Daytime Running Lights

In article <Tcmtj.49018$FA.33547@pd7urf2no>,
"Brian Minto" > writes:
> John, In my '94 car the module was just above and behind the brake pedal. It
> plugged into a provided connector in the wiring harness and the module
> attached to the firewall with a screw. The extra visibility is worth it. One
> fellow above mentioned dodging other drivers running stop signs but he
> mentioned that he saw no value to the DRL's. If the other driver saw you, he
> probably would not run the stop sign in front of you unless he actually had
> a deathwish.

I can tell you don't live in PA. We have had Police cars, Ambulances and
recently, a Fire Truck hit by people running stop signs and red lights.
If they don't pay attention to all those flashing lights and sirens, too,
do you really think the DRL on my Miata is going to have nay effect at all?


And, around here, the problem is going to get much worse as we are
beginning to see the indicators that lots of people are buying (illegally)
those boxes the police and fire depts are supposed to have to change
the lights to green as they approach. This results in very short
green lights for the side traffic and I am sure someone pulling away
from one of these short green lights is going to get T-boned. Sure
will be glad when I get to move away from here!!

bill

--
Bill Gunshannon | de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n. Three wolves
| and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton |
Scranton, Pennsylvania | #include <std.disclaimer.h>

On Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:33:09 GMT, "Brian Minto" >
wrote:

>Thankfully I DID receive one useful reply by contacting this group,

if your attitude is primarily one of gratitude, why not stop here?

>so I replaced my module and they are working just fine. The gentleman responded
>to the
>question by email. I found it interesting how the other responders got off
>onto any odd tangent to the question. The wear and tear on your
>headlights? - rather silly notion compared to your life.

i don't know why you drive a miata, but *i* would expect that a
typical regular in this group likes to take advantage of the inherent
"sportniess" in the way the car was designed and engineered and drive
the vehicle in a way that takes advantage of that - which is an
potenitally dangerous action. so it should be a given that ultimate
safety, while important, is not necessarily the highest priority; we'd
all probably be driving volvos instead.

>By the way, I just
>upgraded my original lights with Hella lights because I wanted better
>headlights, but the original lights were working perfectly. And yes, I am sure that they
>were the original headlights. Perhaps the rest of the world actually is wrong, but the US is
>probably the only developed country that does not require Daytime Running
>Lights due to the added safety. DRL's cause an immediate and substantial
>reduction in traffic accidents - period. But wow, maybe it really is just
>another government conspiracy.

i would hope that your drunk driving laws are a lot harsher than ours,
which are a joke. i suspect that DWI/DUI probably cause more
accidents than not having DRLs.





--------
"any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

In article >,
(Bill Gunshannon) wrote:

> If they don't pay attention to all those flashing lights and sirens, too,
> do you really think the DRL on my Miata is going to have nay effect at all?

After I added a pair of cheap foglights wired as DRLs, I saw an
immediate drop in the number of drivers running stop signs out of side
roads and into my path. Not all of them stop, but enough that I no
longer keep my thumb over the horn button at every intersection. From an
exercise in paranoia, driving my car became much more pleasant and
relaxing.

IMHO, any improvement is worthwhile. Some morons are unreachable (e.g.,
the ones who hit fire trucks), but most drivers will benefit from a
little help seeing you.

The Miata is a smaller target than most drivers expect. They think we're
farther away than we actually are. OTOH, studies have suggested that
cars with DRLs are perceived as being closer than they really are. I
like that.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Lanny Chambers > wrote:

> In article >,
> (Bill Gunshannon) wrote:
>
> > If they don't pay attention to all those flashing lights and sirens, too,
> > do you really think the DRL on my Miata is going to have nay effect at all?
>
> After I added a pair of cheap foglights wired as DRLs, I saw an
> immediate drop in the number of drivers running stop signs out of side
> roads and into my path. Not all of them stop, but enough that I no
> longer keep my thumb over the horn button at every intersection. From an
> exercise in paranoia, driving my car became much more pleasant and
> relaxing.
>
> IMHO, any improvement is worthwhile. Some morons are unreachable (e.g.,
> the ones who hit fire trucks), but most drivers will benefit from a
> little help seeing you.
>
> The Miata is a smaller target than most drivers expect. They think we're
> farther away than we actually are. OTOH, studies have suggested that
> cars with DRLs are perceived as being closer than they really are. I
> like that.

