Cars with no rearlights

[Greybeard]

I drove my car to London on Saturday on the M40 motorway. It rained heavily during the trip; visibility at times was very poor. During this I brought my speed down and stayed in the slow lane; meanwhile, cars, many in a grey/silver, (same colour as a rainstorm)  were pelting along through the storm, driving much too close to the car in front.
The thing that shocked me was how many cars had no rear lights showing. When I started checking, many modern cars had front driving lights on only. This situation seems highly dangerous. I'm pretty sure that most drivers had no idea they had no rearlight when the little telltale in the dashboard is lit.

[a10 gf]

cars had no rear lights showing

Yes, same here, in tunnels, at night, in low visibility etc, stupid, ignorant, idiot owners have no idea

[RichardL]

Here, in Illinois, if wipers are on, lights must be on. What irritates me is that they are not linked in the controls. Minimally, there should be a setting in the controls that allows linking.

Now, the big question, "Rain, in England?" No, can't be.

Richard L.

[Rex]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but front lights being on means the rear lights are on too? Never known a car yet where the front and rear lights are independently switched.

OK, I've just read it again. Do you mean someone's driving along with only the front spots/fogs on?

[Greybeard]

Rex, the latest cars have automatic daytime running lights that only illuminate the front. It's quite possible to think all your lights are on when only the front lights are on. It's crazy!

[RDfella]

I hate (most) modern technology. confusing, expensive, time-consuming ....
One example: Had a Cetrek autopilot in my boat. After 40yrs it got unreliable and parts were unobtanium, so bought a new Garmin. £1,400 of rubbish. The Cetrek had dials - a fraction of a turn either way on one of the 4 dials quickly adjusted the device to prevailing sea conditions. Not the Garmin - no dials, it's DIGITAL, MAN!   So if I need to adjust something I have to switch it off and spend 5 minutes re-programming it. Then switch back on and see if it's any better. Usually not. A few months ago I was out in a mild following sea - the Garmin decided a big correction was necessary (it wasn't) and put so much helm on I was thrown to the wheelhouse floor. Progress?

[Bsareg]

One that annoys me is climate control, full of info you don't need and buttons to adjust. You have take eyes off the road to check what what temperature you've set and where it's going. Old cars had a fan control and two levers hot/cold, up/down. Safe and simple.

[Rex]

Nothing wrong with climate control. Set the temp you wish to be at and away you go, what could be easier? Auto start/stop annoys me...all that unnecessary wear on the starter and ring gear.

Rex, the latest cars have automatic daytime running lights that only illuminate the front. It's quite possible to think all your lights are on when only the front lights are on. It's crazy!

I'm not aware of that. My last three cars have all had automatic lights sensors, and the headlamps and taillights all come on together, even going through a short tunnel.

[bikerbob]

I have a21reg Fiesta ST and it has auto lights that work great the light only has to drop slightly and the dipped haedlights come on with the rear lights. It also has auto wipers but they do not always work it can be a light drizzle and they come on but sometimes heavy rain and they do not, also the intermediate wipe setting has a mind of it's own no matter what you set it at it sometimes works correct or goes to slow or to fast. Interestingly the other day a message came up on the display telling me that the front camera was obscured and to wash wipe the front screen even though it was perfectly clear. I think that all these modern gizmos they are now fitting to cars are not all they should be. My youngest son has just taken delivery of a new Peugot 308 and he is into all this modern tech, even he had difficulty setting it all up half way through the setting up it suddenly changed to French and he had to go on the web to find out how to get back to English. One of the new features it has is you can program the climate control so that if you are going to work at say 7-30am  the interior will be at that temp when you get in.

[Worty]

I have a BSA A10 with no ignition switch and no aircon, save for unzipping my jacket a bit when it's hot.  I turn the lights on with a big, clunky knob similar to what you may find in Frankenstein's lab.  This seems to work well!

[muskrat]

G'day Fellas.
I don't recall seeing any cars down here where if the front lights are on the rear aren't.A lot of cars have a rear red fog lamp.
 My 2021 Ford Ranger 4wd has a few annoying "features" even though it's a "poverty pac". The one I hate most is the auto stop/start of the motor at traffic lights. That one is turned off as soon as I start it. Another is the lane wander and traction control also turned off.
I do love the cruise control.
Cheers

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Most modern vehicles have daylight lights on at the front once the ignition is turned on
This feature does not turn on the rear lights
What pisses me off most is drivers leaving the rear fog light on either when no fog or in traffic

John

[Greybeard]

What pisses me off most is drivers leaving the rear fog light on either when no fog or in traffic

Or in rain! That's illegal.

[Rex]

Most modern vehicles have daylight lights on at the front once the ignition is turned on
This feature does not turn on the rear lights

Must be different requirements for different markets then. In the UK so-called running lights  are the front and rear lights  on.

[Worty]

The DRLs on my son's car are front only.  Confused me at first as did the stop/start.  As with Musky, the stop/start is turned off immediately, although heated seats are nice.  Only chance of heated seats on the A10 is when the battery shorts out big time