed if you're not seen in the first place.

The question is simply:

"When Ethel pulls up at the intersection, is she more likely to notice my Prado with lights on, or off?"

Let me assure you that between her droopy lids, cataracts and macular degeneration, the more photons you can chuck at her the less likely she won't see you!

Lights on still gets my vote..

Cam