Problem is that as long as you are one of the few cars using DRLs you
stand out. Once everyone has to use DRLs, or use their dipped beams
during daylight the morons will no longer be able to 'see' you.

--
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...
1996 Eunos VR Limited Roadster

Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>Brian Minto wrote:
>> John, In my '94 car the module was just above and behind the brake
>> pedal. It
>> plugged into a provided connector in the wiring harness and the
>> module
>> attached to the firewall with a screw. The extra visibility is
>> worth it. One
>> fellow above mentioned dodging other drivers running stop signs but
>> he
>> mentioned that he saw no value to the DRL's. If the other driver
>> saw you, he
>> probably would not run the stop sign in front of you unless he
>> actually had
>> a deathwish.
>
> I can tell you don't live in PA. We have had Police cars,
> Ambulances and
> recently, a Fire Truck hit by people running stop signs and red
> lights.
> If they don't pay attention to all those flashing lights and sirens,
> too,
> do you really think the DRL on my Miata is going to have nay effect
> at all?

I realize that's a typo (nay instead of any) but it's sure appropriate
in its context!

> And, around here, the problem is going to get much worse as we are
> beginning to see the indicators that lots of people are buying
> (illegally)
> those boxes the police and fire depts are supposed to have to change
> the lights to green as they approach. This results in very short
> green lights for the side traffic and I am sure someone pulling away
> from one of these short green lights is going to get T-boned. Sure
> will be glad when I get to move away from here!!

I haven't noticed that around this area much lately. Probably because
I stay out of the downtown areas!

Seriously, my office is 3 miles from my house and away from downtown.
Makes it really nice in the morning -when everyone else is headed into
town, I'm heading out. And vice versa.

Well, except for getting out of the office complex. ;-)

Iva & Vixen
2004 Classic Red
No more winkin' Miata

In article > ,
(Rob) wrote:

> Problem is that as long as you are one of the few cars using DRLs you
> stand out. Once everyone has to use DRLs, or use their dipped beams
> during daylight the morons will no longer be able to 'see' you.

Do you have research to support that?

You don't need to stand out. You just need to register as something
moving on the road that isn't part of the scenery.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Lanny Chambers > wrote:

> In article > ,
> (Rob) wrote:
>
> > Problem is that as long as you are one of the few cars using DRLs you
> > stand out. Once everyone has to use DRLs, or use their dipped beams
> > during daylight the morons will no longer be able to 'see' you.
>
> Do you have research to support that?
>
> You don't need to stand out. You just need to register as something
> moving on the road that isn't part of the scenery.

Can't find it at the moment, but the Motorcycle Action Group in the UK
is campaigning against an EU proposal to make DRLs mandatory in Europe.
I did see something from them where they stated that there was an
increase in motorcycle-related accidents (cars pulling out in front of
bikes) in some of the Scandanavian countries when DRLs were made
compulsory.

Here in the UK, most bikers ride on dipped beam in daylight for
visibility reasons. I think that the arguement was that bikers would
merge into the background if everyone was running with lights on,
similar to the scenario here.

--
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...
1996 VR-Limited

In article > ,
(Rob) wrote:

> Here in the UK, most bikers ride on dipped beam in daylight for
> visibility reasons. I think that the arguement was that bikers would
> merge into the background if everyone was running with lights on,
> similar to the scenario here.

And, I'm sure, that makes it harder to see them as they weave through
traffic at high speed. So, what's the problem? You got something against
natural selection? :-)

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C

Lanny Chambers > wrote:

> In article > ,
> (Rob) wrote:
>
> > Here in the UK, most bikers ride on dipped beam in daylight for
> > visibility reasons. I think that the arguement was that bikers would
> > merge into the background if everyone was running with lights on,
> > similar to the scenario here.
>
> And, I'm sure, that makes it harder to see them as they weave through
> traffic at high speed. So, what's the problem? You got something against
> natural selection? :-)

Yup. It's called a motorcycle licence :-)
--
Rob - Shropshire
So many cats,
So few recipes...

In article >,
(Rob) wrote:

> > And, I'm sure, that makes it harder to see them as they weave through
> > traffic at high speed. So, what's the problem? You got something against
> > natural selection? :-)
>
> Yup. It's called a motorcycle licence :-)

I have one, too. But I never felt it would immunize me against the
consequences of riding like I had a death wish.

--
Lanny Chambers
St. Louis, MO
'94C